Enayatollah Nazari Nouri, a distinguished Iranian painter and calligrapher known for his poetic fusion of color and script, passed away at the age of 88. A voice of artistic depth and quiet innovation in Iran’s contemporary visual arts scene, he died on Saturday, May 10.
Born in 1937 in the historic Sar-Cheshmeh neighborhood of Tehran, Nazari Nouri held a bachelor’s degree in Persian literature from the University of Tehran and later completed an advanced painting program at the Art Division of the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR).
His artistic practice was a vibrant synthesis of watercolor painting and traditional Persian calligraphy—particularly the expressive shekasteh-nasta’liq script—interwoven with rich color palettes and geometrically considered compositions. Through this unique approach, he reimagined the classical art of calligraphy as a medium for abstract expression.
Nazari Nouri exhibited widely both in Iran and abroad, with solo and group shows in countries including Italy, Switzerland, the UK, the United States, and Australia. One of his most celebrated exhibitions, titled “My Iran, Hello” held at Shokouh Gallery in Tehran, showcased watercolor landscapes of the Iranian countryside—especially the mountainous regions of Natanz—depicted with a heartfelt reverence for nature.
Trained under renowned masters such as Izadpanah and Reza Mafi, Nazari Nouri regarded nature as his greatest teacher and often described his creative process as being guided not by reason, but by love. “I do not follow reason,” he once said, “I follow love.”
His calligraphy works, inspired by the structure of Iranian tribal textiles, often resembled woven tapestries of script. Sometimes executed in a single color—such as turquoise—and at other times bursting with chromatic diversity, they represented a profound blend of tradition, modernity, and personal vision.
Beyond his artwork, Nazari Nouri was an active scholar and speaker, contributing essays and lectures on Iranian art and aesthetics. He saw the world as inherently positive and colorful, a view that shaped both his philosophy of life and his use of color in art.
The funeral procession for Enayatollah Nazari Nouri will be held on Tuesday, May 13 at 10 a.m. in front of the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran. A memorial ceremony is scheduled for Friday, May 16, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. at Al-Ghadir Mosque, located on Shariati Street, Mir-Damad Boulevard.
With his passing, Iranian art bids farewell to a luminous and heartfelt voice. Yet through his vibrant compositions of script and pigment, his presence endures—etched into the living fabric of Iranian visual culture.
