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Abdullah Qureshi (artist)

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Abdullah Qureshi (born 1987) is a Queer Muslim Pakistani cis-male artist, social activist,[1] curator, educator, and cultural producer.[2] Qureshi utilizes paint, watercolor,[3] film,[4] and faceless depictions of his male friends[5] to capture his personal histories, trauma, and childhood memories surrounding his identity as a Queer Muslim Pakistani man.[1][6] Qureshi explores his identity in his work within an Abstract Expressionist style[7] using large canvases.[8]

Early life and education

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Qureshi was born in 1987 in Lahore, Pakistan. In 2010, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London where he continued his enrollment for a Master of Arts degree in Fine Art. In 2017, he attended and completed his Ph.D. from Aalto University.[2] During the fall of 2019, he became a visiting graduate student at the Centre for Feminist Research at York University.[citation needed]

He moved back to Lahore, where he created visual work responding to the intersectional identities of the queer, Pakistani, and Muslim culture. There, he co-founded a gallery for artists and designers who were interested in destabilizing institutional boundaries called “39K”.[citation needed]

Qureshi lives in Helsinki, Finland.[6]

Works, exhibitions, projects, collections

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Art presentations

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  • National Gallery of Art, Islamabad, Pakistan[2]
  • Alhamra Art Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan[2]
  • Rossi & Rossi, London, England[2]
  • Uqbar, Berlin, Germany[2]
  • Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2]
  • SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, California[2]

Solo exhibitions

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  • Multi-media exhibition titled “Darkrooms: retracing childhood memories”[9]
  • Visual diary titled “The Story of Myself and Some Friends in these Fragments of Daily Loves” presented at the Zahoor Ul Akhlaq Gallery[10]

Group exhibitions

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  • “Sind wir schon da?” curated by Julia Feldmann and Silke Paintinger, Universität für angewandte Kunst, Vienna[11]

Short films

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  • Qureshi’s 2019 experimental short film titled “Journey to the CharBagh”[4]

Artistic co-advisor

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  • Qureshi and two other advisors advised a show titled “River in an Ocean”[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Visual delight 'River in an ocean' — a show of active resistance". Daily Times. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Residency Unlimited | Abdullah Qureshi". Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  3. ^ Kost, Ryan (2018-02-06). "Queer Muslims claim space in SOMArts exhibition". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  4. ^ a b "Different Routes: The queer gaze sees love and compassion in the Quran". Kone Foundation. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  5. ^ Rustomji, Veera. "Searching for Mr. Perfect – Art Now Pakistan". Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  6. ^ a b "Three Artists Tell Us What It's Like To Be Queer, Muslim and Pakistani". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  7. ^ Dar, Saira (2017-04-16). "EXHIBITION: A DIARY IN PAINT". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  8. ^ "Raining upside down | Art & Culture | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  9. ^ "Darkrooms". Third Space. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  10. ^ "Story Myself Details". www.zahoorulakhlaqgallery.com. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  11. ^ "Exhibition – Sind wir schon da?". Retrieved 2022-02-07.