"Painting is like breathing for me"
Raoof is a self- taught versatile artist who has participated in over 55 group and 40 solo shows in the United States - France - Iran - Spain - Czech republic & United Kingdom.
His artworks have been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award 2011 - 2015 & 2017, Threadneedle Prize 2012 - 2013 & 2014, RBA Royal Society of British artists 2014, 2015 & 2016 - Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) 2014 - 2015 & 2017. Sky Arts portrait artist of the year 2014– London Heat winner, featuring in Sky Arts TV – November 4th, 2014. He was also chosen Overall Winner of ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2011 by Artist & Illustrators -the UK's number 1 magazine for original art.
In 2017 , he was crowned the winner of the Gold Memorial Bowl award for best miniature work nominated by Royal Society of Miniature Painters - Winner of The Mundy Sovereign Portrait Award 2019 (Royal Society of Miniature Painters) and the winner of two awards for best pure colored pencil and Great art award for best other subject at Annual UK Coloured Pencil Society Open International Exhibition.
His paintings are mostly oil on canvas and built upon his strong cultural traditions as well as his interest in the changing world of today. His work often combines contemporary ideas with traditional techniques. In his paintings, he has quite often questioned the attitudes, fears, conflicts, incompatibilities and unwritten rules which have formed our environment and our behaviour within it.
Raoof’s paintings are in numerous private collections worldwide particularly Iran, Spain, China, Denmark, Thailand, France, The UK and The USA.
Group Exhibitions
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Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers - 28th November / 8th December 2019 at Mall Galleries London
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International Figurativas 2019 Painting and Sculpture Competition - December 6th, 2019 / February 2nd, 2020. MEAM halls of Barcelona, Spain
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ModPortrait - Spain April 12 to May 17, 2019
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Galería artelibre - "20 años, en 20x20" -at the Bantierra Palace in Zaragoza, from March 7 to April 5, 2019 - Spain
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MEAM Museum in Barcelona, Spain, from July 9 to September 1, 2019.
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Royal Society of Miniature Painters - 28th Nov 5-8pm - Sunday 9th Dec 2018 at Mall Galleries in London.
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International exhibition - Five And Under - Arcadia Contemporary - Los Angeles - August 18 - September 13. 2018
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International Exhibition - Prague City Gallery - The Stone Bell House The Reunion of Poetry and Philosophy 3rd March - 4th April 2018
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BP Portrait Award 2017 - The National Portrait Gallery, London - 22 June – 24 September 2017
Exeter City Art Gallery (4 October – 4 December 2017), Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh (w/c 11 December 2017 – w/c 19 March 2018) and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (w/c 26 March – w/c 11 June 2018).
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ART INTEREST Exhibition - Cob Gallery, 205 Royal College St, London 2017
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Royal Society of Miniature Painters. International exhibition: 20th September - 1st October 2017 at Mall Galleries, London.
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16th Annual UK Coloured Pencil Society Open International Exhibition 2017 - Menier Gallery, London
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Stroke Association - London Art Show - 19 - 21 July 2017 - The Coningsby Gallery - London
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The Royal Society of Portrait Painters - 4th May -19th May - Mall Galleries, London
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International exhibition "Figurative Vs. Abstract" September 29th – October 14th, 2016 - ABRA Gallery 1086 Kane Concourse, Miami Beach, Florida - United States
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Face Value - 16 June - 4 October 2016 - - The Collyer Bristow Gallery - London
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The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) Annual Exhibition 2016 March - April 2016 - - Mall Galleries, London
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Five and Under November - December 2015 – Arcadia Fine Arts- 51 Green Street – New York
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BP portrait awards 2015 - June – September 2015 - National Portrait Gallery- London
October 2015 – February 2016 -Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
March – June 2016 - The Ulster Museum, Belfast
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Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) Annual Exhibition - April - May 2015 - London
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Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition-March 2015 - Mall Galleries, London
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“Secret Lives” - October - November 2014 - Beaux Arts at Bath
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Royal College of Art show - Sept 2014
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Threadneedle Prize 2014 - October 2014
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The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) Annual Exhibition - May 2014 - Mall Galleries – London
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The Royal Society of British Artists - March 2014 -Mall Galleries London
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The Artists & Illustrators Second Annual Exhibition - January 2014 - Mall Galleries London
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The Threadneedle Prize - September - October 2013 - Exhibition at Mall Galleries, London
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The Threadneedle Prize - September - October 2012 Exhibition at Mall Galleries, London
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The Osborne Studio Gallery: Spring Exhibition -May – December 2012 - Chelsea, London
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BP Portrait Award 2011 National Portrait Gallery, London - Wolverhampton Art Gallery
March – June 2012 - Aberdeen Gallery
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Master Art Exhibition House of artist – Iran, Shiraz - Sep 1999 to Jan 2008 more than 43 Group exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
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Jun/August 2010 Bolton Museum – Great Manchester – United Kingdom 2Months
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Dec 2009 Empty Spaces Chelsea Library - London – the United Kingdom 2 weeks
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1995 to 2008 - 38 Solo exhibitions in Shiraz and Tehran
Awards
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Winner of The Mundy Sovereign Portrait Award - The Royal Society of Miniature Painters - Mall Galleries London 2019
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Honorable mentions in ModPortrait - 2019 - Spain.
