Manoochehr Yektai

Manoucher Yektai, a prominent painter and a pioneer of modernist art in Iran, was born in 1922 in Tehran. He began his formal art education at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran but left before completing his studies. He continued his education at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and later in the United States. Yektai is recognized as one of the leading artists of Abstract Expressionism and a pioneer of contemporary Iranian painting, with works closely associated with the New York School movement. His first solo exhibition was held in 1951 in New York, where his work quickly attracted attention in the city’s art circles. In subsequent years, his works were exhibited in other cities including Washington, Chicago, and Baltimore, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired one painting and two drawings for its permanent collection. Manoucher Yektai passed away in 2019.

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Solo Exhibitions

1948 - Woodstock, New York
1951 - Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York
1952 - Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York
1953 - Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York
1956 - American Associated Artists Gallery, New York
1957 - Poindexter Gallery, New York
1959 - Felix, Landau Gallery, Los Angeles
1960 - Semia Huber Gallery, Zurich
1961 - Poindexter Gallery, New York
1961 - Semia Huber Gallery, Zurich
1961 - Piccadilly Gallery, London
1962 - Poindexter Gallery, New York
1962 - Andersen Meyer Gallery, Paris
1962 - Piccadilly Gallery, London
1962 - Fine Garten Gallery, Chicago
1963 - Semia Huber Gallery, Zurich
1964 - Piccadilly Gallery, London
1964 - Poindexter Gallery, New York
1965 - Semia Huber Gallery, Zurich
1965 - Gertrude Kasle Gallery, Detroit
1966 - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
1967 - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
1972 - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
1975 - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
1977 - Zand Gallery, Tehran
1981 - Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York
1984 - Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York
1984 - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
1996 - Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
2019 - Rishaha, Aria Gallery, Tehran
2019 - Shab, Rooze Toost, Sotheby's, London
2021 - Paintings by Manoucher Yektai, Karma Gallery, New York
2023 - Arts Club, London
2024 - Landscapes, Karma Gallery, New York
2025 - Beginnings, Karma Gallery, New York
2025 - Tirafkan Foundation, Tehran

Group Exhibitions

2017 - A Visual Dialogue, 2+ Gallery, Tehran
2017 - A Poetic Approach to Painting, Mahe Mehr Gallery, Tehran
2019 - Flower / Pure Contradiction, In-Ja Hall, Tehran
2019 - 10, 20, 30, Designers Free Gallery, Tehran
2019 - Day of Reckoning, Outside Gallery Spaces, Tehran
2020 - Tangible Discontinuity, Designers Free Gallery, Tehran
2021 - Collector 9, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2021 - A Rare Collection of Modern Iranian Art, Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai
2021 - Selected Works from the Lal Collection, O Gallery, Tehran
2023 - Modern Collector, Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2023 - Standing in Memory, Sohrab Gallery, Tehran
2023 - Several Seasons: Fereydoun Av and the Lal Collection, Art Jameel, Dubai
2024 - Golden Years, Far Gallery, Tehran
2024 - A Particular Kind of Paradise, Karma Gallery, New York
2024 - Inanimate, Karchiv Gallery, Tehran
2025 - Whispers of Presence, Dialogue Between Faces and Objects, Mellal Gallery, Tehran
2025 - Continuum: The Unbroken Line of Iranian Art, Foundry, Dubai

Art Fairs

2018 - Zona Maco, Mexico, Presented by Smith-Davidson Gallery
2021 - Expo Chicago, Presented by Smith-Davidson Gallery, New York
2023 - Art Fair FOG, San Francisco, Presented by Karma Gallery
2023 - Frieze Los Angeles, Presented by Karma Gallery, Los Angeles
2024 - The Armory Show, New York, Presented by Karma Gallery
2024 - Frieze New York, Presented by Karma Gallery
2024 - Art Basel, Presented by Karma Gallery, Basel
2024 - Complete Strangers, Frieze London

Manoochehr Yektai's Artworks

For Display

Manoochehr Yektai

Untitled

Oil30x30 cm

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Manoochehr Yektai

Untitled

Pastel50x70 cm

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Manoochehr Yektai's Exhibitions

In Person - Online

Modern Collectore

Artibition

Group

January 19, 2024 - January 28, 2024

In Person - Online

Modern Collectore

Artibition

Group

September 29, 2023 - October 9, 2023

In Person - Online

(9th Collector (contemporary art

Artibition

Group

October 25, 2021 - October 25, 2021

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