Waqas Khan, who hails from district Okara, does us all proud, says Jugnu Mohsin, Waqas’ neighbour and friend
Waqas Khan has been honored with the prestigious Tamgha–e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan, awarded by the President of Pakistan and presented by the Governor of Punjab, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to art and his role in representing Pakistan internationally through his artistic practice. This national honor celebrates his continued dedication to expanding the presence of Pakistani contemporary art on the global stage and acknowledges his contribution to culture, creativity, and artistic excellence.
Waqas Khan’s large-scale minimalist drawings are contemplations that leave visible evidence on paper. Khan employs small dashes and minuscule dots to create large entanglements where two particle-sized units converge, dissipate, or displace. Despite this tension, they maintain a rhythmic harmony: the forms and marks sync no matter how far apart they are.
This quest for depicting notions of unity and togetherness—with all their beautiful incongruencies and vulnerabilities, while acknowledging the wonder of magnanimous totality—is what fuels Khan’s exploration of space and time. His displays are pristine and meticulously curated; it is through carefully designing his spaces in accordance with scale, color, and measured lighting that Khan’s works acquire an experiential quality. As the works perform within curated environments, the drama inherent in his exhibitions emerges, inviting viewers into moments of stillness, reflection, pathos, and catharsis through primordial forms constructed with the simple tip of his pen.
His recent exhibitions include Take Up, Take a Breath at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, curated by Mary Cremin; In the Night at Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art; and Fear Nothing, She Says at the National Museum of Sculpture curated by Rosa Martínez. Other major exhibitions include Doublethink: Doublevision at the Pera Museum, curated by Alistair Hicks, Tania Bahar, and Begüm Akkoyunlu; Decor at Villa Empain curated by Tino Sehgal, Dorothea von Hantelmann, and Asad Raza; Between Structure and Matter: Other Minimal Futures at Aicon Gallery curated by Murtaza Vali; and the Dhaka Art Summit curated by Diana Campbell-Betancourt.
In 2013, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Jameel Prize at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Waqas Khan’s works are held in renowned public and institutional collections including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Deutsche Bank Collection, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, the Devi Art Foundation, Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art, Manchester Art Gallery, and the The Whitworth, among others.
Waqas Khan is also the co-founder of Nathuu, a social initiative dedicated to bringing art education and creative engagement to children across Pakistan, particularly those from difficult socio-economic backgrounds.