1888
Parents
Bagrat Grigorian, born in Kars, Armenia. Shoushanik Mangoian, born in Kars, Armenia.
1918
Children
Goharik M. Proulx, born in Kars, Armenia, during the year Armenia was proclaimed Independence.
1920
Andranik Grigorian, born in Kars, Armenia, grew up under horrors of the Armenian Massacre.
1923
Family defects to Kropotkin, Russia.
1925
Marcos Grigorian born December 5, Kropotkin, Russia
1930
Family moves to Tabriz, Persia. Mother dies from an unfortunate appendicitis accident. Father, a tailor of Russian military uniforms, switches to civilian tailoring, moves to Tehran, Iran.
1933
Marcos and Andranik attend Armenian school in Tehran.
1935
All minority schools close by order of Shah Reza, founder of Pahlavi Dynasty.
1936
Family moves to Abadan (an Iranian oil refinery town). Sister Goharik marries.
1937
Father remarries, moves to New Julfa, a seventeenth centure Armenian town in Isfahan. Minority schools reopen. Marcos graduates from Kananian school of Julfa.
1940
Family moves back to Tehran. Marcos attends “American College”.
1943
During the Second World War, Marcos works for American military transport school, first student, later as instructer-interpreter. M.T.S., a military camp sending food and ammunition by convoy of trucks to to Russia via Tabriz, northern city of Iran.
1945
Grigorian an all-around athlete. Champion in discus and second place in shot-put and triple-jump. Champion in weight lifting, light-weight category.
1948
Drafted for military service. Starts painting at the Kamal-el-molk Art School, Tehran. Exhibits in group shows.
1950
Resides in Rome. Enrolls Academy of Fine Arts, Rome, Italy. Studies with Professor Roberto Melli. Graduates from Academy of Fine Arts, Rome, 1954.
1951
One-man exhibition Fiorani Gallery, Rome
1952
One-man exhibition Fiorani Gallery, Rome
International Art exhibit organized by National Tourist Center (Ε.Ν.Ι.Τ.) First acquisition by E.N.I.T. Rome. “Award”
1953
One-man exhibition Raymond Duncan Gallery, Paris.
One-man exhibition Galleria II Pincio, Rome.
Annual exhibition Fine Arts Academy in Milan, Italy.
Group Exhibition Palazzo Delle Esposizioni, Rome.
Acquisition by Artists Association, Rome.
1954
One-man exhibition Iran American Society, Tehran.
Establishes Gallery Aesthetic in Iran and helps organize exhibitions for many artists.
Opens classes for advanced artists giving them New Directions.
Discovers the only survivors of Iranian Tea shop Painters in Tehran.
Calls them the “Troubadour Painters”. Troubadour because they used to sing in loud voices whilst their work was on display.
Writes many articles and publishes their work in periodicals focusing public attention on their Folkloric Art.
In particular, Hussein Gollar Aghassi, the epic and love story narrator and metamorphic naive painter. Also, Mohmad Modaber, the bitter one, whose paintings come from his deep religious beliefs.
Later, by H.I.M. Farah Pahlavi’s attention, this art form collected and placed in the Museums.
After the fall of Pahlavi Dynasty, the fate of these folkloric Iranian treasures is unknown.
1955
Back to Rome, works and exhibits. Marries Flora Adamian.
1956
Daughter Sabrina born on July 28, 1956, Rome.
First participation, Venice Biannual “Jury Selection”.
Exhibition Museum of Modern Art, Ca Pesaro Venice.
One-man exhibition Aesthetic Gallery Tehran. Head of Graphic Department, Ministry of Fine Arts, Teheran.
For the first time in Iran, introduces dry point, acquaforte and lino-cut to the students of Fine Arts.
Noted Students H. Zenderoudi, F. Pilarm and others.
1958
Delegate for Iranian pavilion Venice Biennale.
International Jury member for Venice Biennale.
Founder and organizer of first Tehran-Venice Biennale, sponsored by Ministry of Fine Arts.
1959
Stretches twelve panels. 6×10 feet each (120ft. in total) paints Impressions of the Second World War.
Having been raised in an Armenian family, surviving the Armenian Massacre of 1915, (as an artist) Grigorian tries to express his cry and protest against man’s inhumanity to man. Therefore he choses the inhumanity of German Nazis against the people of Europe, Russia, Poland and most of all, Jews during World War II.
With this mural painting, Grigorian touches his time because he was affected by war. Grigorian cries his own cry. “This is My Cry”.
1960
Marriage ends in divorce.
