Nejad Devrim (1923 - 1995)

Nejad Devrim

Nejad Devrim, full name Mehmed Melih Nejad Devrim, is a Turkish-born artist who has lived and worked in France and Poland.

He was born in Istanbul to a family of writer and artist. In the 1940s, he entered the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts, where he specialized in Byzantine mosaics and Turkish calligraphy. In the mid-1940s he went to Paris, where he actively participated in the local artistic life and maintained close relations with Pablo Picasso, Sonia Delaunay, Gertrude Stein, Tristan Zara.

He was the first Turkish artist to hold a solo exhibition of abstract art in Paris in March 1947 and is recognized as one of the most outstanding artists of the Paris School. In the 1950s, the October group, led by Nejad Devrim, launched the direction of abstract expressionism. His work was noticed and appreciated, already in 1958 he had a large retrospective exhibition in Brussels. He also exhibited his work in New York, Copenhagen, Vienna and Beijing. In the 1960s, he came to Poland to join his wife and settled in Nowy Sącz for the rest of his life. Nejad Devrim's works are in many European museums and private collections.