Bio

Roya Gharavi was born in  England to a Scottish
mother and an Iranian father. By the age of 12 Roya had lived in the UK,
New Zealand and the United States. Her passion for art began at a very
young age when she would experiment in the glorious world of Crayola. The
paintbrush was a natural transition.

Roya’s culturally diverse upbringing heavily influenced her art. She was
raised with an appreciation for both art and music. Her influences range
from the Persian Poems of Hafez to the music of Mogwai. The extraordinary
method of German painter Gerhard Richter was a great influence on her
technique, as well as the somewhat grotesque 1970's performance art of
Paul McCarthy.

In 2003 Roya received her BA in Art Studio from the University of Maryland,
College Park. In 2005 she received her Post Graduate Diploma in Interior
Design from the KLC School of Design in Chelsea, London.

Roya has the ability to work in many mediums. During the late nineties she
began experimenting with melted wax on canvas. Soon after oil became
her medium of choice, as well dabbling in the world of oil and acrylic. After
years of experimenting as a teenager, her style of painting became more
distinguished in the early 2000’s.

For two years after completing college, Roya lived in Rome where she
continued to paint and exhibit work, as well as develop what was becoming
known as her own distinctive approach to painting. For the next 4 years
Roya lived in London where she began using oil as a medium. She has art
on permanent display at the Weissman Gallery, London and the Bridge and
Tunnel Gallery, Newcastle, England and private commissions from the Shad
Collection, Manhattan.

Roya currently resides in the US.