1962
Karim Emami, art critic for Keyhan International, the English Language daily newspaper in Tehran, writes: “Grigorian, a graduate of Rome Academy of Fine Arts, is one of the earliest pioneers of modern art in Iran. He came back to Iran from Italy shortly after his graduation in 1954 with a solid and comprehensive knowledge of what modern art was all about. He set to work and founded an art gallery, “Aesthetic”, and helped organize several exhibitions for other artists working in the city, artists such as Sohrab Sepehri, Sirak Melkonian, Morteza Momayez, Darvish and others… Thus, course modern painting in Iran today, and at the stage where at last an independent seems to be emerging, owes a debt of gratitude to Marcos for his earlier efforts in giving a sense of direction and orientation to the young aspiring artist, a good many of whom must have felt quite fuzzy about the significance of all the new schools and sub-schools that lived and died overnight in Europe and elsewhere in the world and all went under the general label of Modern Art”.
1963
Starts acting in moves. Leading actor in eight Iranian feature films, “Big City”, “Peace Before Storm”, “The Key”, “Desert Wolf”, “White Gold”, “Last Passage”, “Man in Storm”, “Mission Impossible”.
While successful actor at the box office in Iran, gives up his acting career, organizes the Holocaust mural exhibition in Missaghie Film Studio.
Applies actual earth and ashes to the center of canvas to symbolize man’s everlasting existence.
From this time on Earth media becomes an obsession and direction, a new identity for a series of earthworks that generates future works painted in New York City.
1964
In spite of popularity and success, instinct dictates, he takes the child and moves back to New York City where challenge and destiny are awaiting him.
Sets up to work in his new studio at Third Avenue and 54th Street. Signs with Jason Gallery to exhibit his Earthworks.
1964
Alfred Barr, Jr., in his casual weekly gallery stops, points out three works and suggests it to be taken to the “Museum of Modern Art” committee in New York for viewing.
1965
February 25, 1965, Museum of Modern Art acquires one of his Earthworks and exhibits in its “Recent Acquisitions 1966”.
1968
Jason Gallery closes down.
Grigorian’s bitter experience with galleries makes him decide not to work with gallery tradition any more. “Bring the public into your own studio”.
Studio showing becomes very fashionable in New York City. Every six months invites people to preview his latest works and makes his own business and recognition.
1970
Becomes an American citizen.
Invitation as guest professor in Tehran University.
Keeps his Third Avenue studio in America and joins the faculty of Fine Arts in Teheran.
1971
One-man exhibition Iran-America Society, Tehran.
1973
Retrospective organized by Iran-America Society, Tehran. Organizes Independent Artists Group, Exhibition Hall, Tehran.
1974
Blue Works Independent Artists Group, Exhibition HALL, Tehran.
1975
Volume and Environment, Pope Gallery Iran-America Society. One-man exhibition Litho Gallery, Tehran.
1976
Volume and Environment II, Saman Gallery, Tehran.
1977
One-man exhibition Saman Gallery, Tehran.
Acquisition Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran.
Acquisition Museum of Contemporary Art, Kerman, Iran.
1978
Major Retrospective Museum of Contemporary Art, Teheran. “Exhibition cancelled because of the Iranian Revolution”. At opening of Museum of Contemporary Art, Nelson Rockefeller admires Grigorian’s Earthworks, visits his studio, acquires four works and takes them to N.Y.
In New York they meet again. Rockefeller acquires another Earthwork and donates to Museum of Modern Art in New York.
1979
Loses his new friend and admirer of his work, Nelson A. Rockefeller.
1980
Establishes Gorky Gallery, 1320 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. Acquisition, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, N.Y. Acquisition, Robert C. Hobbs, Director of Museum of Art, Iowa.
1981
One-man exhibition, Gorky Gallery, New York, N.Y.
1984
One-man exhibition Earthworks and Installations, Gorky Gallery, New York.
1985
One-man exhibition paintings from 1950’s, Gorky Gallery, NYC.
1986
June 10 Sabrina, his beloved daughter dies from a massive heart attack.
1987
Grigorian with the help of his nephew Vahé starts weaving Urartian-Armenian patterned rugs.
1989
September 10-20, Invitation Visit to Moscow and Leningrad by Union of Artists.
1990
Extended invitation for One-Man Exhibition in Moscow and Yerevan, Armenia.
1991
Earth Works, One-man exhibition, Artist Union, Yerevan, Armenia.
1992
Installation: Group exhibition, Yerevan, Armenia.
1993
Opening of Near East Nuseum, Yerevan, Armenia.
1994
Armenia: Past and Present. Bochum Museum, Germany.
1995
The Stream of Fire: Nicosia, Cyprus.
1996
Armenia-Germany Exchange, Installation Exhibit: Garni, Armenia.
1997
Germany-Armenia Exchange, Installation Exhibit: Bochum Museum, Germany.
