Farrokh Nadimi, known as Max, 74, has shown his paintings in public for the first time, after a Peabody manager spotted a portrait of his daughter in Bushey.

A 74-year-old Bushey man who has been painting, drawing, sculpting and making things for most of his life has shown the results in public for the first time. The exhibition opened on the afternoon of Thursday 24 September at the later living community where he lives.

Farrokh Nadimi, known as Max, was born in Iran and moved to the UK in 1972 to study. He went on to qualify as a product designer and run several businesses, and kept painting, drawing, sculpting and making things throughout. Until now, according to Peabody, which runs the community, almost none of it has left the house.

“He has continued painting, drawing, sculpting and making throughout his life, but until now much of his work has stayed at home or been shared only with family and friends,” Leo Tarring, the organisation’s public relations manager, told the Post. “The idea for the exhibition came about after the manager of the later living community saw his work and encouraged him to share it more widely.”

The show is called A Lifetime of Looking, which is a fair description of the work. Peabody sent three photographs of paintings hanging in his home, and the striking thing about them is how little they look like paintings. Peabody describes them as “incredibly detailed paintings that could almost be mistaken for photographs”, and the pictures bear that out.

How the manager found the work

The exhibition started with a routine health and safety check. Kasia Luczynska, who manages the later living community, visited Max’s home and a portrait of his daughter as a five-year-old caught her eye and, in Peabody’s words, stopped her in her tracks.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is stunning. We need to share this,’” she said. “I was so impressed. I went home and told my sister, ‘I’ve got this really talented resident here. We just have to tell everyone.’”

Max Nadimi in a navy suit, one arm stretched out, standing beside Kasia Luczynska in front of a large black and white painting of a woman in a white shawl.
Max Nadimi with community manager Kasia Luczynska at the exhibition. Photo: supplied by Peabody

Max says he paints for himself first. “Once it’s finished, the first person it has to please is me. Then I like to see if it puts a smile on someone else’s face,” he said. “I’m happy and thankful to Peabody, especially Kasia, that it happened so I can share it with others.”

His attention to detail means some paintings take months to finish. “I like details. I work on details and it has to be right,” he said. “I’d rather one piece take ages to finish than finish something just for the sake of it.”

Some of the most personal pieces tell stories from his own family. Mother, completed in 2012, is a life-size portrait based on an old black-and-white photograph of his mother. Ele, painted in watercolour, shows his daughter aged five.

A framed portrait of a young child with dark curly hair, in a blue and white striped top, looking over one shoulder against a soft brown ground.
A framed portrait of a young child in a blue and white striped top, one of the works hanging in his home. Photo: supplied by Peabody

The largest of the three is an oil of two children at the edge of a pond, one standing barefoot in the shallows holding a stick, the other sitting on a stone ledge with their back turned, willow and dense summer green behind them. It is signed Nadimi in yellow at the bottom right and dated 2012. The third is a big monochrome canvas of a woman standing barefoot on a terrace, wrapped in a pale spotted shawl over a patterned skirt, her shadow thrown across the paving towards the viewer.

A large black and white painting of a woman standing barefoot on a terrace, wrapped in a pale spotted shawl over a patterned skirt, with a long shadow across the paving.
A monochrome canvas of a woman in a spotted shawl, her shadow across the paving, hanging on the wall of his flat. Photo: supplied by Peabody

The launch

The exhibition brought together a substantial collection of his work, with a chance for guests to chat to Max. Peabody’s chair, Caroline Corby, was among those who attended.

Five people standing in a row in front of two large paintings, a black and white portrait of a woman in a white shawl and a colour painting of two children by a pond.
Max Nadimi, centre, with Peabody colleagues including chair Caroline Corby, far left, at the exhibition. Photo: supplied by Peabody

The launch was not open to the public. “The initial launch on Thursday is only for residents of the later living community and invited guests, but we may extend this to local people for future events,” Mr Tarring told the Post before it opened.

Key facts panel: Farrokh Nadimi, known as Max, 74, born in Iran, came to the UK in the 1970s to study and trained in industrial and product design; his first ever public solo exhibition opens on the afternoon of Thursday 24 September at his Peabody later living community in Bushey, for residents and invited guests only.
The exhibition at a glance.
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What it means for you

The launch was for residents of the community and invited guests. The one to watch for is what comes next, because Peabody says it may open later events to local people. Peabody has not named the Bushey community or given an address, and we are not going to guess at one it has not given. Anyone who wants to be told when the work goes on show more widely should ask Peabody through peabody.org.uk, and we will add anything confirmed here.

What is worth saying without waiting for any of that: a man who has made work all his life has shown it publicly for the first time at 74, because a scheme manager looked at what was on his walls and told him other people should see it. That is a small thing to do and it is the reason the exhibition exists.

For other things happening locally, see our guide to things to do in Borehamwood and the rest of our Bushey coverage.

Are you a Bushey club, school or organisation with something to tell people about? Email us at hello@borehamwoodpost.co.uk.