Biography 

English version follows

This presentation of Khosro and his work is written by art critic Rajath Suri. 

Multidisciplinary artist Khosro Berahmandi, of Iranian origin, arrived in Canada in 1983 at the age of 22. He currently lives and works in Tiohtiá:ke-Mooniyang-Montreal.  Khosro first studied visual arts at Concordia University in Montreal and then at the University of Paris VIII. A prolific and renowned artist, he has produced over fifty group and solo exhibitions to date, as part of projects carried out in Canada, Europe and the United States. 

Khosro is the recipient of the Charles Biddle Award in 2022 for his contribution to the cultural and artistic development of Quebec society. For the past 25 years, he has been actively involved in the life of Festival Accès Asie, a multidisciplinary arts festival based in Montreal that promotes Asian arts, cultures and stories. He has worked for the festival as curator, general director and artistic director since 1997. Khosro left his position in 2023 to focus on his artistic projects.

Khosro Berahmandi’s art embodies a microcosmic singularity, derived from a personal mythology echoing the pictorial approach of Iranian miniature painting iconography. His creative trajectory delineates an exquisite aesthetic embodied in the perpetual labyrinth of aggregated and enigmatic beings, a semi-figurative “bestiary” that challenges and fascinates the gaze of the spectators, as the predominant aesthetic aspects born of Eurocentrism pale in contrast to his signature innovations in leitmotif, poetic symbolism and robustness of individual composition. The successive series, whether on wood or paper, evoke the sublime quality of a personal mythology that exceeds conventional iconography. The works have a universal appeal in their ambiguity of immediate reference, as if echoing a lost text once spoken and now whispered.

In the renderings of his poetic imagination, the artist gravitates, physically and psychically, in the detail: the meticulousness of the line, the intensity of the composition and the proximity of the material. A detail that expresses a simultaneous spiritual ascension towards an intuitive augury of the sacred with the anonymity of a silent shaman. Once connected to Khosro’s images, we suddenly encounter a personal cosmology that turned out to be the visual itinerary of a self-possessed journey, a tributary that was deeply inspired by various convergences, intersections and sources.

The four-decade exile from his native Iran, where he has never returned since, may suggest the itinerancy of a sensitive and serene individual, dispossessed in some way. However, without diaspora or nostalgia, the artist has embarked on an individual path of wandering that leads him towards the image of what is becoming his own territory.

His creations silently testify to the singular and subjective reality taken in hand, timeless and resonant with visual components of universal themes. They suggest, through lucid speculations, that as iconography fails and the historicism of art collapses, we might come closer to a reality that reconciles the animal and the vegetable with the human.

The hidden cartography in Khosro Berahmandi’s dense but brilliant compositions echoes the eternal threads as the fabric of his singular sublime cosmos is woven where his brushes reign.

This presentation of Khosro’s biography and his work is written by the art critic Rajath Suri

The multidisciplinary artist, Khosro Berahmandi, of Iranian origin, arrived in Canada in 1983 at the age of twenty-two. Khosro lives and works in Tiohtiá:ke-Mooniyang-Montreal. Khosro studied Visual Arts at the University of Concordia in Montreal and the University of Paris VIII. He is a distinguished and prolific artist accomplishing over fifty group and solo exhibitions throughout the past three decades. His career has encompassed projects held in Canada, Europe, and the United States, with an emphasis upon interdisciplinary creation concerted with an international contingency of artists. 

Khosro is the recipient of the Charles Biddle Prize in 2022 for his contribution to the cultural and artistic development of Quebec society. Over the past 25 years, he has been actively involved in the life of Festival Accès Asia, a Montreal-based multidisciplinary art festival that promotes Asian arts, cultures, and histories. He worked for the festival as a curator, Managing Director, and Artistic Director since 1997. Khosro left his post in 2023 to focus on his artistic endeavors.

The art of Khosro Berahmandi enacts a microcosmic singularity, one derived from a personal mythology, that echoes the pictorial approach of the iconography of Iranian miniature painting that constitutes a captivating and prodigious trial within the field of contemporary practice. His creative trajectory demarcates an exquisite aesthetic embodied in the perpetual labyrinth of aggregate and enigmatic beings, a semi-figurative “bestiary” which both challenges and fascinates audiences, as predominant aesthetic aspects born of Euro-centrism pale in contrast with his signatory innovations in leitmotif , poetical symbolism, and individual compositional strength.

The successive series, whether on wood or paper, evoke a transcendent quality, a personal mythology which exceeds conventional iconography. The works hold a universal appeal in their ambiguity of immediate reference, as if they echo a lost text once spoken and now whispered.

The renderings of the poetical imaginary, a sojourn where the artist gravitates, physically and psychically, upon detail: the minutiae of line, intensity of composition and proximity of material. A detail which voices a simultaneous spiritual ascent towards an intuitive augury of the sacred with the anonymity of a silent shaman. Once connected to Khosro’s images, we suddenly encounter a personal cosmology which has proven to be the visual itinerary of a voyage possessed of itself, a tributary which has drawn deeply from diverse convergence, intersections, and sources.

The four decade’s long exile from his native Iran, where he never since returned, may suggest the wandering of a sensitive and serene individual somewhere dispossessed. Yet, without diaspora or nostalgia, the artist has embarked on an individual wandering path that leads him towards an image that becomes his own territory. His creations silent testament to the singularity and subjectivity reality embraced, extemporal and resonant with visual composites of Universal themes. They suggest, with lucid speculation, that as iconography fails and art-historicism collapses, we might draw nearer a reality that reconciles the animal and the plant with the human. The charted map hidden in the dense yet lustrous compositions of Khosro Berahmandi echo with eternal threads while are woven of the fabric of his singular sublime cosmos wherein his brushes reign.