Portraits & Vortexes -Imran Qureshi

Amna T Naqvi and Suzanne Cotter Gandhara-art, October 2007 Hardback, 140 pages The miniature technique was rejuvenated in the 1980s by the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan. The original curriculum focused on the revival of the traditional miniature painting style of the Mughal, Deccani Pahari, Rajput and Persian schools. In the 1990s, students initiated their own artistic idiom using this traditional medium. The work produced was cutting edge and contemporary and it was no holds barred. These artists commented on the social, political and cultural dialogue, which existed in their world and their region. The revival of this painstaking skill with a contemporary theme is what makes it the most exhilarating stream of Pakistani Art. This book focuses on Qureshi’s paintings as well as his Installations, which are the transformation of architectural spaces with his own artistic idiom.