Imran Qureshi’s practice is firmly rooted in the tradition of miniature painting, the subject he still teaches at the National College of Art in Lahore, an art form that reached its zenith during the Mughal Empire. Qureshi has been exhibiting locally and internationally for almost twenty-five years and has greatly expanded the language of miniature painting, both in traditionally sized and crafted works and in many original variations in the form of site-specific installations, three-dimensional works, videos, and paintings on paper and canvas. His work is exemplary of a practice that combines a local background with a global outlook, artistically, socially and politically.

Qureshi studied miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore, where he now teaches and heads the department. Considered one of Pakistan’s most important artists, Qureshi has received international recognition for his site-specific installations that respond to architectural spaces, referencing the historical or political significance of the buildings that contain them. These include Blessings Upon the Land of My Love, created in 2011 for the Sharjah Biennial, They Shimmer Still, created for the Biennale of Sydney in 2012, and Between Sacred Cities, created for the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025. In 2013, he created a large-scale, site-specific work for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Roof Garden Commission in New York. The same year, he was awarded Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year and received his first solo exhibition in Europe at the Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle in Berlin. His work has since been shown in numerous solo exhibitions, including at the Barbican Centre, London (2016) and Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark (2016). He has also realized site-specific projects at the Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. (2018) and Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2018), among others. His recent exhibitions include Water Bodies at the Lahore Biennale 2024, where he unveiled four unique installations at various locations, including the historic Shalimar Garden. These works addressed ecological concerns related to urbanization and water storage practices. In 2025, he presented Between Sacred Cities at the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This large-scale installation reimagined a historic pilgrimage route, incorporating elements symbolizing spirituality and unity.

In 2017, Qureshi was honored with the US State Department’s Medal of Arts Award. In 2021, he received Pakistan’s Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) for his contributions to art. In 2025, he was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by France.

Aisha Khalid

I was You, 2015 (Detail), 2015