Majid Fathizadeh

Majid Fathizadeh (b.1977, Iran, Zahedan), lives and works in Iran. Inspired by the European Old Masters,  Fathizadeh's paintings depict the chaos of our own times, from environmental catastrophe to biopolitics and the relentless humanitarian disaster of war. His dark and enigmatic sepia-toned works feature a macabre cast of characters engrossed in a grotesque and relentless dance – a darkly seductive, densely populated underworld where naked figures crawl into the mouths and bellies of gigantic fish and giants wander blasted landscapes. Often created on a monumental scale, these savage and unsettling satires on contemporary folly are told with a cacophony of visual storytelling and delivered with a painterly delicacy. Fathizadeh's collaborator, the novelist and screenwriter Jean Claude Carriere notes, ‘He (Fathizadeh) exposes his own world beside ours. The world which year after year has deepened and coloured itself. Majid has opened the doors to us and dares us to follow him.’

Fathizadeh’s solo shows have featured in many of the most prominent galleries in Tehran, including: Selected Work, Emrooz Gallery (2020); Obstruction, Kaaf Foundation (2015); To Engage, Azad Art Gallery, (2013); Ceremony, Azad Art Gallery (2012). Fathizadeh has been featured in many group exhibitions: List IV - Another Perspective, O Gallery, Tehran (2021); Speaking from the Heart - The Polemic Sensibility from Iran, Castrum Peregrini, Amsterdam (2014); Kochi Biennalle, Kochi (2013); Die Iranische Weitanschuung, Freies Museum, Vienna (2013).