Nejad Melih Devrim

“The strength of Nejad’s work lies in his exhilarating use of colour and light” (Grey Art Gallery)

Nejad Melih Devrim (1923-1995) was a prominent artist on both the Turkish and Parisian art scenes. Raised by his parents, artist Fahrelnissa Zeid (see lot 3) and poet Izzet Melih Devrim, he travelled the world with his mother before returning to Istanbul where he was taught by Léopold Lévy at the Academy of Fine Art. There, he became a founding member of the “Yeniler Group”, where he developed both his artistic and social talents. Moving in Paris in 1946, he attracted the friendship and support of a group of intellectuals, including Gertrude Stein, Marcel Duchamp and Alice B. Toklas, becoming himself an authority figure in Parisian Salons (Galerie de l’Exil 2022). In 1960, the same year he illustrated Paul Éluard’s Surrealist poetry book “Sens de Tous Les Instants” (The Meaning of All Moments), his approach to art started shifting towards Abstract Expressionism. As he visited a series of different countries between 1965 and 1968, his colour palette, brushstrokes and shapes gradually softened, instilling a unique aesthetic within the abstract expressionism style he embraced.

The present work is a culmination of the evolution undergone by Nejad’s art at the end of his career. The bright yellows, oranges and reds are harmoniously rendered throughout, after a thoughtful process by the artist to balance the whole composition. Spread out and thinly layered over the canvas using delicate brushstrokes, the colours successfully evoke the sun rising behind clouds in the morning light. The gentleness of the brushstrokes translates the fond feelings arising in the artist’s heart as he watches the scene, a tenderness pervading onto the title of the work: My Sky in London.

Grey Art Gallery. Devrim, Nejad Melih, Polonaise, 1962. Grey Art Gallery, New York University Art Collection. Accessible at: https://greyartgallery.nyu.edu/artworks/polonaise-1962

Galerie de l’Exil. L’Ecole de Paris. Nejad Devrim, Albert Bitran. Exhibition Catalogue. Accessible at: https://www.galerie-exil.com/images/exil/catalogue/Bitran_Nejad.pdf