Charles Hossein Zenderoudi

Charles Hossein Zenderoudi was born in Tehran in 1937. After completing his studies at the School of Decorative Arts in 1961, he went to Paris and has resided there ever since. He demonstrated a remarkable and brilliant talent in calligraphy, calligraphic painting, and painting from the mid-1950s, winning numerous awards during that period until the early 1960s. Zenderoudi, alongside Tanavoli and a number of other artists, played a key role in advancing the Saqqakhaneh movement and is also considered one of the pioneers and stylists in calligraphic painting. Among his other activities are the design and painting of a number of architectural structures in various countries around the world. Additionally, a Quran he illustrated is considered significant among art enthusiasts, critics, and analysts of visual arts. Zenderoudi has a deep connection with the art of Iran's past, classical Persian literature, Quranic literature, and even modern Iranian literature and art. All of these sources manifest in Zenderoudi's works in various ways, and this contributes to the profound richness of his art. What distinguishes Zenderoudi's work is primarily the creation of rhythm and a kind of musicality through the expressive form of painting, in such a way that meaning serves musicality and rhythm more than it serves the legibility of form. The repetition of letters, color schemes, and innovative compositions are among the other factors that produce meaning in Zenderoudi's works. Books have also been published on Zenderoudi's work, among the most important of which is the book by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. It is worth mentioning that alongside his artistic activities, Zenderoudi has also engaged in performance art in recent years, alongside Yadollah Royaee, a prominent contemporary poet, and this performance art is considered a kind of experimental encounter with space and painting.

Sohrab Ahmadi