Art

PakistaniArt covers the full range of Pakistani visual creativity. We profile the artists, document the exhibitions, and follow the movements shaping Pakistani art today, from ancient miniature traditions to cutting-edge contemporary practice.

Related —+Exhibitions+Painting+Photography+Sculpture+Calligraphy+Street Art+Digital Art+Miniature
An installation photograph from White Cube Paris showcases a rectangular, horizontally oriented figurative painting by Pakistani artist Suleman Aqeel Khilji. The artwork is mounted centrally on a large, pristine white gallery wall. Executed with a muted, warm palette dominated by earth-toned reds, terracottas, and hazy greys, the dreamlike composition depicts a woman with voluminous dark curly hair sitting behind what appears to be a counter or reflective surface. She wears a white, low-cut blouse or dress with dark trim along the neckline. The background features hazy vertical bands resembling curtains or architectural pillars, rendered in semi-translucent layers of pigment that evoke a sense of a faded memory or an excavated artifact. To the right of the canvas, a person wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and dark trousers stands on a polished concrete gallery floor, captured in motion blur as they look toward the left.

Suleman Aqeel Khilji Opens First White Cube Solo in Paris

A Pakistani painter whose figurative canvases excavate memory through layered pigment and Urdu script arrives at one of the art world's most prominent commercial platforms

Kamil DadJUN 11, 2026
A wide, eye-level shot captures British artist David Hockney standing to the right of his famous large-scale pop art painting, A Bigger Splash (1967), which is mounted on a plain white gallery wall. The painting itself takes up the majority of the left and center portions of the frame. It depicts a modernist, flat-roofed house with floor-to-ceiling glass windows under a bright, clear blue sky, flanked by two tall, thin palm trees. In the foreground, a yellow diving board extends from the bottom right into a swimming pool of turquoise water, where a massive, chaotic splash of white and light blue water erupts, indicating someone has just dived in. The entire painting is bordered by a wide, unpainted canvas margin. To the right, David Hockney stands in a three-quarter view, looking slightly past the camera to the left. He is an elderly man with glasses, wearing a dark navy blazer, a black and white houndstooth scarf draped around his neck, and a matching houndstooth flat cap. His hands are tucked into his pockets, and his expression is neutral and contemplative. The lighting is soft and even, typical of a gallery setting, casting subtle shadows behind him.

David Hockney's Death Reframes the Aching Stillness of "A Bigger Splash"

The artist's most recognizable work now resonates with new weight, its invisible diver and silent pool speaking to presence, absence, and the impossible task of freezing time

Awais ShaukatJUN 12, 2026

Latest in Art

ArtJUN 23, 2026

Helen Cammock Withdraws Video From National Portrait Gallery

Kamil Dad
Turner Prize-winning artist Helen Cammock withdrew her video installation, Persistence, from the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London following an intense public controversy regarding its depiction of Winston Churchill.The ControversyThe Claim: In her 40-minute video work, Cammock compared Oliver Cromwell's 17th-century military campaigns in Ireland to Churchill's actions during the 1943 Bengal famine, stating that Cromwell "starved people, en masse, a little like the wilful starvation of the Indian population by Winston Churchill."The Backlash: The installation provoked a swift response from historians and politicians. Churchill biographer Lord Andrew Roberts organized an open letter signed by more than 50 members of the House of Lords—including Churchill’s grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames—condemning the film's characterization as historically inaccurate. Critics argued the famine was caused by a typhoon and wartime supply disruptions rather than intentional policy.The Artwork ExplainedThe Commission: The film was commissioned in 2023 as part of the NPG's Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture initiative, which was supported by Chanel.The Core Themes: Persistence was designed as a creative critique of the gallery's permanent collection, questioning power dynamics, institutional erasure, and who historically receives the honor of portraiture.The Subjects: Alongside historical critiques, the film spotlighted marginalized or historically overlooked figures, such as suffragette Ethel Smyth, computer pioneer Ada Lovelace, and 19th-century Scottish fishing communities.The AftermathThe film originally opened in September 2025 and was scheduled to run through August 2026. However, following the mounting backlash, Cammock requested the piece be taken down.In a statement, the National Portrait Gallery clarified that they respect her decision and support artistic freedom, though they noted the film was an artistic expression and not a documentary. Cammock stood by the academic underpinning of her query but expressed disappointment over external pressures, stating that challenging institutional histories is vital to a healthy society.
ArtJUN 23, 2026

Jane Allan Stripped of Doyles Art Award After Painting Exposed as Copy of Nicholas Harding Work

Kamil Dad
Nicholas Harding’s 2011 oil painting, Two Estuary Figures, showcases his signature impasto technique, characterized by thick, visceral layers of paint that create a tactile, three-dimensional surface. The work features two solitary, unselfconscious figures on a beach: one stands on the left with their back to the viewer, while the other on the right bends forward, appearing to explore the shoreline. Harding uses a rich, "lusciously viscous" palette of creamy whites, deep greens, and earthy browns to evoke the brilliant light and atmosphere of the Australian coast. The composition captures a profound sense of "being in nature," focusing on the unadorned presence of human forms within a rugged, textured landscape rather than direct interaction between the subjects. This specific small-scale work (20 x 25 cm) gained renewed attention in June 2026 when a larger winning entry at a prestigious art prize was identified as a "blatant copy" of Harding's original.
FashionJUN 23, 2026

