Hiba Schahbaz: The Garden

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Hiba Schahbaz is the subject of her first major museum retrospective, "The Garden," at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. Curated by Jasmine Wahi, the exhibition features 80 works spanning 15 years, tracing the artist's evolution from traditional Indo-Persian miniature painting in Lahore to her current large-scale practice in Brooklyn. The show highlights her recurring use of the female nude—often a stylized self-portrait—navigating mystical landscapes filled with Sufi poetry, mythical creatures, and art historical references.

What to See During New York's Asia Art Week

Asia Week New York begins, bringing a concentrated series of exhibitions, auctions, and lectures across the city dedicated to the art and material culture of Asia and its diaspora. The ten-day event features highlights including a selling exhibition of Indian-American artist Zarina at Sotheby's, a showcase of Indian and Persian miniature paintings, a condensed survey of 250 years of Japanese woodblock prints, and a contemporary group show exploring Korean diasporic identity.

Pakistani artist Shahzia Sikander navigates her country’s complex past—a new monograph tells her story

Shahzia Sikander, a Pakistani artist born in Lahore after the Partition of India, is the subject of a new monograph by art historian Jason Rosenfeld. The article traces her rise from the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore, where she studied contemporary miniature painting—a genre uniquely associated with Pakistan—to international prominence. It highlights her graduate thesis, *The Scroll* (1989-90), which used the traditional Indo-Persian miniature form to critique General Zia ul Haq's military dictatorship, and positions her alongside Imran Qureshi as one of the best-known living artists of Pakistani origin.

Iranian-Australian artist Yasamin Khadembashi’s debut solo exhibition celebrates resilience

Iranian-Australian artist Yasamin Khadembashi will present her debut solo exhibition, "Dreaming in Farsi," at PS Art Space (PSAS) in Perth from January 16, 2026. The two-week show features large-scale sculptural paintings that blend Persian miniature traditions with Western portraiture, using materials like piped impasto oil paint, gold leaf, and rhinestones. Khadembashi, who has been working from a subsidized studio through the PSAS Studio 7 initiative and completed a residency at WFAC, will also include a performance element, painting in the gallery to engage visitors in dialogue about her process and themes.

Persian miniatures and mermaids: Hiba Schahbaz’s garden of delights at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami has opened "Hiba Schahbaz: The Garden," the first major retrospective of Karachi-born, Brooklyn-based artist Hiba Schahbaz. Curated by Jasmine Wahi, the exhibition spans 15 years of Schahbaz's practice, including loans from private collections, studio works, and new commissions. Anchored by the concept of the jannat (Paradise Garden) rooted in Islamic tradition and Sufi poetry, the show is organized around the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. Schahbaz, trained in the Indo-Persian miniature tradition, works with water-based pigments and tea on handmade paper, and her practice has evolved from small formats to large-scale works, including a 45-foot-by-14-foot mermaid painting commissioned for the Miami show.

Islamic Art Exhibition Showcases Persian Manuscript Masterpiece

The National Museum of Korea is hosting “Islamic Art, A Journey of Radiant Light” until October 11th, featuring artifacts from the Islamic Art Museum in Doha, Qatar. The exhibition showcases calligraphy, paintings, and crafts from the 7th to 19th centuries, with highlights including two illustrations from the *Tahmasp Shahnameh*, a Persian miniature manuscript from the Safavid era that took over a decade to complete.