Nicky Nodjoumi: Someone is coming with a flower
Barakat Contemporary proudly presents Iranian-born American artist Nicky Nodjoumi’s second solo exhibition at the gallery, Someone is coming with a flower from November 13th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025. The exhibition comprises three works created before the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the first public unveiling of over sixty monotypes on paper produced shortly after the artist's exile to Miami, US, in 1981.
A monotype is created by painting directly with oil paint or ink on a metal or stone plate, and then pressing paper onto it to make a print. It blends elements of painting and printmaking, but its defining characteristic is that it produces a unique work. Nicky Nodjoumi’s 1981 monotypes offer a glimpse into the various motifs and artistic styles that would later become central to his acclaimed paintings. Furthermore, by leveraging the spontaneous and expressive nature of monotype, the artist produced a prolific number of works saturated with uninhibited political dissent, artistic fervor, and autobiographic records at the time.
The exhibition title, Someone is coming with a flower, refers to a sentence written in Persian on Nodjoumi’s first monotype created in 1976, which also serves as the title of the piece. This phrase expresses hope and anticipation for democracy as if foreseeing the imminent revolution. However, as reflected in the works from 1981, that hope was met with the paradoxical reality of an even more oppressive regime. This irony extended not only into Nodjoumi’s personal life leading to his exile but also continues to claim the sacrifices of many to this day.
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Brushstrokes of defiance: How Nicky Nodjoumi's art endures revolutions and exile
Hansol Park, The Korea Times, November 21, 2024 This link opens in a new tab. -
KOR | The flower on the muzzle...paint hope in the darkness of dictatorship [IN PRINT]
[지면]총구에 피어난 꽃…독재의 어둠 속에서 희망을 그리다Jeehye Seo, Seoul Economy, November 20, 2024 This link opens in a new tab. -
KOR | Third World artists dreaming of a white horse in the age of darkness [IN PRINT]
[지면]어둠의 시대에서 백마 탄 초인을 꿈꿔 온 제3세계 작가들Ahn Siook, Korea Economy, November 19, 2024 This link opens in a new tab. -
KOR | Revolution and migration... a world carved into pieces like the artist's life [IN PRINT]
[지면]혁명과 이주… 작가의 삶처럼 조각조각 붙인 세상Min Kim, Donga Ilbo, November 15, 2024 This link opens in a new tab. -
KOR | "Conscience against dictatorship?" ...Barakat Contemporary, rare Nicky Nodjoumi exhibition before and after the Iranian Revolution
"독재에 항거한 양심?"...바라캇컨템포러리, '니키 노주미' 이란 혁명 전후 희귀작 展Jinwoo Kim, CNB News, November 15, 2024 This link opens in a new tab. -
KOR | [Gallery Walk] Flowers blooming on the tragedy of the war...Life of Nicky Nodjoumi
[갤러리 산책]이란전쟁 비극 위에 피어난 꽃…니키 노주미의 삶Heeyoon Kim, Asia Economy, November 14, 2024 This link opens in a new tab.