Waqas Khan’s large scale minimalist drawings resemble webs and celestial expanses. The contemplation leaving a visible evidence on paper is the crux of the work.
Khan employs small dashes and minuscule dots to create large entanglements. Where when two particle-sque units are spread out and entangled, they are essentially ‘in sync’ with each other, and they’ll stay in sync no matter how far apart they are. This idea of togetherness and being seen one as a magnanimous totality is what he partly absorbs from his inclination towards literature and interest in poetry. Khan’s work also evoke a sense of scripting, which he likes to see as a discourse between him and his viewer, a dialogue which is very much formatted over the syntax of a monologue.
Graduated as a printmaker, Waqas envisage through his work a view of an autonomous entity and identity, analogous to and following the same developmental patterns as some biological organism.
His most recent group shows include Doublethink:doublevision, curated by Allistair Hicks, Tania Bahar and Begum Akkoyunlu at Pera Museum in Istanbul (Turkey); Decor, curated by Tino Sehgal, Dorothea von Hantelmann and Asad Raza at the Fondation Boghossian - Villa Empain, in Brussels (Belgium); Between Structure and Matter: Other Minimal Futures curated by Murtaza Vali at Aicon Gallery, New York (USA); Dhaka Art Summit curated by Diana Campbell-Bethancourt in Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Nada temas, dice ella curated by Rosa Martínez at the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid (Spain). In 2013 he was shortlisted for the prestigious Jameel Art Prize at the V&A.
Waqas Khan's works are part of prestigious public collections such as the The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London (UK); the Deutsche Bank Collection, Frankfurt (Germany); the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and the Devi Foudation, both in New Delhi (India).
Education
2008
Bachelor of Fine Arts. National College of Arts. Lahore, Pakistan.
Solo shows
2024
Time Future. A Collaboration between Sabina Amrani Gallery, Purdy Hicks and Alberto Di Castro. Alberto di Castro Gallery. Rome, Italy.
2023
Tabula Rasa. Axel Vervoordt Gallery. Wijnegem, Belgium.
2021
Transcendental Introspection. HBL Tower. Karachi, Pakistan.
2019
(D)escribir el mundo. MUSAC. León, Spain.
2018
History, Memory or Geometry. Galerie Krinzinger. Vienna, Austria.
2017
Waqas Khan.Manchester Art Gallery. Manchester, UK.
2015
Acoustics of life. Galeri Krinzinger. Vienna, Austria.
2014
The Untitled Show. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2013
In other words.Galerie Krinzinger. Vienna, Austria.
2012
Dance in Retina. Lakeeren Gallery. Mumbai, India.
2012
Abstraction Contained. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2010
Even infinity takes time. Lakeeren Gallery. Mumbai, India.
2009
Shift 2, Canvas Art Gallery. Karachi, Pakistan.
2009
Shift, Rohtas Gallery. Lahore, Pakistan.
2008
Dot(A perfect circle). National College of Arts. Lahore, Pakistan.
Group shows
2024
Take a Breath. IMMA. Dublin, Ireland.
2024
In the Night. SAMoCA. Riyadh, KSA.
2023
Prussian Blue: A Serendipitous Colour that Altered the Trajectory of Art. Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Delhi, India.
2022
Toronto Biennial of Art. Arsenal Contemporary Art Toronto. Toronto, Canada.
2022
Foreign Affairs. Galerie Krinzinger. Vienna, Austria.
2021
Long Story Short. Sabrina Amrani. Madrid, Spain.
2020
Ver Versus Ver II. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2020
Ver Versus Ver. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2020
Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Paris, France.
2019
(D)escribir el mundo. MUSAC. Leon, Spain.
2018
The World On Paper. Deutsche Bank Collection. Berlin, Germany.
2018
Asia Pacific Tiennale 9. Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art (QGOMA). Brisbane, Australia.
2017
Cyclic Journey. Goethe Institut. Barcelona, Spain.
2017
On Line Dot. Curated by Maki Nishida. Devi Art Foundation in collaboration with The Japan Foundation, New Delhi. Gurugram, Haryana, India.
2017
Doublethink : Doublevision. Pera Museum. Istanbul, Turkey.
2016
Decor. Boghossian Fondation - Vila Empain. Curated by Tino Sehgal, Dorothea von Hantelmann and Asad Raza. Brussels, Belgium.
2016
Between Structure and Matter: Other Minimal Futures. Curated by Murtaza Vali. Aicon Gallery. New York, USA.
2015
Nada temas, dice ella. Curated by Rosa Martínez. Museo Nacional de Escultura. Valladolid, Spain.
2015
Jameel Art Prize 3. National Library Singapore. Singapore.
