From Tradition to Contemporary: Imran Qureshi and Aisha Khalid
VIEW EVENT DETAILSEvening presentation by Imran Qureshi and Aisha Khalid
Tea/Coffee: 5:30 pm
Presentation: 6:00 pm
Close: 7:30 pm
The work of Imran Qureshi and Aisha Khalid, two of Pakistan’s most respected contemporary artists, takes root in traditional arts. As a pioneer of neo-contemporary miniature painting, Qureshi's signature abstraction in miniature painting revitalizes an art form that over centuries dealt with a courtly theme, and infused it with a critique of contemporary social, political and ideological issues. As for Khalid, while her earlier works stemmed from the social and political issues multiplying in Pakistan, her later works focus on Islamic geometric patterns steeped in spirituality. Qureshi and Khalid will share their past and current art practices, discuss how tradition has inspired their art creation, and explore how traditional art forms have provided a platform for contemporary dialogue.
Imran Qureshi lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan. His work can be identified with the leaf-like forms, which are not only motifs in his paintings and installations, but a means to transform architectural spaces to his will. Qureshi created these for a rooftop commission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 2013 and in the same year his work was shown at a solo exhibition at the DB Kunst Halle in Berlin as well as the Venice Biennale. He was awarded the prestigious Sharjah Biennial 10 Premier Prize (2011) for his installation Blessings Upon the Land of My Love.
Aisha Khalid also lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan. Working across painting, sculpture, video, textiles and large scale in-situ installations, she deals with concepts of spirituality and the divine. Her work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Belvedere Museum Vienna, Fukuoka Art Museum, Singapore Art Museum, and most recently at the Moscow Biennial. She was the People's Choice Winner for the Victoria & Albert Museum's Jameel Prize in 2011.