Shahzia Sikander: Drawing to Drawing

Born in Pakistan, Shahzia Sikander studied traditional Indian miniature painting before coming to the U.S. to further her education. Once here, she began to add loosely painted symbols, often Hindu-based, on top of the detailed and precise forms of her miniature paintings. Western imagery also appeared, fusing with the Eastern elements and transforming the stagnant, redundant tradition of the miniature into something multifaceted, dynamic, and relevant to contemporary experience. In recent years, Sikander has expanded her media to include digital animations and large-scale wall paintings and installations.

Sikander’s newest body of work involves fluid inks and washes on clay-coated paper. The imagery is inspired by the composite tradition of miniature painting in which multiple creatures are joined like puzzle pieces to create the shape of an animal. In Sikander’s work, forms and figures flow together, morphing and fusing, growing and separating, in a fluid, open-ended, and spontaneous process. The approximately 40 pieces that comprise the exhibition can be seen as one continuous drawing, simultaneously precise, ephemeral and boundless.

Sikander’s work was recently included in the Istanbul Biennial, a two-person exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, and the “Drawing Now” show at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.