Ayessha Quraishi

Ayessha Quraishi (b. October 28, 1970, Pakistan) is a self-taught painter based in Karachi. Having received her initial art training from Karachi-based educator Nayyar Jamil, she has been working for over three decades on the development of her signature technique and visual language. Her practice employs gestural mark-making. And she often integrates drawing, painting, sculpture, video and digital photography in order to explore the meditative nature of artistic practice. 

​Quraishi is a prominent artist whose work has been widely shown, both locally and internationally. Recently, Koel Gallery presented Quraishi's mid-career retrospective Between Light in Karachi, featuring works spanning thirty-five years (1985-2020). Accompanying the mid-career retrospective, a comprehensive monograph was published in February 2020.

​She has participated in “Karachi Ki Khoj” [Redefining the Metropolis] IPAF (2020); International Istanbul Biennial (2019); Karachi Biennial (2017); Mostra Internazionale di Pittura, Matera, Italy (2014); the Bodrum Biennial (2013); and Biennial Izimir (2011). Her Solo shows include “All that is, is held” Canvas Gallery, Karachi, (2018); “Open Presence,” KOEL Gallery, Karachi (2016); “Liminal,” Khaas Art Gallery, Islamabad (2013); “Continuous / Present,” Rothas II, Lahore (2013); and “Letters From An Underground Vein Read,” KOEL Gallery, Karachi, (2012). She has completed several residencies including “Recorded Time,” KOEL Gallery (2017); “Hic – 2” Workshop, Turgutreis / Bodrum, Turkey, (2013); Winter Academy, Fayoum, Egypt (2011); International Painting Symposium, Luxor, Egypt (2010) and Association Saint-Henri, France (1996).