Ayessha Quraishi

Ayessha Quraishi (born October 28, 1970) is a contemporary visual artist who lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan.

Quraishi received an initial art training from Karachi-based educator Nayyar Jamiland has since dedicated over three decades to refining her distinctive technique and visual language. Her artistic practice frequently incorporates a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, sculpture, performance, and digital photography.

Quraishi's artwork has been showcased on an international scale, notably at the Istanbul Biennial in 2019. In 2020, the Koel Gallery in Karachi hosted a significant mid-career retrospective entitled "Between Light in Karachi," showcasing pieces spanning thirty-five years (1985-2020) of her prolific and ongoing career. Accompanying this retrospective was the publication of a comprehensive monograph in February 2020.

Early life
Quraishi spent her formative years in Cornwall and Islamabad before her family established roots in Karachi in 1976. At the tender age of seven, the passing of her father profoundly impacted her, prompting her to delve into deeper questions about life, moving beyond its superficial realities to explore its subtler nuances. This transition from the representational to the abstract was a natural evolution that manifested in her artwork from an early juncture.

Work
Quraishi initiated her art career as an art teacher at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Karachi in 1988. Between 1988 and 1993, she taught children at the Art Workshop alongside designing furniture. From 1993 to 2000, Quraishi worked as a business partner and designer for the store Solo. Subsequently, from 2003 to 2010, she worked in the same capacity for Karachi-based home accessories store Object.

In 2022 Quraishi and Marium Agha were nominated for the 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize.

Art career
Ayessha Quraishi's work has been exhibited widely in Pakistan and internationally in both group and solo exhibitions.

Solo shows

 * Mid-career retrospective “Between Light” at Koel Gallery, Karachi (2020)
 * "All that is, is held" at Canvas Gallery, Karachi (2018)
 * "Open presence" at Koel Gallery, Karachi (2016)
 * "Liminal" at Khaas Art Gallery, Islamabad (2013)
 * "Continuous/Present" at Rothas II, Lahore (2013)
 * "Letters From An Underground Vein Road" at Koel Gallery, Karachi (2012)
 * Indus Gallery, Karachi (1998)
 * The Art Gallery, Islamabad (1997)
 * NCA Gallery, Lahore (1995)
 * Gallery Ardeco Avignon, Avignon (1995)

Group shows

 * "Awaken Our Legacy" Standard Chartered Bank, WTC Branch, Karachi (2016)
 * "Birwa" Showdown 2015, Sadequain Gallery, Karachi (2015)
 * "Summer Scape 2014" Koel Gallery, Karachi (2014)
 * "October Passage" Canakkale, Turkey (2013)
 * "Summer Scape 2013" Koel Gallery, Karachi (2013)
 * "Intimacy" Koel Gallery, Karachi (2013)
 * "Abstract Art In Contemporary Russia" Moscow (2012)
 * "Universal Sapience" Freiburg, Germany (2012)
 * La Galleria Pall Mall, London, United Kingdom (2011)
 * Takhti Project, Toronto, Canada (2002)
 * Takhti Project, Sadequain Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2001)
 * Alliance Françoise, Karachi, Pakistan (2000)
 * Alliance Françoise, Karachi, Pakistan (1999)
 * Zenini Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (1998)
 * Gallery Ardeco Avignon, France (1996)
 * Gallery Sadequain, Karachi, Pakistan (1995)
 * PNCA Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan (1995)
 * Shakir Ali Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan (1991)
 * Shakir Ali Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan (1990)
 * VM Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (1989)

Biennales

 * International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2019)
 * Karachi Biennale, Karachi (2017)
 * Bodrum Biennial, Bodrum (2013)
 * Izmir Biennale, Izmir (2011)

International public art festivals

 * “Karachi Ki Khoj” [Redefining The Metropolis] IPAF, Karachi (2020)
 * "Mostra Internazionale di Pittura" in Matera, Italy (2014)

Performance

 * "Riwhyti” One Night Stand, Amin Gulgee Gallery, Karachi (2018)
 * “Scroll”, Koel Gallery, Karachi (2012)

Artist residences

 * "Recorded Time" at Koel Gallery (2017)
 * "Hic-2" Workshop in Turgurtreis / Bodrum (2013)
 * Winter Academy, Egypt, Fayoum (2011)
 * International Painting Symposium, Egypt, Luxor (2010)
 * Association Saint-Henri, France (1996)

Publication
The Monograph Between Light was published on the occasion of Ayessha Quraishi's mid-career retrospective on 4 February 2020. It is a comprehensive volume on the work of the artist's prolific and continuing career spanning thirty-five years from 1985 to 2020.

It includes a curatorial essay by Zarmeene Shah and articles by Quddus Mirza, Maha Malik and Aasim Akhtar.