Morteza Khakshoor
Iranian artist Morteza Khakshoor’s practice explores – in his words – ‘male behaviours’. Rich in narrative, his figurative paintings, drawings and prints take inspiration from myriad sources including Renaissance Old Masters, vintage cinema, male sexuality and the turbulent history of his home country.
Although Morteza’s training was rooted in life drawing, he says that he ‘mostly draws from pictures nowadays; the flatness of photos on the internet or in newspapers appeals to me’. His subjects are pictured in scenarios that range from commonplace to surreal. They rest, contemplate their reflection, interact with animals or naughtily expose their manhood in public. At once vulnerable, mischievous and dignified, his protagonists consider their place – and how they are represented as men - in today’s complex world.
Emigrating from Iran to the US to study in 2010 was an opportunity for Morteza to develop his printmaking practice; he subsequently undertook residencies in California, Vermont and Boston. His etchings – with their pared-down palette – allow the artist play with conceptual and formal ideas. He says: ‘printmaking is the ‘in-between’ medium for me, where painting and drawing meet. What I paint now comes directly from what I have explored through printmaking in the past’.
Morteza has exhibited his work nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions in the US, the UK and beyond. In London, his work has recently been presented at Beers Gallery and The Royal Watercolour Society Open, Bankside Gallery. He is the recipient of many awards including ‘The Inaugural Emerging Artist Award’ given at the Editions/Artists’ Book Fair, New York, in 2018. His works are in several private and public collections, most notably The Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice in New York, USA. He currently lives in California, USA.