Waseem Ahmed
(b.1976)
Waseem Ahmed hails from the generation of artists who initiated the movement of the ‘contemporary miniature’ in Lahore about fifteen years ago. Ahmed currently lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan. In Pakistan, the traditional miniature has been a starting point for many contemporary artists who have honored the technique as a cultural heritage while reinterpreting and reinventing it in their own way. Ahmed has distinguished his work by producing creatively incisive images with innovative stylistic and iconographic contributions within a practice that is rigorously traditional, placing him among the most acclaimed contemporary artists of his kind. Working in a variety of sizes, Ahmed combines drawing, gouache, pigments, and gold or silver leaf on wasli paper, his substrate of choice. At the heart of his imagery lies the human figure and the boundaries that divide humanity about his own history and social context, and in close connection with the conflict and displacement that tinge our current time. His rich vocabulary of images often refers to mythology or history, both Eastern and Western. His work bridges our cultural heritage and the turbulence of our time.
He earned his Bachelor’s with honors in Miniature Painting from the National College of Arts in Lahore in (2000). He attended many workshops and residencies, including the Artist and Institution in Residency Program, Nisantasi, Istanbul, Turkey (2019); and a collaborative residency in Nepal. The project will result in a traveling exhibition in 5 countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Switzerland. Artists collaborating on the project: Tayeba Begum Lipi and Mahbub-ur-Rahman (Bangladesh); Seema Kohli and M Pravat (India); Prithvi Shrestha and Saur Ganga Darshandhari (Nepal); Waseem Ahmed and Maria Waseem (Pakistan) (2018-19); VYT, Art Student League, NY, USA (2016); Residency and Workshop for project “Dahlem Karkhana” at Asian Art Museum, Berlin, Germany (2014); Green Island International Human Rights Artist’s Workshop, Taiwan (2007) and Celebration of 350 year birthday of Taj Mahal, group of artists from Pakistan and India invited to paint Taj Mahal and a group exhibition curated after that Work Displayed at: Agra, Delhi, Bombay, and Jaipur, India (2005).
His recent solo exhibitions include Cognitive Bias, Chawkandi Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2024); AsiaNow, with GOWEN, Paris, France (2024); Dar Al-Anda Art Gallery, Amman, Jordan (2020); Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, USA (2020); Gowen Contemporary, Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, Turkey (2019); Phase Transitions, Gowen Contemporary Geneva, Switzerland (2018); Contemporary Miniatures, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, USA (2017); Insinuation, Art Brussels Art Fair, with Gowen Contemporary, Brussels, Belgium (2017); Angels and Demons, Gowen Contemporary, Geneva (2016); Beirut Art Fair, with Gowen Contemporary, Beyrouth, Lebanon (2016); In the Name of Faith, Chawkandi Art Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2015); Dahlem Karkhana: Asian Art Museum, Berlin, curated by Martina Stoye, Berlin, Germany (2014-15); The Narrative, Drawing Now art fair, with Gowen Contemporary, Paris, France (2014); Pious Fear, Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2013); Silver Bullet, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, England (2010); and Burqa Series (scripting a new world) at Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, India (2008). His group shows include Art Dubai with LATITUDE 28, Dubai (2025, 2022); Nowhere, Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2020-21); Travelling exhibition, Nowhere, an exhibition of artworks by South Asian artists, Siddhartha Art Gallery, Nepal, The exhibition will also be traveled to Koel Gallery, Pakistan; Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Bangladesh; and Gowen Contemporary, Switzerland. Traveling exhibition, Nowhere, an exhibition of artworks by South Asian artists, LATITUDE 28 (2020); Mera Safar, curated by Noorjehan Bilgrami & Muhammad Zeehan, Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq Gallery, National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan (2020); That’s the way it is. Digressions on Geometric Abstraction, Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2020); Garden of Eden, the outdoor sculpture park organized by Anissa Touati, Contemporary Istanbul, Works produced during the Residency Program Artist and Institution curated by Anissa Touati in Istanbul, Turkey with the support of Gorbon Tiles, Istanbul (2019); Homeland, works by Waseem Ahmed and Yifat Bezalel, artgenève 2018, with Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2018); Dissensus, Punjab Kala Bhavan, Chandigarh, LATITUDE 28, India (2017); MEMENTOS: Artists’ Souvenirs, Artefacts and other Curiosities, curated by Jens Hoffmann (Jewish Museum Deputy Director) and Piper Marshall (Curator of A.I.R. Gallery Biennial), flagship exhibition during Art Brussels Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium (2017); The City, Kathmandu Triennale, curated by Philippe Van Cauteren, Nepal (2017); The India Story presented by LATITUDE 28 Delhi, India (2016); Angels and Demons. A Selection of Works by Waseem Ahmed and Rashid Rana, Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2016); Lay of the Land, presented by Bhavna Kakar, curated by Anushka Rajendran, LATITUDE 28 Gallery, New Delhi (2015); A disagreement between us, Artgenève, with Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2015) and Visit Us at Contemporary Istanbul, Jankossen Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2011).
The artist is represented by LATITUDE 28, New Delhi, India.
