Born in Iran in 1952, painter, musician and performance artist Reza Derakshani studied visual arts both in Iran and USA, following a diploma in Mathematics.

Derakshani’s work has been exhibited and collected widely throughout the world. Following his first solo exhibition at the renowned Ghandriz Gallery, Tehran at the age of nineteen, Reza Derakshani has held more than 50 solo, group shows and performances which include Tehran Contemporary Art Museum, LTHM Gallery New York, USA, Almine Rech Gallery Paris, France, Caterina Pazzi Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Rome, Italy, Osborne Samuel Gallery London, UK, Thread Waxing Space New York, USA, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, USA, Dar Al-Funoon Gallery, Kuwait, East Gallery Columbia University, New York, USA, Galerie Patrick Cramer, Geneva, Switzerland.

In 2010, his work was exhibited at the Hope exhibition at Dinard’s Palais des Arts in France alongside works by Damien Hirst, Murakami among others. In 2009, he participated in Iran Inside Out, a blockbuster exhibition of Iranian Art at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York.

His work has been showcased in numerous publications such as Canvas, ArtSpeak NYC, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Art experience NYC, ABC TV, BBC radio, NPR, WNYC, KPFK LA, L’unita Italy and many others.

His work has been widely exhibited and collected internationally including high profile collections such as Leon Black in NYC, Sting and Trudie Styler in London, Farjam collection in Dubai, the Royal family of Abu Dhabi and SPM in Dubai to name a few. The British Museum has recently commissioned new works.

A vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and performer, Derakshani’s music serves as a compliment to his art in the form of performance that calls to mind painting with sounds.

Derakshani currently divides his time between studios in Dubai, UAE and Austin, USA.