Internationally acclaimed and award winning Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi has been honoured at the Prestigious Asia Arts Game Changer Awards. The awardees for this year also include Christine Ay Tjoe, Fang Lijun and Natee Utarit. Imran Qureshi was honoured at a ceremony hosted by the Asia Society on Friday at the Four Seasons Hotel.
The Asia Arts Game Changer Awards ceremony is a signature event honouring the Asia Arts Game Changers. Every year, major art collectors, artists, gallerists and dignitaries from the art world along with Asia Society trustees and patrons gather to celebrate contemporary art in Asia and honour artists and arts professionals for their significant contributions to contemporary art. For more than 20 years, the Asia Society has been a pioneer in identifying and fostering the latest contemporary Asian artists and engaging new audiences for their work. Past honourees include Cai Guo-Qiang, Hon Chi Fun, Abir Karmakar, Krishen Khanna, Bharti Kher, Kimsooja, Lee Ufan, Liu Guosong, Nalini Malani, Nyoman Masriadi, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Do Ho Suh, teamLab, Wucius Wong, Xu Bing, Zeng Fanzhi and Zhang Xiaogang to name a few.
Speaking about receiving the Asia Arts Game Changer Award, Qureshi said, “I am honoured to receive this prestigious award; it’s for Pakistan. Art transcends boundaries and this award will also highlight the art in and from my country.”
Qureshi is renowned for his site-specific paintings, installations and videos created in the style of Indo-Persian miniature painting as a means to explore contemporary socio-political themes. His elegant miniatures often juxtapose figures in modern dress against ornate landscapes that reflect contemporary life in Pakistan while his large-scale works feature red leaves and floral patterns that are meant to provoke thoughtful reflection on the sometimes tenuous and often bloody relationship between religious ideologies and warfare.