Bahram Kalhornia

Bahram Kalhornia (Persian: بهرام کلهرنیا; 1952) is an Iranian contemporary artist and art critic. He was born in 1952 in Kermanshah in a Kurdish family who belonged to the Kalhor (tribe). His undergraduate and graduate studies were in the fields of drawing, sculpture, graphics, and illustration, respectively. During the Iran-Iraq war, he moved to Kermanshah in 1985, where he taught in a newly opened Visual Art High school of Kermanshah for three years.

He is currently a member of the Faculty of Art and Architecture of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Center Branch, and the IRIB University. He is also the secretary and board member of the Iranian Graphic Designers Society, a member of the Graphic Book Writing Council.

His teaching method involves using both artworks, spiritual works, philosophy, and psychology. He has been teaching and working in the field of graphic design and art since 1972 and brought new ideas to the system. He had a deep influence on at least two generations of Iranian artists. Kermanshah Graphic Designers Association awarded him the statue of Sarv Mordad in 2011 for his efforts in developing graphic art in Iran.

After 2018 Sarpol-e Zahab earthquake, a center of culture and art for children was established and named after Bahram Kalhernia.[1]

Kalhernia is currently preparing a documentary series on the history and culture of Iran for the Radio and Television, which takes a fresh look at the lesser-known aspects of Iranian culture and archeology (Cultural Iran). Among the prepared series, "Kufic script and its visual and cultural value" and "Taq-e Bostan reliefs" we can mention.

He has had a solo exhibition in 2017 and four group exhibitions between 2017 and 2019.[2]

An art critic wrote about his works displayed in the solo exhibition "Suspicion's share": "This time Bahram Kalhornia appears on his life scene in an astonishing image; Kalhornia as a great and capable drawer. This time, the skilled sculptor of our time is exhibiting a collection of unconventional drawings that neither I nor any of us had seen and were unaware of, in A Gallery of Tehran. The power of the hand in the drawing is to engage the audience with highly influential and evocative combinations and themes that blend between ancient myths and powerful contemporary icons in an attempt to instill a new concept in the artistic expression".[3]