Upstairs Gallery’s latest group exhibition, themed around the enduring symbolism of flowers, brings together a vibrant roster of artists exploring cultural, poetic, and political dimensions of botanical imagery. Among the most compelling voices in the show is Sumbal Mushtaq, whose mixed-media paintings expand and explore the potential of South Asian miniature painting in a contemporary context.
Trained in Pakistan in the rigorous discipline of South Asian miniature painting Mushtaq draws on years of experience mastering its delicate, rule-bound techniques. Yet her contribution to the show demonstrates a bold departure from convention. Through contemporary mediums, Mushtaq transforms the miniature’s historical visual language into a layered and dynamic medium for personal and political storytelling.
“My practice embraces the intricacies of South Asian miniature painting while challenging its limitations,” says Mushtaq. “I’m interested in exploring how its visual vocabulary can be restored, used not just to honor tradition, but to speak to our present moment.” Her work in the exhibition centers on the lotus, a powerful and enduring symbol in Asian spiritual and artistic traditions.
While often associated with purity and enlightenment, Mushtaq repositions the lotus as a metaphor for resilience, identity, and transformation. Emerging unstained from muddy waters, the flower becomes a potent symbol of survival in the face of sociopolitical turmoil, particularly relevant to themes of displacement and migration that recur in her work. Drawing on personal narratives and collective histories, Mushtaq’s compositions infuse the floral theme of the exhibition with emotional depth and cultural complexity.
Her reinterpretation of the miniature format challenges traditional ideas of scale and form and opens new possibilities for what the genre can express. By layering traditional techniques with experimentation and contemporary mediums, she crafts a hybrid visual language that invites viewers to rethink miniature painting not as a static tradition but as a vital, evolving practice. This group exhibition at Upstairs Gallery offers a compelling look at how artists reimagined the floral motif.
Through Sumbal Mushtaq’s work, we see the lotus not as mere decoration but as a vessel for profound metaphor, connecting the past with the present and tradition with transformation. The show runs through May 30th at Upstairs Gallery and is not to be missed by those interested in the intersection of heritage, innovation, and contemporary visual culture.
The writer is a Pakistan-born visual artist based in Texas, USA and can be reached at
Email: sumbalmushtaq0330@gmail.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sumbal-mushtaq-012a25a2
Floral Symbolism & Botanical Imagery
Sumbal Mushtaq
Upstairs Gallery’s latest group exhibition, themed around the enduring symbolism of flowers, brings together a vibrant roster of artists exploring cultural, poetic, and political dimensions of botanical imagery. Among the most compelling voices in the show is Sumbal Mushtaq, whose mixed-media paintings expand and explore the potential of South Asian miniature painting in a contemporary context.
Trained in Pakistan in the rigorous discipline of South Asian miniature painting Mushtaq draws on years of experience mastering its delicate, rule-bound techniques. Yet her contribution to the show demonstrates a bold departure from convention. Through contemporary mediums, Mushtaq transforms the miniature’s historical visual language into a layered and dynamic medium for personal and political storytelling.
“My practice embraces the intricacies of South Asian miniature painting while challenging its limitations,” says Mushtaq. “I’m interested in exploring how its visual vocabulary can be restored, used not just to honor tradition, but to speak to our present moment.” Her work in the exhibition centers on the lotus, a powerful and enduring symbol in Asian spiritual and artistic traditions.
While often associated with purity and enlightenment, Mushtaq repositions the lotus as a metaphor for resilience, identity, and transformation. Emerging unstained from muddy waters, the flower becomes a potent symbol of survival in the face of sociopolitical turmoil, particularly relevant to themes of displacement and migration that recur in her work. Drawing on personal narratives and collective histories, Mushtaq’s compositions infuse the floral theme of the exhibition with emotional depth and cultural complexity.
Her reinterpretation of the miniature format challenges traditional ideas of scale and form and opens new possibilities for what the genre can express. By layering traditional techniques with experimentation and contemporary mediums, she crafts a hybrid visual language that invites viewers to rethink miniature painting not as a static tradition but as a vital, evolving practice. This group exhibition at Upstairs Gallery offers a compelling look at how artists reimagined the floral motif.
Through Sumbal Mushtaq’s work, we see the lotus not as mere decoration but as a vessel for profound metaphor, connecting the past with the present and tradition with transformation. The show runs through May 30th at Upstairs Gallery and is not to be missed by those interested in the intersection of heritage, innovation, and contemporary visual culture.
The writer is a Pakistan-born visual artist based in Texas, USA and can be reached at
Email: sumbalmushtaq0330@gmail.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sumbal-mushtaq-012a25a2
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.