Majid Fathizadeh (b.1977, Iran, Zahedan), lives and works in Iran, creating paintings inspired by the European Old Masters but which 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, delivered with a painterly delicacy. A collaborator with Fathizadeh, 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.” He has featured in many group exhibitions including ‘Speaking from the Heart’, Framer Framed, Amsterdam and History game, Etemad Gallery, Tehran, Iran. Fathizadeh’s solo shows have featured in many of the most prominent galleries in Tehran such as the Azad Art Gallery which held the ‘To Engage’ exhibition (2015) and the Kaaf Foundation who exhibited ‘Obstruction’ in 2015.