Born in 1952 in Sangsar, a small village in the northeast of Iran, Reza Derakshani is a painter, musician, and performance artist. Graduating from the University of Tehran in 1976, he continued his studies at the Pasadena School of Art before returning to teach at the University of Tehran. He left Iran in 1986.

Derakshani’s work is represented in many major public collections including the British Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the State Russian Museum; the Museum Gunzenhauser, Germany; and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, alongside numerous private collections worldwide.

As a musician, he has performed at festivals such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Montreux Jazz Festival, among others. Derakshani now divides his time in St. Petersburg, Russia.