Charles Hossein Zenderoudi (born March 11, 1937) is an Iranian painter, calligrapher and sculptor, known as a pioneer of Iranian modern art and as one of the earliest artists to incorporate Persian calligraphy elements into his artwork. He is a pioneer of the Saqqakhaneh School of Art, a genre of neo-traditional modern art founded in Iran that is rooted in the history of Persian coffee-house paintings and Persian Shia visual elements. He lives in Paris and New York.

Biography

Hossein Zenderoudi was born in Tehran, Iran, on March 11, 1937. Zenderoudi attended the Tehran College of Decorative Arts in the 1950s to study painting and calligraphy under the mentorship of Parviz Tanavoli and Marcos Grigorian. He was active in the arts community in Iran, through his membership of art groups between 1958 and 1960, alongside Parviz Tanavoli, he became one of the key figures of the Saqqakhaneh School of Art, which explored the use of Persian Shia popular visual elements and calligraphy in art. He influenced generations of artists internationally. After winning an award at the 2nd annual Tehran Painting Biennial in 1960, he moved in 1961 to Paris, France and later became a French national. Zenderoudi’s granddaughter is the French singer-songwriter, Barbara Pravi, who represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, finishing 2nd place.

Work

Collections

Hossein Zenderoudi's artwork held in permanent museum collections:

Awards