[Gallery Walk] A Flower Bloomed on the Tragedy of the Iran-Iraq War... The Life of Niki Nozumi

Iran-born American writer Nikki Nozomi
Solo Exhibition 'Someone Brings Flowers'
Three Works from Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Over 60 Works Created After Exile in the U.S. on Display

The second solo exhibition of Iranian-born American artist Niki Nojumi at Barakat Contemporary, titled 'Someone is Coming with a Flower,' unveils for the first time three works created before the 1979 Iranian Revolution and over 60 monotypes produced in Miami in 1981 shortly after the artist's exile to the United States.

Nicky Nodjoumi_Gun and Flower_1981. [Photo by Barakat Contemporary]

Niki Nojumi's work once again drew public attention when it was selected in 2020 by The New York Times as one of the '25 Most Influential American Protest Artworks Since World War II.' The exhibition title, 'Someone is Coming with a Flower,' is a sentence written in Persian on Nojumi's first monotype created in 1976 and also the title of that work.

Foretelling the imminent revolution, it embodies hopes and aspirations for democratization; however, as seen in the 1981 works, it ultimately reflects the paradoxical tragedy of Iran, where a more severe dictatorship was established, leading to sacrifices not only in the artist's personal life but also for many others to this day.

Monotype is a printmaking technique where an image is painted directly with oil paint or ink on a metal or stone plate, then paper is pressed onto it to create a print. It is a hybrid process between painting and printmaking and is characterized by being a unique, one-of-a-kind edition.

Well known for his distinctive allegorical large-scale paintings, the artist fully showcased this artistic world in his first solo exhibition in Korea at Barakat Contemporary in 2018. His works, both figurative and abstract, blend various elements such as characters' social status indicated by suits and religious robes, diverse flora and fauna, scenes from ancient Persian paintings, and images from Western media, crossing boundaries between symbol and reality, past and present.

Nicky Nodjoumi_Someone is coming with a flower_2024_installation view.
Photo by Barakat Contemporary

He also draws on a wide variety of materials for his creations, including models of himself, family, and acquaintances, photographs, personal experiences, Persian literature, and newspaper clippings, creating a stage where visual information perceived from his surroundings is embodied. Numerous elements in his works?severed limbs, clown motifs, theatrical masks, geometric lines, and refracted planes?engage in a tug-of-war, producing unresolved tension. Through this, the artist expresses his characteristic polysemy by fragmenting vast and diverse contexts within his works.

In the 1981 monotype works, we can identify various motifs and styles that became the foundation of his current painting practice. Moreover, Nojumi utilized the immediate and free expression technique of monotype to convey more raw political attitudes, artistic desires, emotional lines, and personal narratives across diverse works.

The year 1979, when the Iranian Revolution occurred, was a significant historical moment that also marked a division in the artist's life. Although many of his pre-revolution works were lost, the three pieces from 1976 presented in this exhibition represent the artist during this period, showing images of both the darkness and hope of political resistance.

In 1980, an invitation to exhibit at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art to commemorate the Iranian Revolution changed his life. More than 120 works by Niki Nojumi were displayed, and his criticism extended not only to the pre-revolution regime but also to the post-revolution government. Iranian media attacked his works as betraying the Islamic Republic and the revolution, and soon crowds stormed the venue.

Nicky Nodjoumi_The Blue Horse_1981. [Photo by Barakat Contemporary]

On September 22, 1980, Niki Nojumi fled Tehran, and just hours after his departure, the Mehrabad Airport he used was bombed by Iraq, marking the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. He never saw the more than 120 works exhibited at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art again. This incident was revisited in the HBO documentary thriller 'A Revolution on Canvas' (2023), directed by his daughter Sarah Nojumi and son-in-law Till Schauder.

After fleeing with his family from Tehran to Miami, the artist recalled that his brief stay in Miami before returning to New York was a painful period. Iran had entered another era of repression that nullified the revolution that once united the country, and he had to leave behind most of his works and even his hometown indefinitely.

Nevertheless, this sense of loss did not make the artist put down his brush. Niki Nojumi produced many monotypes with a more spontaneous and passionate style compared to his previous works and techniques. Even after escaping the Khomeini dictatorship and arriving in a foreign land, the artist stood at the forefront of resistance.

Even when unable to join the marching crowds, Nojumi proved himself as a free individual rather than an exile by relentlessly dedicating himself to his art and exposing the ongoing oppression. His work was his only way to understand the world and a continuous act of resistance for survival. The exhibition runs until January 12, 2025.