Iran Darroudi is a prominent Iranian painter, director, writer, art critic and university professor. According to some critics, Droodi was a follower of surrealism school of thought. Kafur magazine, French edition, found the theme of her artworks similar to Salvador Dali and Max Ernst. She was invited to lecture in the History of Art as an honorary professor in Sharif University of Iran in 1970. She is one of the pioneers of contemporary Iranian painting and one of the few well-known figures in the world art community in about six decades ago.
She was born on September 2nd 1936 in a noble family in Neyshabour. Her paternal family were well-known merchants in the north-eastern province, while her maternal family were caucasian merchants,who travelled to Iran following the Soviet unioin revolution.
She traveled to Europe with her family in her childhood. When the Second World War began, her family were living in Hamburg and a year later, they returned to Iran through Poland and lived in Mashhad for a while and then moved to Tehran.
Due to her interest in painting, Droodi went to drawing and painting classes at school. In 1954, she started painting course at Bouzar College in Paris and from 1954 to 1958 studied art in various schools and colleges such as: School of Fine Arts of Paris (Bozar), the Louvre School of Paris, the Royal College of Brussels (Vitrai), Institute of R.C.I. New York (production and directing of television programs). After her studies, she returned to Iran and in May 1960 her works were exhibited in Culture Hall of Tehran.
Iran Droodi exhibited her works in more than 63 solo and 250 group exhibitions in Iran and around the world. She also turned to writing by writing a book tittled “In The Distance Between Two Points”
Individual Exhibitions
1958 Miami Beach Art Centre, USA
1958 Columbia University, New York
1959 Royal Hilton Hotel, Tehran
1959 Farhang Hall, Tehran
1961 Iran-America association, Tehran
1961 Farhang Hall, Tehran
1963 Museum of Exelles, Brussels
1964 Galeria Santa Maria Pizza, Milan
1964 Borghèse Gallery, Tehran
1965 Iran-America Society, Tehran
1969 Negar Gallery, Tehran
1970 Royal Hilton Hotel, Tehran
1970 Sharif University, Tehran
1972 Goethe Institute, Tehran
1973 Space Gallery 2000, New York
1973 Goethe Institute : Shiraz, Abadan, Mashhad, Isfahan
1973 Drouant Gallery, Paris
1973 Atrium Artis Gallery, Geneva
1974 21 Gallery, Zurich
1974 National Iranian Oil Company, Abadan
1974 Ferdowsi University, Mashhad
1975 Darroudi Gallery, Tehran
1975 Drouant Gallery, Tokyo
1975 La Galleria Gallery, Mexico
1976 Museum of Bellas Artes, Mexico
1976 Heritage Gallery, Toronto
1976 Ferdowsi University, Mashhad
1976 Isfahan University, Isfahan
1976 National Iranian Oil Company, Abadan
1976 Iranian National Television, Shiraz
1976 Alexander Gallery, Tehran
1978 Prime Minister’s Club, Tehran
1978 Intercontinental Hotel, Geneva
1982 Motte Gallery, Geneva
1987 Bailleul Gallery, Paris
1988 Salon Roland Garros, Palais de Chaillot, Paris
1988 Studio Q, New Jersey
1988 Art Decor Gallery, Washington D.C.
1989 First Credit bank, Los Angeles
1991 A.M.O.R.C. Cultural Center, Paris
1991 Iran Cultural Center, Dusseldorf, Germany
1992 Azadi Museum, Tehran
1993 Sepehri Gallery, Tehran
1994 Art 54 Gallery, New York
1994 United Nations, New York
1995 Barg Gallery, Tehran
1999 Hourian Gallery, San Francisco
1999 Virginia Tech University, Virginia
1999 U.C.L.A. University, Los Angeles
2002 Artists’ House, Tehran
2002 Museum Of Modern Art, Isfahan
2003 Pegah Gallery, Kerman
2008 Museum of Modern Art, Tehran
2008 Shirin Gallery, Tehran
2013 Artists’ House, Tehran
2013 Museum Of Modern Art, Tehran, and book launch of “In The Distance Between Two Points” 15th edition with an exhibition of her works dedicated to museum.
Group exhibitions
Droodi participated in many group exhibitions in Iran and internationally, the most recent of which is the exhibition of merited artists held in November 2018 at Niavaran cultural center and during the exhibition, Droodi’s works were displayed alongside the works of prominent artists such as Hossein Mahjoubi, Taha Behbahani, Hossein Nouri, Ali Faramarzi and Nasser Houshmand Vaziri.
Iran Droudi was infected with corona virus on September 2nd 2021, but she recovered. She passed away on the morning of October 29th 2021 at the age of 85 in the ICU of Tehran Dey Hospital after a period of illness. She is buried in the artists’ section of Behesht Zahra cemetery.