Painter, musician and performance artist Reza Derakshani was born in Sangsar, in the northeast of Iran. He grew up in a great black tent on the top of a mountain, among horses and fields of blue and yellow wild flowers. Reza moved from the study of constellations of light made by moonlight shining through tiny holes in the tent to the study of mathematics in high school, and visual arts in Tehran and the U.S. The long and circuitous road of Derakshani's artistic and geographical migration eventually found him in New York City, where he made a home and worked
for sixteen vears. He later moved to Italy, eventually returning to Tehran for seven years before leaving his troubled homeland
once again in 2010. Reza Derakshani's first solo show at the age of nineteen was held at the renowned Chandriz Art Gallery in Tehran. Following this auspicious debut, he participated in many group and solo exhibitions at other leading art galleries. His work has been widely exhibited and collected internationally. Derakshani's passion for beauty and his sensitive perception of the light and dark of the world has found expression in many different forms, from music, graphic design, book illustration, film animation and calligraphy to studies in traditional and western classical visual arts. Yet it is within contemporary painting that he has experienced true liberatio and fulfilment as an artist. The challenging techniques,
innovation and mental stimulation inherent to contemporary art have led him to create a meditative solitude that results in pure freedom of self-expression. Reza's work, known for its diversity and originality, has gained recognition for its fearless exploration of form and style, and the skill and vision necessary to merge an unbending tradition with a wild contemporary spirit. A vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and performer, Derakshani does not limit his musical journey to giving concerts, but combines his music with his visual art. Reza's music serves as a complement to his art at many of his openings, in the form of performance that calls to mind painting with sounds. Derakshani's work has been widely recognized in the media, on television and radio shows and in publications such as: The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, L'Unita, The Juilliard Music School paper, Parisian, Toronto Star, New York Artspeak, The Montreal Gazette & Mirror, Tandis art magazine, Here e honarmand, Art in America, Tamasha, Farhang va Zendegi, Bonny Film, Corriere della sera, East Hampton
magazine, Canvas art magazine, ABC TV / RAI TV / WNYC / WKCR / WKUT/ WKPN / NPR /VOA / KPFK / DUBAI 1 TV / BBC channel 4 / FIP and RFI of Radio France, among others. Selected shows and performances: Chandriz Gallery, Tehran / Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran, LA / Iran Gallery, Tehran / Tehran University Art Gallery / Mehr Gellery, Tehran / Lori Dunn' s Gallery, LA / Thumb Gallery, London / Palais des Nations,
Geneva / White Gallery, New Jersey / Claude Gallery, New York / Gallery 1, Mont Clair State University, New Jersey / Alternative Museum, New York / La Lestra, Tarquinia, Italy / Media Loft Gallery, New York / East Gallery, Columbia University, New York / Il Punto di Svolta, Rome / St.John's Cathedral, NY / Purcell Room, London / Lawson Gallery, Seattle / Thread Waxing space, NY / Texas University Art Gallery, Austin / Juilliard Music School, New York / Paris- Washington, Gare Pasteur, Paris / Wetherholt Gallery, Washington D.C. / Metropolitan Museum, New York / Khane-E Honarmandan, Tehran / Niavaran Museum / Creations Center, Tehran / Tarrahan Azad Gallery, Tehran / NYU, New York / Assar Art Gallery, Tehran / Al Feryan Gallery, Bahrain / Brooklyn Museum, New York / University of Toronto / Caterina Pazzi Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome / Nour Foundation Callery, New York / Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. / Brown University, Rhode Island / Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art / Gallery Mah, Tehran / Khak Art Gallery, Tehran / Art Dubai / Miami Art Fair / Opera Gallery, London / Art Paris, Abu-Dhabi / Niki Marquardt Gallery, Paris / Wilshire Ebell Theater, LA / LTMH Gallery, New York / Dar Al-Funoon Gallery, Kuwait / Museo Maxxi, Rome / 'Il Ciadino di Filarmonia, Rome / Almine Rech Gallery, Paris / Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland / Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C. / Central Park
Summer Stage, NYC / Chelsea Art Museum, New York / De=- Paul University Museum, Chicago / Gnawa Music Festival, Morocco / Waterhouse & Dodd Callery, London / AB Gallery, Luzern, Zurich / Abu-DhabiArtfair / Istanbul Artfair/ Osborne Samuel Gallery, London / Hope Exhibition, Dinard, France / Galerie Patrick Cramer, Geneva.