Noreen Akhtar

Shaista is a self-taught artist who believes that an artist draws inspiration from beauty in human form and from expressions. Her canvases encapsulate women, nature’s most beautiful and complete creation and encaptures their great strength in tolerating pain with a smile. The pigeons or musical instruments such as a flute or sitar in her painting are symbolic of freedom of speech and a woman’s desire to be free. The jewelry on the women while giving the deception of beauty are actually symbolic of chains and restrains, which restrict them from being free.

An artist from Punjab, Pakistan, Awais Ahmed is treasure trove of talent. Developing his artistic talents Awais moved from watercolors and charcoal sketches to oil on canvas. His ‘Malang Series’ highlights impressive techniques in portrait art and he encaptures the Malang in movement swaying as a devotee. One can almost picture his turbaned Malangs sitting as a devotee at a shrine.

Hailing from Karachi, Pakistan, Behzad is on the forefront of the younger generation of Pakistani artists. He transforms colors on the canvas into mesmerizing stances. The starkness of the red and black colors of his artworks command attention. He is the recipient of a gold medal in Fine Arts from the Arts Council of Pakistan in 2022.

Dawood explores Islamic landscapes in his artworks. His minarets and domes in landscape and portrait formation with minute detailing command attention. The starkness of black and white with specks of color, in his artworks, command viewers attention.