Reza Derakhshani
Reza Derakhshani is a painter, musician, and performance artist who focuses on Iran’s cultural and social issues with a poetic splendor that reflects the sinister political tumult he’s witnessed. The artist left Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1983, relocating to New York for sixteen years only to return to his home country in 2003 and depart once more in 2010. His large-scale works host a wide array of materials including oil, tar, gold leaf, sand, and glitter, and their dense, tumultuous surfaces reflect a beauty that is nearly forbidden in his motherland. His works are often improvised, and his interests draw him to rendering both figurative and abstract works. Derakhshani was influenced by Iranian miniature paintings and their scenes of royalty, pleasure, and romance—his works often have narrative layers based on their iconography and allusions that are dependent on cultural understanding. Although some of his works reflect his respect and love of nature, sculpted by his childhood as a nomad in northeastern Iran, his mature work challenges the constructs of light and darkness in the world.
As a musician, Derakhshani has collaborated with musicians including Madonna, John Densmore of the Doors, Branford Marsalis, and Colman Barks, among many others. …
Reza Derakhshani is a painter, musician, and performance artist who focuses on Iran’s cultural and social issues with a poetic splendor that reflects the sinister political tumult he’s witnessed. The artist left Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1983, relocating to New York for sixteen years only to return to his home country in 2003 and depart once more in 2010. His large-scale works host a wide array of materials including oil, tar, gold leaf, sand, and glitter, and their dense, tumultuous surfaces reflect a beauty that is nearly forbidden in his motherland. His works are often improvised, and his interests draw him to rendering both figurative and abstract works. Derakhshani was influenced by Iranian miniature paintings and their scenes of royalty, pleasure, and romance—his works often have narrative layers based on their iconography and allusions that are dependent on cultural understanding. Although some of his works reflect his respect and love of nature, sculpted by his childhood as a nomad in northeastern Iran, his mature work challenges the constructs of light and darkness in the world.
As a musician, Derakhshani has collaborated with musicians including Madonna, John Densmore of the Doors, Branford Marsalis, and Colman Barks, among many others. His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Chelsea Art Museum, New York, St. John’s Cathedral, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Brooklyn Museum, New York, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., Museo Maxxi, Rome, and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. The artist is also an active participant in international auctions.
