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Sirak Melkonian, a pioneering Armenian-Iranian modernist painter, was born in 1930 (1310 SH) in Tehran. From a young age, under the guidance of Marco Grigorian, he became acquainted with European modernist art movements. Melkonian’s work, rendered in an abstract visual language, explores nature suspended between imagination and reality—neither realist nor surrealist. In the 1950s (1330s SH), he received several prestigious awards, including the Tehran Biennial Prize and the Iran–America Society Award. He also participated in the Venice and Paris Biennials. During the 1970s (1350s SH), his works were featured in major international exhibitions such as Art Basel, FIAC, and the Tehran International Art Exhibition. In the 1990s (1370s SH), Melkonian emigrated to Canada and continued his artistic practice in Toronto. A retrospective titled Seven Decades of Painting by Sirak Melkonian was held in 2015 (1394 SH), highlighting his artistic legacy. He passed away in 2024 (1403 SH).
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Solo Exhibitions
1957 Aesthetic Gallery, Tehran
1962 Iran-India Cultural Relations Society, Tehran
1973 Zarvan Gallery, Tehran
1981 Athens
1983 Gorky Gallery, New York
1986 P.M. Collection, Los Angeles
1987 Studio Café, Newport
1997 AMV Graphic Organization, Toronto
2001 B-side Gallery, USA
2004 Arshile Gorky Gallery, Toronto
2006 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2015 Seven Decades of Paintings by Sirak Melkonian, Ab-Anbar Gallery, Tehran
2015 Seven Decades of Paintings by Sirak Melkonian, Aria Gallery, Tehran
2023 A Tumultuous Journey from Sand to Snow, Sahar Boluki Gallery, Toronto
2023 Sirak Melkonian, Fer Gallery, Tehran
Group Exhibitions
1950 Iran–Soviet Union Society, Tehran
1951 Mehregan Club, Tehran
1954 Mehregan Club, Tehran
1956 White Palace, Tehran
1957 Iran–America Society, Tehran
1958 White Palace, Tehran
1958 Tehran Biennial
1958 Venice Biennale, Italy
1959 Paris Biennale, Paris
1961 Central Office of Bank Saderat, Tehran
1965 Saba Gallery, Tehran
1967 New York
1971 Pakistan
1973 West Germany
1974 Iran–France International Exhibition, Tehran
1974 Third Art and Culture Gallery, Tehran
1974 Ministry of Art and Culture, Tehran
1974 Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
1974 Farhang Honar Gallery, Tehran
1975 Iran–America Society, Tehran
1975 Saman Gallery, Tehran
1975 Mes Gallery, Tehran
1975 Farhang Honar Gallery, Tehran
1975 International Exhibition, Basel
1976 Saman Gallery, Tehran
1990 Paris
1990 Montreal and Ottawa
1995 Baghoumian Gallery, New York
1995 AGBU Center, Toronto
1997 Central Library, Los Angeles
1999 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2000 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2000 Canada and the United States
2003 Arta Gallery, Toronto
2004 Lazar Gallery, Tehran
2004 Arta Gallery, Toronto
2004 National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan
2006 University of Tehran
2006 Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
2007 Tehran
2009 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2010 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2011 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2013 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2015 Art Center, Tehran
2016 Sohrab Gallery, Tehran
2016 E1 Gallery, Tehran
2016 Art Dubai (Ab-Anbar Gallery)
2017 Shams Gallery, Tehran
2017 Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
2017 Negar Gallery, Tehran
2018 White Line Gallery, Tehran
2018 Azad Art Gallery
2018 Golestan Gallery
2021 Sales Gallery, Tehran
2021 Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2021 Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai
2021 Liam Gallery, Tehran
2021 Negar Gallery, Tehran
2022 Sahar Boluki Gallery, Toronto
2022 Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2022 Negar Gallery, Tehran
2022 Guyeh Gallery, Tehran
2022 Intent Gallery, Dubai
2023 Liam Gallery, Tehran
2023 Artibition Gallery, Tehran
2023 Art Center, Tehran
2023 Art Jameel, Dubai
2023 Negah Gallery, Tehran
2024 Plus 2, Tehran
2024 Sharif Gallery, Tehran
2024 Yafteh Gallery, Tehran
2024 Mah Gallery, Tehran
2025 Sales Gallery, Tehran
2025 Foundry, Dubai
2025 Javid Gallery, Tehran
2025 Nian Gallery, Tehran
Awards
1958 Grand Royal Prize, Tehran Biennial
1959 First Prize, Paris Biennale
1974 First Prize, International Art Exhibition, Tehran
