(b. 1952)
Born in 1952 in Sangsar, northeast of Iran, Reza became a painter, musician and performance artist. He grew up in a great black tent on the top of a mountain. Reza studied 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. He worked in New York for sixteen years. 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 gallery in Tehran. Following this auspicious debut, he participated in many group and also exhibits at other leading art galleries. His work has been widely exhibited and collected internationally. Derakshani’s expression is manifested in many different forms, from music, graphic design, book illustration, film animation and calligraphy to studies in traditional and western classical visual arts.