The Contemporary Arts Center Presents Contemporary Miniaturist Paintings From Pakistan

Written by Natalie Paulson Tuesday, 27 September 2011 22:51

Cincinnati, Ohio.- The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati is proud to present "Realms of Intimacy: Miniaturist Practice from Pakistan", on view at the museum  through January 22nd 2012. This exhibition explores the method of miniaturist painting as a stylistic foundation of art in Pakistan. Realms of Intimacy addresses the ability of art forms to adapt to different environments and to exist as a language with universal relevance. It features the work of Ambreen Butt, Faiza Butt, Imran Qureshi, Nusra Qureshi, and Saira Wasim, who all studied at the National College of Art in Lahore, Pakistan (NCA).

These artists, now living in different countries, deal with overcoming geographic separation and the cultures of their new homes. The exhibition also provides these artists with the opportunity to produce works that go beyond the bounds of their usual practice, allowing them to follow lines of inquiry that they have previously presented.

In the 1980s, NCA revived the artistic practice of traditional Mughal miniature painting by infusing it with individual thought and contemporary subject matter--turning it into a fresh and relevant art form. Living abroad, the five artists in the exhibition are all greatly influenced by their current environments, and their works address the political, social and cultural realities of their new homes. Saira Wasim, for example, critiques American politics; Faiza Butt merges images of western consumerism with conservative Pakistani imagery; and Nusra Qureshi looks to Bondi Beach in Sydney for inspiration. In this way, "Realms of Intimacy" presents how the miniaturist method evolves as it is brought into different contexts.

The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is a pioneering contemporary art museum located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The CAC is a non-collecting museum that focuses on new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media. Remaining committed to programming that reflects "the art of the last five minutes," the CAC has displayed the works of many now-famous artists early in their careers, including Andy Warhol. Founded in 1939 as the Modern Art Society, the Contemporary Arts Center was one of the first institutions in the United States dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art. Its inaugural exhibition, Modern Paintings from Cincinnati Collections, opened in the basement of the Cincinnati Art Museum. In 1964, the CAC moved to the Women's Exchange Building in downtown Cincinnati. In 1990, a highly publicized exhibit of controversial Robert Mapplethorpe photographs led to a trial that was chronicled in the 2000 television movie Dirty Pictures. In 2003, the CAC moved to its first free-standing home, the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, which was designed by Zaha Hadid. Visit the museum's website at ... http://contemporaryartscenter.org

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