Biography

Y.Z. Kami (born Kamran Youssefzadeh, 1956) is an Iranian-American artist based in New York City.

Kami’s large-scale portraits, painted in oil on linen, recreate the visceral experience of a face-to-face encounter. Through a matte, uniform haze, he depicts his subjects with eyes open or closed, gazing forward or looking down. In this way, drawing inspiration from a wide range of philosophical, literary, and religious texts, Kami continues the art historical quest to locate the unknown within material form. He explores these themes not only in his paintings, but also in photographs, collage works, editioned prints, and site-specific, sculptural installations. It was his large-scale portraits that first gained him acclaim from the international art world, leading to receptions of his artworks in various important museum exhibitions and biennials.