Elisabetta Marabotto of Saffronart suggests a visit to the MACRO in Rome for Imran Qureshi’s first solo exhibiton in Italy

London: The MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome) is hosting Imran Qureshi’s first solo exhibition in Italy in collaboration with Deutsche Bank.

After being nominated Deutsche Bank “Artist of the Year” 2013 and after completing a large scale site specific installation at the MET in New York, Qureshi concludes a very successful artistic year with this exhibition.

Qureshi, one of the leading contemporary Pakistani artists, is internationally renown for the creation of contemporary miniatures. The artist in his work discusses the current socio-political situation in Pakistan including delicate topics such as terrorism using mainly traditional painting techniques on wasli (handmade paper). The dichotomy between violence and hope, destruction and creation are also permanent features in his art as well as the evocative red colour and the flower pattern which denote Qureshi’s optimism and peaceful resistance.

Imran Qureshi in an interview with Amna Tirmizi Naqvi said about his choice of studying miniature paintings:

“I did not choose it, it kind of chose me. I was adept at it and therefore Professor Bashir, the teacher who was conducting the course, insisted and declared that he felt I was really suited for it. I chose painting but he kept insisting. Contrary to his opinion I had my own misgivings and I replied that the tradition did not suit my temperament. He quoted a mahawara, which is witty idiom in Urdu. He stated that “we can tell from the aroma emanating from the cauldron about the condition of a single grain of rice”. I thought that if a teacher is conveying this idea with such persistence, there must be some truth in it.”

The present exhibition features recent works by Qureshi, some of which had been exhibited at the Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle in Berlin, including miniatures, oval canvases as well as site specific installations. The museum space is fitting to Qureshi’s works as it offers a classical presentation for the miniatures and a contemporary environment for the installations.

The exhibition stimulates the viewers to embark on a critical discourse on culture, politics and religion and their misconceptions and stereotypes.

Below you can enjoy a selection of the works on display.

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The exhibition is on until November 17, so you are still in time to visit Imran Qureshi’s first Italian solo exhibition at the MACRO in Rome! For more information click here.