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Winner of the Gold Memorial Bowl award for best miniature work in the exhibition at the Royal Society of Miniature Painters 2017.
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Winner of two awards in Annual UK Coloured Pencil Society Open International Exhibition 2017
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Overall winner of Jackson's competition 'Drawn in competition' - 25th November 2016
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Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2014 London Heat winner
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Runner-Up Winner of Artist of the Year 2013 by Artist & Illustrator Magazine
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Overall winner - Artist of the Year 2011 - Artist & Illustrator Magazine
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Recognized with an Honorary Master degree in Art (MA) from the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution by the Minister for his contribution to the arts and teaching - May 2010
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Overall Winner – Fars Province - Iran Student’s Artistic Festival (Coloured Pencil) - August 1994;
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Second overall - Iran Student’s Artistic Festival (Coloured Pencil) - January 1994;
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Overall Winner - Iranian Students Artistic Festival - August 1993;
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Third overall in the Iranian Students Artistic Festival (Coloured Pencil) - February 1992
Related Work Experience
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2016 - ECK Masters portrait drawings (Worldwide selling)
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2015 - Golden Welcome – (Worldwide selling Art Poster)
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2015 - Book of Change (Illustrator)
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2013 - April Daughter of the Sun and Moon - (Illustrator)
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2013 - Light Giver - (Worldwide selling Portrait)
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2011 - Golden Temples of ECK – (Worldwide selling Art Poster)
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2010 - May The Blessing Be – (Worldwide selling Art Poster)
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2007 - Gaze of the Master – (Hanged in the museum Chanhassen Minnesota – USA - Worldwide Best-selling Portrait)
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2007 - True Friend – (Worldwide selling Portrait)
Articles & Interviews
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July 2018 - Arqadia - 4Walls Magazine
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Jun 2018 - Q&A Ken Bromley Art Supplies
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December 2016 - Kloosterboer on Haghighi - Poets and Artists Magazine
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March 2015 and 2017 Shortlisted for BP Travel Award
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Years 2011-2015 - Making a Mark Blog Review
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Years 2011-2012-2013 – 2015 - London Art News Blog Review -
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November 2014 - Cass Art - Sky arts portrait artist of the year 2014
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Credited for Contribution to Complete Guide to Painting in Acrylics book 2014 by Lorena Kloosterboer
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December 2011 Artists & Illustrators magazine cover star and interview
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September 2011 Raoof Haghighi Life drawing, Interview by Steve Pill - Artists and Illustrator Magazine
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September 2011 Jonathan Treadwell Introduces Raoof Haghighi in Artspace Journal 35
Other Artist Activities
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Illustrator, Animator, Musician, and guitarist.
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A member of Falsch band 2001 - 2006. This band has produced three albums:
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2003 - Toward Itself in
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2004 - Acoustic Mind in
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2008 - Déjà vu (available on Amazon)
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Music on iTunes: 2012 - Thinking of You
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Music videos and animation streaming on the Internet:
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2018 - Be like a cloud - I was supposed to paint a tree - Time-lapse Drawing - Charles Darwin to Gorilla (presented by Jukin Media)
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2016 - Rain
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2013 - Acoustic Heart
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2012 - The Traveller - Animated Short Film
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2012 - Thinking of You
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2011 - Light and shade
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2011 - 1000 Faces on 1 Canvas
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2010 - Clouds
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2008 - Autumn
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2006 - Soulful
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2004 - Darshan
