kambiz derambakhsh

Kambiz Derambakhsh, designer, cartoonist, and graphic artist, was born in 1942 in Shiraz. He began his formal art education at the Fine Arts High School for Boys in Tehran. From a young age, he entered the professional field of cartooning, creating works for publications such as Ettela'at Haftagi and Sepid o Siah. In 1963, Derambakhsh traveled to Germany for a one-year trip, which broadened his understanding of cartoon art on an international level. Upon returning, he joined the weekly humor magazine Tofigh and worked there for seven years. After the Iranian Revolution, he went into exile in 1981 and lived in Germany for twenty years. In his designs, Derambakhsh demonstrates a strong tendency toward abstraction and conciseness. His simplification of the human figure and environmental elements often elevates line itself to an independent identity, serving as a central element within the compositions. Through subtle visual metaphors, his drawings disrupt habitual perceptual patterns and open the viewer’s mind to poetic and imaginative horizons. The poetic and humanistic nature of his works also embeds layers of social and political concerns. Beyond his recognition in Iran, his works have appeared in internationally renowned publications such as Le Monde, The New York Times, Nebel Spalter, and West Deutsche Allgemeine. His works are part of the collections of prestigious museums and art institutions worldwide, including the Avignon Museum in Paris, the Cartoon Museum in Basel, Switzerland, the Gabrovo Cartoon Museum in Bulgaria, the Hiroshima Museum in Japan, the Anti-War Museum in Yugoslavia, the Istanbul Cartoon Museum in Turkey, and the Warsaw Cartoon Museum in Poland, among others. Derambakhsh was the first Iranian visual artist to be awarded the title of Chevalier by the French government in 2014, in recognition of his lifelong contributions to cartooning. Mohammad Ghaed, who collaborated and shared a friendship with Derambakhsh at Ayandegan newspaper, wrote: “I was saddened when he left Iran. Later, seeing him as a top-notch designer abroad made me happy. Now that he has returned for permanent residence, I think it is better for someone as modest and content as him to stay nearby. His spirit and style, sharp yet attentive to the chaotic society he depicts, can inspire artists and observers seeking the contradictions in dark comedy.” Kambiz Derambakhsh passed away in 2021 in Tehran due to COVID-19.