Painter, musician and performance artist Reza Derakshani was born in 1952 in Sangsar, Iran.

He studied visual arts in Tehran and in New York where he lived and worked for sixteen years. He later moved to Italy, eventually returning to Tehran for seven years before leaving his troubled homeland once again in 2010.

Derakshani's passion for beauty and his nuanced 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 liberation and fulfillment 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 joins his music with his visual art. Reza's music serves as a compliment to his art at many of his openings, in the form of performance that calls to mind painting with sounds.

Reza Derakshani's first solo show at the age of nineteen was held at the renowned Ghandriz Art Gallery in Tehran. His work has been widely recognized and exhibited internationally. His work was shown at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, at the White Gallery in New Jersey, at the Claude Gallery in New York, at the Alternative museum in New York, at the Il Punto di Svolta in Roma, at the St. John's Cathedral in New York, at the Metropolitan museum in New York, at the Niavaran Museum and Creation Center in Tehran, at the University of Toronto, at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, at the Waterhouse & Dodd gallery in London, at the Osborne Samuel gallery in London, at Art Dubai, at the Miami Art Fair, at the Opera gallery in London, at Art Paris, at the Abu-Dhabi art fair and Galerie Janine Rubeiz in Beirut.