Shahzia Sikander at the Smithsonian - Hyperallergic

'Eye to I: Self Portraits from 1900 to Today' opened at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian on  November 2 and will continue till August 18, 2019, Shahzia is the first Pakistani artist in the 

collection of the National Portrait Gallery. Below is a good review of her work 'Portrait of the Artist' 
which is part of the exhibition. 

Keep rocking Shahzia! 

Contemporary Visions of Mystical Indo-Persian Miniatures

The night of “Ascension,” one Islam’s most mystical and striking themes, has inspired Sikander, whose
self-portraits are artistic manifestations of this magical journey. 

Nageen ShaikhDecember 21, 2018

Source: HYPERALLERGIC

Shahzia Sikander, “Portrait of the Artist” (2016), a suite of four etchings, with accompanying collaborative text with Ayad Akhtar. Paper size: 68.5 x 53 cm; image size: 56 x 43 cm. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Acquired through Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Published by Pace Editions, Inc.

WASHINGTON, DC — Eye to I: Self Portraits from 1900 to Today at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington explores how American artists have viewed themselves in relation to American history and culture. It also includes a first: Shahzia Sikander is the first Pakistani-born artist to be collected by and exhibit works in the renowned gallery. The artist’s work is displayed alongside over 70 pieces by such American luminaries as Elaine de Kooning, Jacob Lawrence, and Josef Albers.

Spanning nearly three decades, Sikander’s body of multimedia art focuses on Indo-Persian miniatures, a genre that fuses Central Asian and Mughal painting. Since the 16th century, miniature painting in the Indian subcontinent (now Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh) has followed traditional pictorial laws and thematic content. Lyrical tales of romance from epic Hindu texts, darbaars (essentially Mughal emperor courts), holy wars, and flora and fauna dominate the bright, lavish manuscripts. Miniature painting popularized illustrations of the Mairaj (Arabic for ladder) from the life of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, where the creature Buraaq takes the Prophet above the skies and beyond the heavens. Muhammad is said to have met angels and past prophets. The night of “Ascension” is one Islam’s most mystical and striking themes. It has enthralled and inspired Sikander, whose self-portraits are artistic manifestations of this magical journey.

Shahzia Sikander, “Portrait of the Artist” (2016), a suite of four etchings, with accompanying collaborative text with Ayad Akhtar. Paper size: 68.5 x 53 cm; image size: 56 x 43 cm. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Acquired through Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Published by Pace Editions, Inc.