Morris Barazani

Morris Barazani
b. 1924, Highland Park, Michigan
d. 2015, Steuben, Wisconsin

Morris Barazani was a Chicago-based abstract painter involved with the mid-century American Modernism movement. After serving in World War II, Barazani first studied at Stanford University, and then at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design. Called the "New Bauhaus," the school was founded by László Moholy-Nagy, whose Constructivist philosophy asserted a large influence on Morris Barazani's early career. After graduating from the Institute of Design in 1948, Barazani and his wife moved to Detroit, where he attended Cranbook Academy. The two also opened Circle Gallery, an independent art exhibition space.

In 1949, Barazani exhibited at the critical Momentum Exhibition in Chicago. He founded DePaul University's art department, and taught for many years at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1969, Barazani was invited to serve as the director of the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus. In 2014, a year before he died, Barazani was given a retrospective at the Ukrainian Institute for Modern Art, Chicago.