Darvish Fakhr

Darvish Fakhr is a half-Iranian, half-American artist whose work ranges from painting to movement art. In his practice, he amalgamates disparate cultures by overlaying various concepts and aesthetics through interference, which can take the form of movement, paint, or text.

Darvish’s work straddles the line between beauty and destruction. Known for his classical style and meticulous technique, his paintings are then desecrated by his alterego, The Urban Sufi.

In a series of ritualistic performance pieces, Darvish pushes his work into a spiritual direction by writing Eastern inspired poetry over finished oil paintings. This uncomfortable act of artistic expression aims to merge notions of the spiritual and the physical as well as the the divine and the mortal.

At the core, his works is a tribute to both the classical tradition of Western painting and the timeless Eastern wisdom of Sufi poetry, inviting the viewer to reflect on their intersection.

He has exhibited and performed internationally, included at The Armory Show in New York, and is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London. He currently lives and works in Brighton, UK. 

Awards

2007 BP Award, National Portrait Gallery, London

2006 BP Award, National Portrait Gallery, London and Ediburgh 

2001 Royal West of England Academy, 3rd Place, Bristol  

2000 BP Award, National Portrait Gallery, London and Aberdeen 

1999 BP Award, National Portrait Gallery, London and Aberdeen  

1998 BP Award, National Portrait Gallery, London and Aberdeen  

1993 Annual Boit Competition, Museum School, Boston  

Education

M.F.A. Slade School of Fine Art, London, 1997

B.F.A. Museum School of Fine Arts, Boston, 1994