After reading The Story of Art Without Men, educators may aspire to redesign their art history surveys and syllabi — and trade some Picassos for Gegos.
Nageen Shaikh
Nageen Shaikh is an art historian, and art and book critic. Her research develops questions of production over ideation in South Asian and early modern art, transnational art, contemporary artists’ studios, and collaborations between art materials, design, and science. Tweets can be found here.
Posted inBooks
How Did Early Modern European Craftspeople Pass On Their Knowledge?
A new book about object making critically examines a written history of working with materials.
Posted inBooks
A New Sourcebook of Indian Art
20th Century Indian Art: Modern, Post-Independence, Contemporary surveys the many distinct aspects of art in South Asia.
Posted inArt
Inside the Wondrous Studios of Three Pakistani Artists
Contemporary artist studios in Karachi prioritize pragmatism; many resist a traditional understanding of spaces with singular purposes.
Posted inArt
Aisha Khalid Examines Women’s Roles and Spirituality Through Textiles and Geometry
In her current retrospective viewers can see the beginning of an oeuvre that scrutinizes personal, social, and cultural issues such as prescribed societal norms associated with the female gender.
Posted inArt
Shahzia Sikander Urges a Rethinking of Art History
Sikander’s first New York solo show in nine years includes a captivating range of paintings, mosaics, animations, and the artist’s first-ever sculpture.
Posted inBooks
Charting a Bold Future For Pakistani Cinema
Love, War & Other Longings offers a thought-provoking analysis of the country’s lesser-known film history, while sketching out aspirations for the industry.
Posted inArt
Searching for a City’s Spirit at the Lahore Biennale
Amid works by international artists and local projects focused on other Pakistani cities, I kept wondering where is Lahore?
Posted inArt
Toxic Environments at the Karachi Biennale
In a city where the municipal government has consistently failed to address issues such as land or air pollution, the latest edition of the biennale considers its environmental crisis through various media.
Posted inArt
Exploring Sexuality and Myth Through Fiber and Other Types of Sculpture
While Mrinalini Mukherjee radically used textiles to negotiate the deep roots of symbolic Indian art and craft, her visual vocabulary sought independence from traditional roles within her culture.
Posted inArt
An Important Modern Artwork Gains New Relevance for India
As India prepares for general elections this year, M.F. Husain’s “Lightning” reminds us of the country’s tremendous political history.
Posted inArt
Contemporary Visions of Mystical Indo-Persian Miniatures
The night of “Ascension,” one Islam’s most mystical and striking themes, has inspired Sikander, whose self-portraits are artistic manifestations of this magical journey.
