● Birthplace: Tehran
Biography
His interest in painting began as a child, and gradually became his hobby, and he became well versed in his age. When he finished high school, his father decided to send him to study in the United States. “It wasn’t until two years after I arrived in the United States that my father passed away,” said Master Katouzian. So, I stayed and myself. It was a very difficult time; Because my distance from my family was so great that it was not possible to communicate and travel at that time. My only means of communication was with the family, which took four months to complete. Telephone communication was also very expensive and difficult. It was very difficult for me when I was young. On the advice of one of the masters, he went to a college in the state of Vermont. “My turn to modern painting came from 1962,” he says. That’s when I met William Hunt, who I think is one of the best contemporary American painters. As a teacher, he taught me the true philosophy of art and matured my thinking about art. One of my favorite painters at the time of my studies was, most of all, Klein 1910 – 1962, an American painter, who is still with me. Not having a long life, he shone for a short time. His paintings were so masterful that he was crushed in front of the work. During the adventure of Jackson Palk, the American painter 1912 – 1956, he fascinated me. Also other painters like Mark Rothko; Painter 1903 – 1970, and Mark Toby, American Painter / 1890 – 1976; They did a great job. In New York at the time, when you visited galleries, you saw works that were very unique, and from painters who weren’t famous at all. After that, I didn’t see any more solid work and brilliance. The disadvantage of abstract painting is that it was joined very quickly, first by hundreds, and then by thousands, and because the audience’s eyes were not accustomed to this kind of work, they also had difficulty recognizing it. Charlatanism quickly permeated this style, while fewer people were able to discern its correctness and inaccuracy.
Master Kamran Katouzian returned to Iran for two years from 1963 to 1964. He went to the Department of Culture and Arts to find a job and was immediately recruited. There he became acquainted with Changiz Shahough and Nasser Mofakhm, and after some time in 1964, they jointly opened the Saba Gallery on Saba South Street.
He presented an abstract painting entitled “My Father’s Father When He Was Young” and an abstract iron sculpture; He participated in the fourth Tehran Biennale and in 1964, together with Jazeh Tabatabai, they jointly won the first prize of this biennial. His presence in the Department of Culture and the Arts did not last more than a few months, and he preferred to work in the graphic arts profession for a living. He first started by designing a room at Saba Gallery. He returned to the United States in 1964. He stayed there for a year and then returned to Iran, where he held his first individual exhibition at Saba Gallery, coinciding with the beginning of the third year of the Saba Gallery. Then, on the advice and encouragement of Engineer Seyhoun, he enrolled in the architecture department of the Faculty of Fine Arts without an entrance exam, and continued this course from 1965 to 1967, but eventually left it unfinished. In the meantime, he once participated as Iran’s representative in the Paris Biennale in 1964 and once in the Venice Biennale in 1966. In the meantime, Behshahr Industrial Group is invited to work as an advertising manager. He later set up the Avangard Advertising Office.
Apparently,Katouzian’s painting preoccupation continued until 1978, in two fields of abstract painting and pop art painting. The recession in the early years after the revolution; In the field of graphics, the avant-garde company was shut down. Therefore, Katouzian left Iran for three or four years, and after returning to Iran, together with Ms. Radpey, from 1986 to 1996, they set up the Karpi Advertising Company (a combination of the two names Katouzian and Radpey). Karpey Company has given a new face to this city by launching banners and billboards in Tehran. This form of urban advertising was very popular and soon Carpi Company acquired dozens of billboards in Tehran. But the company was eventually shut down following an article in a local newspaper.
Katozian’s painting activity continued to decline during the 1980s and beyond. From then on, he completely abandoned pop art painting and only started abstract painting. He held an exhibition of his works in 1989 at the Kerte Gallery, and his next exhibition was held at the Gallery of the Month and Mehr with a distance of 20 years. The positive reviews of his recent paintings show the continuity of the creative and artistic mentality that knows the language of the image well and does not use it in any suitable place.
Personal view
Kamran Katouzian says about his painting activity: In general, I am an abstract painter. If I experienced pop at some point, it was about youth, adventure and experience; A sweet period that was not far from abstract paintings. And when I got back to abstraction, my work naturally became more mature, and the formalism and fear (usually formalism is the result of fear and apprehension) that it used to be, gradually faded. Now I feel complete freedom at work, and all the things that I used to have to do technically to get the job done right happen subconsciously. Previously, I had to be very careful so that the work would go well, not all the force of the painting would be on one side, the relationship of colors, shapes and lights would be correct, but now it is self-evident and formed in the work. Whatever I do, I think it’s okay, and I keep doing it until it’s done.
Other Artists’ Views
Aydin Aghdashloo: He says about his latest exhibition: When I was supposed to watch Kamran Katouzian’s new works, I didn’t know what kind of collection I should expect to see, and after his many years of isolation and my recent absence from painting exhibitions, the connection between the artist And what will the audience look like? But when I saw it, I was relieved that the paintings, in a very serious and professional way, followed in the footsteps of his past meaning and achievement, and that the intensity of the brushstroke and bold painting, to put it mildly, was still current and constant. Kamran Katouzian’s old and constant attachment to the school of abstract expressionism of the 1950s in New York, which has not diminished, and with a keen eye, pursues Klein’s turbulent work as a whole of his own personal and specific world.
– Master Kamran Katouzian is one of the important and reputable pioneers of modern Iranian art, and although he has withdrew his active presence from the Iranian art community for many years, his position and works have never been hidden from artists.
– Kamran Katouzian is the honor of the years of development and evolution of modern Iranian art, and I emphasize and testify to this, not as his friend and lover, but as a follower of the lively and dynamic movement in the history of contemporary Iranian art.
Education
1965 – Bachelor of Fine Arts – Painting and Sculpture – Windham University – Vermont, USA
1965 – 1967 – School of Architecture – University of Tehran
Achievements
– Presence of works in museums: Contemporary Art of Tehran, Contemporary Art of Kerman, Modern Art of New York
1965 – Winner of the first prize of the 4th Tehran Biennial – Painting and Sculpture
1964 – Founder of Saba Gallery, the first gallery of contemporary art in Tehran
1990 – 1995 – Individual exhibitions in Saba, Negar, Karte, Tehran galleries
1964 – Representative of Contemporary Iranian Art in Biennale, Paris
1966 – Representative of Contemporary Iranian Art in Venice Biennale
1967 – 1969 – Teaching at the Faculty of Decorative Arts, University of Tehran
1971 – Founder and CEO of Avangard Advertising Company
1977 – Representative of Contemporary Iranian Art at the International Art Festival – Washington, DC
1986 – Founder and CEO of Karpey Advertising Company
1990 – 1992 – Faculty of Arts, Islamic Azad University
2000 – Participated in the exhibition of the National Museum of Traditional Arts in Rome
2009 – Individual exhibition at Mah Mah Gallery – Tehran
– Tehran Contemporary Art Museum
– Kashan Museum of Modern Art
– New York Museum of Modern Art