Fashion Photographer Evgeny Vyguzov Announces 'Fragments of Growth' NFT Collection Built From Years of Travel

Zoya Mahroosh Zulfiqar
Evgeny Vyguzov (also known as Jenya Vyguzov) is a prominent multimedia artist, fashion photographer, and collage creator. Based out of Moscow, Russia, he has gained widespread international recognition for blending elements of haute couture, nature, and raw abstraction into distinctive mixed-media visual statements.
Digital ArtJUN 22, 2026

Online Art Communities Are Tearing Themselves Apart Over Unproven AI Accusations

Kamil Dad
This fanart features characters Mitsuri Kanroji and Shinobu Kochō from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.The artwork was created by artist Soyeonp19 and depicts the characters in a casual setting holding hands.It is categorized by fans as a "yuri" ship, which focuses on romantic relationships between women.The original artist faced harassment based on false accusations that this art was AI-generated, leading them to delete their social media accounts.
ArtJUN 22, 2026

Vanessa Beecroft Casts Bianca Censori in "Untitled (Izanami)" at Art Basel Unlimited

Kamil Dad
The image captures a haunting and cinematic art installation by Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft, characteristic of her exploration of the female form and the clinical gaze. The dimly lit gallery space is dominated by a large-scale video projection of a woman’s face, pale and ethereal, appearing as if in a state of suspended animation. On the floor and around the room, various disembodied, life-sized white sculptures—resembling fragmented mannequins or plaster casts—are scattered in poses of repose or abandonment. A stark, metal medical bed stands centrally before the projection, illuminated by a vintage operating theater lamp, which casts a warm, focused glow that contrasts with the cold, atmospheric lighting of the rest of the room. A small group of spectators stands along the left wall, their dark silhouettes observing the intersection of performance, sculpture, and video art.
ArtJUN 22, 2026

Refik Anadol’s "Machine Dreams" Opens Dataland, the World's First AI Art Museum

Kamil Dad
"Machine Dreams: Rainforest" is the monumental inaugural exhibition at DATALAND, the world’s first physical Museum of AI Arts, which officially opened its doors on June 20, 2026. Located within the iconic, Frank Gehry-designed Grand LA complex in downtown Los Angeles, this 25,000-square-foot "living museum" blends technology, nature, and human biology into a constantly evolving digital ecosystem.The space was co-founded by media artist Refik Anadol and executive producer Efsun Erkılıç in a technical partnership with Google. Rather than housing static objects, the museum operates as a continuous, real-time computational canvas fueled by visitor data and ethical AI environmental tracking.
Street ArtJUN 21, 2026

Robert Wyland's $25 Million Lawsuit Puts Public Art Rights at the Center of the World Cup Stage

Kamil Dad
Laguna Beach artist, Wyland, one of the best-known marine-life painters in the country, recreates the first of his 100 whaling walls on a giant canvas adjacent to his gallery in Laguna Beach on Monday, July 15, 2019, 38 years after he first painted the mural on the Hotel Laguna. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
ExhibitionsJUN 21, 2026

Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" Arrives in Atlantic Canada for Its First Exhibition in the Region

Kamil Dad
"Piss Christ" (officially titled Immersion (Piss Christ)) is a controversial 1987 photograph by American artist and photographer Andres Serrano. The artwork depicts a small, mass-produced plastic crucifix submerged in a transparent glass tank filled with the artist's own urine. Captured as a 60 by 40-inch Cibachrome print, the image is characterized by its glowing amber-gold light and deep, ethereal red-yellow hues, creating a stark contrast between its visually beautiful presentation and its profane medium.
FeaturesJUN 21, 2026

Where the Lagoon Holds Its Breath and the Art World Holds Its Nerve

Awais Shaukat
The monumental sculpture shown is "Support" (2017) by contemporary Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn. This detailed photograph captures a large-scale public art installation in Venice, featuring two massive, white, child-like hands emerging from the deep green waters of the Grand Canal. The hands are positioned as if they are literally supporting and bracing the historic, salmon-colored facade of the Ca' Sagredo Hotel. One hand grips the corner of the ornate building while the other reaches up against its side, set against a backdrop of sunlit Venetian architecture and traditional wooden mooring poles lining the canal.
ArtJUN 21, 2026

Abstract Magazine's Summer Residency Backlash Exposes the Art World's Pay-to-Play Problem

Kamil Dad
The image presents a wide, cinematic shot of a person standing sideways in a grassy field set against a backdrop of rolling green hills and large, snow-dusted mountains under a clear blue sky. The individual has long dark hair styled in braids or dreadlocks and wears a plain white shirt, dark shorts, and sandals. They are holding a large, rectangular poster or vinyl sleeve horizontally across their torso; the right side of the poster features the word "GEORGIA" written in large, bold red capital letters stacked vertically over a portrait of a face.
FeaturesJUN 20, 2026

Where the Work Comes From the Ground Up

Kamil Dad
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ArtJUN 19, 2026

"The Condition" Meets the Street Between Two Worlds at Art Basel 2026

Awais Shaukat
The image features a large-scale sculptural installation by artist Nairy Baghramian titled Modèle vivant (S’empilant) (2026), which is currently situated in the Messeplatz fountain in front of the Messe Basel exhibition hall in Switzerland.

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