Brooklyn-based artist Nicky Nodjoumi was born in Kermanshah, Iran, in 1942. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Art from the Tehran University of Fine Arts, Nodjoumi relocated to the United States in the late 1960s, where he received his Master of Fine Arts degree from The City College of New York in 1974. He later returned to Tehran to join the faculty of his alma mater, continuing a trajectory of political engagement that has been foundational to his work for decades. During this period, he began designing political posters inspired by the revolutionary spirit sweeping the country, only to be forced into exile once again following the 1979 revolution.
Nodjoumi’s political engagement continues to the present day. His nuanced figurative paintings enter political discourse through a light, satirical touch, layering personal heritage and lived experiences in Iran and the United States into scenes that resonate beyond specific contexts or geographic boundaries. His works function as theatrical stages, where compositions of figures both serious and absurd, in the words of Phong Bui, “house meanings without irony, narratives without stories, humor without morality, above all creating a space that heightens the awareness of old and new history.” Serious in subject matter yet witty in execution, these rich and diverse characters animate Nodjoumi’s narratives and allude to collective experiences shaped by sociopolitical struggle, articulating a full spectrum of emotions ranging from aggression to victimhood.
Nicky Nodjoumi’s work is held in numerous prominent institutional collections worldwide, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago, and the National Museum of Cuba. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn.
Nicky Nodjoumi CV
Education
1974 City College of New York, MFA
1967 Tehran University of Fine Arts, BFA
Solo Exhibitions
2024–2025 The Personal is Political, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
2024–2025 Someone Is Coming With a Flower, Barakat Contemporary, Seoul, Korea
2023 Let’s Talk, ADVOCARTSY, Los Angeles
2022 1981, Helena Anrather, New York
2022 Tails of the Lost Dreams, Taymour Grahne Projects, London, UK
2021 We the Witnesses, Helena Anrather, New York
2020 Singing a New Song, Taymour Grahne Projects, London, UK
2020 The New York Times Drawings (1996–1998), Taymour Grahne Projects, London, UK
2019 Nicky Nodjoumi: New York Times Sketchbooks (1996–1999), Helena Anrather, New York
2018 Please Sit Down, Barakat Contemporary, Seoul, South Korea
2018 Fractures, Third Line Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2016 You and Me, Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York
2014 The Accident, The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH
2013 Chasing the Butterfly and Other Recent Paintings, Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York
2010 Educating the Horse, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai, UAE
2009 Invitation to Change Your Metaphor, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York
2009 The Formulaic Nature of Appearances, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York
2006 Triumph of Tradition, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York
2005 Interactive Game, Thom Andriola / New Gallery, Houston, TX
2005 Homa Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2004 Private Agenda, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York
2004 Aria Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2003 Paintings, Stefan Stux Gallery, New York
2001 Paintings, Stefan Stux Gallery, Project Room, New York
1999 Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY
1997 Studio 24, New York
1993 Artists Space, New York
1985 Pictogram Gallery, New York
1984 Leila Taghinia Milani Gallery, New York
1983 The Alternative Museum, New York
1980 Retrospective, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
1978 Shahr Gallery, New York
1976 Roko Gallery, New York
1976 Seyhon Gallery, Tehran, Iran
1968 Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
Group Exhibitions
2025 Portraiture Now: Iranian Contemporary, ADVOCARTSY Gallery, Los Angeles
2022 Is It Morning for You Yet?, 58th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, PA
2019 Landfall Press: Five Decades of Printmaking, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
2018 In the Field of Empty Days, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
2018 You Tell Me, Foley Gallery, New York
2017 Beyond the Ban, Susan Eley Fine Art, New York
2016 A Verdant Summer, Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York
2016 Dallas Art Fair, Taymour Grahne Gallery, Dallas, TX
2015 EXPO Chicago, Taymour Grahne Gallery, Chicago, IL
2015 Bazm and Razm: Feast and Fight in Persian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
2015 Untitled Miami, Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York
2014 Abu Dhabi Art, Taymour Grahne Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2014 Pierogi XX: Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Iran Modern, Asia Society, New York
2013 Nowrouz 1392, Artspace, London, UK
2013 The Young Collectors Exhibition, Leila Heller Gallery, New York
2012 IMAGE/CLOT, Zolla / Liberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011 The Mask and the Mirror, Leila Heller Gallery, New York
2011 Tale Spinning, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, ME
2010 One Thousand and One Nights, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
2009 Iran Inside Out, Chelsea Art Museum, New York / DePaul University Museum, Chicago
2009 Epic Painting, Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
2009 Chelsea Visits Havana, 10th Havana Biennial, Museo de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba
2008 Conference of the Birds, Flawless, London, UK
2004 Tango, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York
2003 Momus Gallery, New York
2003 637 Running Feet, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
2002 Dubrow International, Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York
2002 East Village Now & Then, Studio 18 Gallery, New York
2002 New York in Texas, New Gallery, Houston, TX
2002 20th Anniversary Celebration: Stefan Stux Gallery, Houston, TX
2002 Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2001 Tribeca Open Artists Studio Tour, New York
2000 Maison Française, Columbia University, New York
2000 Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY
1999 Center for Iranian Modern Arts, New York
1999 Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1998 The Lobby Gallery at Deutsche Bank, New York
1998 Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria
1998 Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC
1998 Bard College, Red Hook, NY
1998 Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
1993 Burns Fine Art Ltd., New York
1990 Metropolitan Design Center, New York
1988 Mussavi Gallery, New York
1987 Annual Juried Exhibition, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
1985 Pictogram Gallery, New York
1984 Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA
1982 Annual Juried Exhibition, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
1979 Revolutionary Poster & Cartoons Exhibition, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
1977 Kerman Museum, Kerman / Basel, Switzerland
1976 Forum Gallery, New York
1975 Parson-Truman Gallery, New York
1974 City College Gallery, City College of New York
1967 Gandriz Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Public Collections
British Museum, London, UK
DePaul Art Museum, DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
National Museum of Cuba, Havana, Cuba
Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
The Smithsonian, New York
