This Day

2017 - Painting (Painting)

152.4 x 152.4 cm

Imran Qureshi

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At first glance, This Day by Imran Qureshi appears to be an energetic, gestural painting reminiscent of Action Painting from the mid-20th century. But upon closer inspection, highly detailed floral elements reveal themselves amongst the bold red brushstrokes. The botanical motifs in Qureshi’s work represent life and regeneration while the red paint refers to death and mortality. For the artist, the color red alludes to the ongoing violence and conflict occurring in Pakistan and around the world. The delicately illustrated flowers signify the unwavering hope that people sustain, despite hardship and adversity. Navigating a series of dualities—life and death, beauty and horror, order and chaos, violence and peace—the work articulates that contradiction is inherent to daily life, especially in a country experiencing conflict on a massive scale. Striking a balance between these opposing yet inextricably linked forces, Qureshi’s work employs traditional techniques and symbols to critically reflect on what it means to live in present-day Pakistan.

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Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi’s practice revives 16th century Mughal miniature painting. Qureshi’s work merges traditional motifs, symbols, and techniques with the visual language of abstraction to consider contemporary socio-political events affecting Pakistan and the world more broadly. Combining gestural abstraction with refined ornamental details, his practice shifts between figurative and abstract works on paper, monumental paintings, videos, and site-specific installations. Qureshi’s hybrid methodology often features gold-leaf and the color red as signature elements of his work, signaling the relationship between the celestial plane (immortality) and the human body (mortality).

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Colors:

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• modernity.n.01
• conflict.n.01
• life.n.01
• death.n.01
• violence.n.01
• beauty.n.01
• morality.n.01