Saira Wasim
Epic Miniatures
February 28 – April 5, 2008
Press Release
"Contradictions of scale intrinsic to her epic miniatures serve us well in our time of need, bearing witness to tragedies both personal and Dantean in scope." - Anna Sloan
New York, New York – Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art is pleased to announce the first New York City solo exhibition of recent work by Saira Wasim (b. 1975). Saira Wasim: Epic Miniatures opens to the public with a reception for the artist on Thursday, February 28, from 6–8 pm. A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition.
Saira Wasim uses the centuries-old South Asian tradition of miniature painting to examine contemporary global political and social concerns. In her work, she fearlessly explores controversial issues such as war, Western imperialism, religious fundamentalism, and cultural hypocrisies with a style that encompasses sharp satire, irony, humor, and sorrow.
Miniature painting is a disciplined and labor-intensive art requiring extensive training. Gouache, ink, and gold or silver leaf are painstakingly applied to sheets of tea-washed wasli paper (three to five layers of cotton paper pasted together and burnished to create a smooth, translucent surface). The tools used for applying the pigments can be as precise and delicate as a single hair.
Saira Wasim was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She is an Ahmadi, a member of minority Muslim group that has been subjected to extensive persecution within Pakistan. She studied at Lahore’s celebrated National College of Art, graduating with a degree in miniature painting in 1999. Her work garnered critical acclaim when it was included in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2003
exhibition, The American Effect: Global Perspectives on the United States; and later in the 2006 Asia Society and Museum’s
exhibition, One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now.