Reza Derakshani

Reza Derakshani, born in Sangsar, Iran in 1952, is a multifaceted artist whose talents span painting, poetry, music, and performance. After completing his studies at the University of Tehran in 1976, he furthered his artistic education at the Pasadena School of Art in California. Today, he divides his time between Dubai, UAE, and Austin, USA, where he continues to develop his distinctive artistic voice.

Derakshani’s work is a fusion of abstract and figurative elements drawn from both Western and Eastern traditions. In the early 1980s, he explored pure abstraction before evolving a unique style that bridges diverse cultural influences. His richly textured paintings often incorporate layers of materials like tar, gold, silver, and sand, creating luminous surfaces that delve into themes of nature, emotion, exile, and alienation. Derakshani's art has gained international recognition, with pieces in prestigious collections including The British Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2016, he held major solo exhibitions at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz in Germany.