Miniature 2.0

Focusing on contemporary approaches to miniature painting, the exhibition brings together the works of 14 artists from different countries such as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. The artists do not treat miniature solely as a historical object, they emphasize its theoretical potential as a contemporary art form. Using various forms such as sculpture, video, textile, and installation, they bring out miniature from books, where it has resided for centuries, give it a new dimension, and search for ways in which miniature can live in the contemporary world.

The exhibition emphasizes the artists’ various approaches to traditional miniature, as well as revealing the commonalities between them. Curated by Azra Tüzünoğlu and Gülce Özkara, the exhibition features work by Hamra Abbas, Rashad Alakbarov, Halil Altındere, Dana Awartani, Fereydoun Ave, CANAN, Noor Ali Chagani, Cansu Çakar, Hayv Kahraman, Imran Qureshi, Nilima Sheikh, Shahpour Pouyan, Shahzia Sikander and Saira Wasim.

The exhibition catalog features Azra Tüzünoğlu and Gülce Özkara’s curatorial statement which looks at contemporary miniature through the works in the exhibition; curator Hammad Nasar’s essay which takes its starting point from the miniature education at the National College of Arts in Lahore; academician and miniature painting artist Filiz Adıgüzel Toprak’s essay which focuses on the ways of seeing that miniature offers; academician Vishakha N. Desai’s text which presents miniature as an act of resistance, reflection and creation; as well as art historian Nada Shabout’s text that focuses on how miniature painting evolved with the contributions of contemporary artists who transform the conventional ways of painting. 

Publication Date: 2020
Number of Pages: 166
ISBN: 978-605-4642-84-7