Manoucher Yektai
Manoucher Yektai was a poet, painter, and one of the pioneers of modern art in Iran. Manoucher Yektai's paintings are considered as a combination of modern Western art and Eastern culture, emphasizing still life. ... Read full biography
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1921
Born in Tehran, Iran
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1948
Solo show, Woodstock, New York
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1951
Solo show, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York
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1952
Solo show, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York
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1957
Solo show, Poindexter Gallery, New York
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1961
Solo show, Piccadilly Gallery, London
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1963
Solo show, Semia Huber Gallery, Zurich
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1965
Solo show, Gertrude Kasle Gallery, Detroit
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1970
Solo show, Piccadilly Gallery, London
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1984
Solo show, Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York
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1996
Solo show, Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
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2017
Group show, "A Lyrical Approach to Painting", Mah-e-Mehr Gallery, Tehran
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2019
Passed away
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2019
Solo show, "The Night Is Your Day", Sothebys, London
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2021
Art fair, Expo Chicago, Represented by Smith-Davidson Gallery, New York
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1921
Born in Tehran, Iran
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2019
Solo show, "The Night Is Your Day", Sothebys, London
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2021
Art fair, Expo Chicago, Represented by Smith-Davidson Gallery, New York
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Manoucher Yektai (1921-2019) was a poet, painter, and one of the pioneers of modern art in Iran. Manoucher Yektai's paintings are considered as a combination of modern Western art and Eastern culture, emphasizing still life. His paintings are known for their bright dense colors and unique brush strokes. His works are believed to be included in abstract expressionism and New York's Art School because of the type of coloring and expression; however, the artist himself did not involve his works in any particular style.
Manoucher Yektai was born in Tehran. Before starting painting, he wrote poems and published them in magazines during his forties. He later became acquainted with painting but never quit poetry. As a young man, he quited his studies in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, and went to Paris and then to New York to continue his education. In France, he studied painting at the Beaux-Art de Paris. He then went to the United States, where he continued painting with artists such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, and Franz Kline.
Yektai often exhibited his works in foreign exhibitions. Living and studying in Iran, France, and the United States had a significant impact on his work, but he could achieve a unique style through all he had learned in different parts of the world. In addition to painting, several books from Manoucher Yektai's collection of poems have been published. The most important poem of this artist is called "Faalgoosh" which lasted about eleven years to get completed and was finally published in Iran in 1969 with an introduction by Ebrahim Golestan.
Manoucher Yektai's still lives are his most important works, but figures, portraits, and landscapes can also be seen among them. Unlike many Iranian artists of his time, Yektai did not have any concerns for identity and nationalism; nevertheless, his works are considered to be entirely influenced by Iranian culture and the characteristics of Oriental art.
The artist held his first solo show in Woodstock, New York, in 1948 after moving to the United States. He was later introduced to New York's Eighth Street Club by Leo Castelli and artists such as Mark Rothko and Toby Gaston. Through the following decades, Manoucher Yektai exhibited many works in numerous solo exhibitions in different countries and galleries such as Poindexter Gallery in New York, Semia Huber in Zurich, Piccadilly in London, Elaine Benson Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York, and Zand Gallery in Tehran and obtained a significant position in the global art market. A collection of the artist's works was exhibited in 2018 in the Zona Maco art fair México by the Smith Davidson Gallery.
Manoucher Yektai passed away in November 2017 in New York. After his death, two solo shows of his works were held in different countries. One was a collection of his works entitled "Roots" that was exhibited at Aria Gallery. The other, named "The Night Is Your Day" was showcased at Sotheby's in London. In 2021, the art fair Expo Chicago exhibited his works by the Smith Davidson Gallery. The Karma Gallery in New York hosted a solo show named "Manoucher Yektai's Paintings" in the same year.
