Born in 1968 in Baku (Azerbaijan), Niyaz Najafov is a self-made painter. A former soldier in the Azerbaijan army, he channels his existential anguish into art. Najafov believes he was born an artist and his life has been about making sense of the world around him through the eyes of an artist.

Like Raoul Dufy, he paints hundreds of flowers - but also landscapes and figures. His portraits are raw, crude and sophisticated at the same. As said the art critic Lorenzo Belenguer: "Very much along Francis Bacon's line of style. However, as soon as he grabs your attention, one discovers a departure from the old master and Bacon becomes his starting point".

Niyaz Najafov represented his country at the 53th Biennial in Venice (2009). In 2010, he moved to Paris and began exhibiting in Western Europe and around the world. He recently joined the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rovereto (Italy), the Mobilier National in France as well as many private collections.