Radio feature on Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi nominated for 2020 AIB awards

KARACHI/LAHORE: The Association for International Broadcasters (AIB) has nominated a radio feature on Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi in the Arts & Culture category of 2020 awards.

Born in Hyderabad and brother to famed comedian Faisal Qureshi, the 48-year-old has a luxury sandal named after him — a token of appreciation from an unlikely friend, French fashion designer Christian Louboutin.

The 27-minute radio feature on him, In The Studio — Imran Qureshi: Beauty and Carnage, is available on BBC World Service and produced by London-based CTVC Ltd. It focuses on Qureshi and Louboutin converging at Parisian art gallery Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, where Qureshi hosted a major solo exhibition.

The Pakistani artist's work "has the power to shock and intrigue in equal measure", the BBC says of his projects. He combines "tiny brushstrokes inspired by the 16th Century Mughal masters with large-scale installations evoking the carnage left after a bomb attack".

Speaking in the BBC feature, he said: "There is an element of violence in the work [but] at the same time, when you get close to it, it becomes poetic as well.”

The artist has several accolades to his name, including the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction) conferred by President Dr Arif Alvi earlier this year, showing the country's "deep appreciation for Imran Qureshi’s continued efforts and contribution in representing Pakistan globally with his outstanding work”.

Related: Christian Louboutin introduces Peshawari chappal’s variant as ‘Imran Sandals’

He also bagged the Sharjah Biennale 10’s Art prize, Deutsche Bank's Artist of the Year Award, the Medal of Arts Award by US Department of State, Asian Art Game Changer Award by the Asia Society Hong Kong, and the Shaji Muhammad Sharif Award for Miniature Painting.

The Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) features his only permanent public artwork — a 200-feet-long, 100-part mural.

Qureshi's work has been displayed at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, The RISD Museum, Rhode Island, Deutsche Bank Collection, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Paris' Kadist Art Foundation, World Bank, US State Department, and the US Embassy in Islamabad.

Among his notable works are 'Heart to heart' (2020), ‘When I thought of you, you were not there’ (2017), 'Separated' (2013), 'Together' (2013), 'Moderate Enlightenment' (2007), ‘Midnight Garden,’ ‘This Leprous Brightness,’ ‘Story of two,’ and 'Monologue.' His works are priced in the $20,000-100,000 range.

Graduating from the National College of Arts (NCA) in 1993, Qureshi has held solo exhibitions around the world, including countries like France, Italy, US, Austria, England, Denmark, Hong Kong, and Germany.

His latest — "Out Of Blue" — was at Khatoon-i-Pakistan Government Girls School and another, titled "Two Wings To Fly, Not One," held at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in 2017.