TEHRAN-Two veteran Iranian artists, painter Sirak Melkonian and actor Houshang Harirchian, passed away earlier this week.

Melkonian, an Iranian-Armenian painter and one of the founders of the modern art movement in the country passed away on Saturday in Toronto, Canada at 93. And Harirchian, a veteran actor of Iranian cinema and television died just nine days after celebrating his 92nd birthday, Honaronline reported.

Born in Tehran, Melkonian met Marcos Grigorian after graduating from high school and learned modern European art and the art of the world from him. Melkonian's early works had a figurative and realistic approach. 

In 1957, he won the Contemporary Iranian Artists Award at the Iran-America Society, and in 1958 he won the Imperial Court Prize, Tehran Biennial. Grigorian encouraged him to move to Italy to study art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. He quit studying there and continued learning art experimentally. He participated in the Venice Biennale and soon afterward won the Paris Biennale prize.

In the early 1960s Melkonian began focusing more specifically on abstraction in his work, and became a leading figure in the Iranian art scene, due to his successes at home and internationally. 

Melkonian founded the Azad Art Group in the early 1970s, with some other important artists living and working in Iran at the time. They were introduced formally at the Tehran International Art Fair in 1974, pushing the boundaries and understanding of conceptual art and installation works in Iran.

Limited color palettes and the emphasis on line and form in Melkonian's works have always been more important than the subject. The figurative language of his works has found an expressionist and then abstract side over time. Melkonian's mastery of visual qualities of line and color has created a perfect cohesion and balance that may be considered the closest common feature of his works with pristine nature.

Melkonian exhibited his work in over 140 exhibitions worldwide, from Tehran to Paris, New York to Yerevan. His works can be found in major public and private international collections; such as the Niavaran Palace, TMoCA, and LACMA.

Born in Isfahan, Harirchian's career began in 1947 on the theater stage. His talent quickly earned him a place in the Sepahan Theater in 1953, and by 1959, he had established himself as a prominent figure at Isfahan Radio, where he worked as an actor, announcer, producer, reporter, director, and host of various programs.

In 1969, he made his television debut with the show “The Photographer”. His cinematic debut was in Ali Hatami’s “Jafar Khan”.

Over the next six decades, Harirchian starred in films such as “Jafar Khan Returns from Abroad,” “The Wind Carpet,” “A Little Kiss,” “The Rules of the Game,” and “Two Sisters”.

However, Harirchian is best known for his memorable comedic roles in popular series such as “Pejman,” “Medical Building,” and “The Chef”.

SS/