Tommaso Corvi-Mora is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Lahore-based Aisha Khalid and Imran Qureshi.
The exhibition will include new paintings and works on paper by Imran Qureshi and a new series of paintings by Aisha Khalid. Both artists are continuing their exploration in the possibilities offered by using the tradition of Mughal miniature painting as a starting point.
Over the fifteen years since their first joint exhibition at Corvi-Mora in 2001 their practices have changed and evolved, all the while maintaining a keen interest in what have become central issues of our times: the relationship between East and West, the real and imagined role of contemporary Islamic culture and the urgency of geo-political issues to do with Pakistan and its neighbours. The works in the exhibition touch upon these points, directly and indirectly, without seeking easy answers.
Aisha Khalid (b. 1972, Pakistan) is trained in Mughal miniaturist traditions and is one of Pakistan’s leading contemporary artists. Khalid is part of a generation that has revitalised the traditional medium of miniature painting by juxtaposing decorative surfaces with deep socio-political subtexts around ideas about cultural expectations and stereotyping, the oppression of women and global politics. Khalid's works encompass video, in-situ installation and embroidery works that extend the limits of her trained discipline.
Khalid has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions including Larger Than Life, Whitworth Art Gallery, UK (2012); Larger Than Life, Corvi-Mora, London (2012); Pattern To Follow, Chawkandi Art, Karachi (2010); Conversations, Pump House Gallery, London (2008). She has been featured in group exhibitions at the 2009 Venice Biennale; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (2014). Khalid's work has been featured at the Sharjah Biennale (2011) and Moscow Biennale (2013).
Important milestones in her career include acquisitions in permanent collections at the Sharjah Art Museum (Sharjah), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Aga Khan Museum (Canada), Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Japan), and the World Bank (Washington, D.C.). In 2012 she was a winner of the Alice Award (Artist Book category) and a finalist for the Jameel Prize in 2011, and awarded the People's Choice Award for her works Kashmiri Shawl and Name, Class, Subject.
Imran Qureshi (b. 1972, Hyderabad, Pakistan) develops an aesthetic that integrates contemporary themes with the motifs and techniques of Mughal miniature painting. He lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan.
In 2015, Imran Qureshi is participating in the exhibition The Great Game held in the Iranian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale.
In the previous year, his work and and site-specific installation was on view in the inaugural exhibition of the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto titled Garden of Ideas: Contemporary Art from Pakistan. Recent projects also included The God of Small Things at the Eli and Edyth Broad Art Museum in Michigan and The Roof Garden Commission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also participated in the 2013 Venice Biennale in the main show: The Encyclopedic Palace, curated by Massimiliano Gioni. During the winter 2014/15 Ikon Gallery in Birmingham presented a solo exhibition by Imran Qureshi, Deutsche Bank Artist of the Year 2013.
Imran Qureshi is represented in the permanent collections of major institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.