2015
Jameel Prize 3. Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation. Sharjah, UAE.
2014
Jameel Prize 3. Manege Museum and Exhibition Association, Moscow, Russia.
2014
Please Rewind!Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
2014
Jameel Prize 3. Hermitage-Kazan Museum. Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia.
2014
Past Tradition. Exhibit320 Contemporary Art Space. New Delhi, India.
2014
The Drawingroom. Galerie I'm Taxispalais, Innsbruck, Austria.
2013
Jameel Prize 3. Victoria & Albert Museum. London, UK.
2013
The Drawingroom. Ursula Blickle Stiftung. Kraichtal, Germany.
2011
Intimate pictures. Tokyo Gallery + BTAP. Tokyo, Japan.
2023
Art Basel Hong Kong. Sabrina Amrani. Hong Kong, China.
2009
Other side. Chowkandi Art Gallery. Karachi, Pakistan.
2008
Print exhibition. Alhamra Art Council. Lahore, Pakistan.
2008
Miniature Artists of Pakistan. National College of Arts. Lahore, Pakistan.
Art Fairs
2025
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani. Dubai, UAE.
2024
Asia NOW. Sabrina Amrani. Paris, France.
2024
Art Basel Hong Kong. Sabrina Amrani. Hong kong.
2024
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani. Dubai, UAE.
2023
Abu Dhabi Art. Sabrina Amrani. Abu Dhabi, UAE.
2023
Art Basel Hong Kong. Sabrina Amrani. Hong Kong, China.
2023
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani. Dubai, UAE.
2022
Abu Dhabi Art. Sabrina Amrani. Abu Dhabi, UAE.
2022
Art Düsseldorf. Sabrina Amrani. Düsseldorf, Germany.
2022
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani. Madrid, Spain.
2021
Frieze London. Galerie Krinzinger. London, UK.
2020
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani. Madrid, Spain.
2019
Armory Show. Galerie Krinzinger. New York, USA.
2018
Artissima. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Turin, Italy.
2018
ARCOlisboa. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Lisbon, Portugal.
2018
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2017
Art Brussels. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Brussels, Belgium.
2017
Art Basel in Hong Kong. Galerie Krinzinger. Hong Kong.
2016
Frieze London. Galerie Krinzinger. London, UK.
2016
Art Basel in Basel. Galerie Krinzinger. Basel, Switzerland.
2016
Art Basel in Hong Kong. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Hong Kong.
2016
Art Brussels. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Brussels, Belgium.
2016
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Dubai, UAE.
2016
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2016
India Art Fair. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. New Delhi, India.
2015
Art Brussels. Galerie Krinzinger. Brussels, Belgium.
2015
Art Dubai. Galerie Krinzinger. Dubai, UAE.
2015
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2014
Art Basel Miami Beach. Galerie Krinzinger. Miami, USA.
2014
Artissima. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Turin, Italy.
2014
Frieze London. Galerie Krinzinger. London, UK.
2014
ArtInternational. Galerie Krinzinger. Istanbul, Turkey.
2014
Art Basel. Galerie Krinzinger. Basel, Switzerland.
2014
Art Basel Hong Kong. Galerie Krinzinger. Hong Kong.
2014
Art Dubai. Galerie Krinzinger. Dubai, UAE.
2014
Art 14 London. London, UK.
2013
Art Basel Miami. Galerie Krinzinger. Miami, USA.
2013
Frieze London. Galerie Krinzinger. London, UK.
2013
FIAC. Galerie Krinzinger. Paris, France.
2013
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Dubai, UAE.
2013
Art Dubai. Galerie Krinzinger. Dubai, UAE.
2013
India Art Fair. Lakeeren Gallery. New Delhi, India.
2012
JustMad Mia. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2012
Beirut Art Fair. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2012
India Art Fair. Lakeeren Gallery. New Delhi, India.
2011
Art Dubai. Lakeeren Gallery. Dubai, UAE.
2011
India Art Summit. Lakeeren Gallery. New Delhi, India.
Awards
2018
ACTA Award, Eastern Eye Award for Arts.
2017
Art Spectrum Award South Asia.
2013
Shortlisted to Jameel Art Prize 3. (Victoria and Albert Museum)
Residencies
2012
2013
Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna.
Public collections
Ishara Art Foundation. Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Whitworth. Manchester, UK.
Manchester Museum. Manchester, UK.
British Museum. London, UK.
Victoria and Albert Museum. London, UK.
Manchester Art Gallery. Manchester, UK.
Kamel Lazaar Foundation. Tunis, Tunisia.
Kiran Nadar Museum. New Delhi, India.
Devi Art Foundation. New Delhi, India.
The Deutsche Bank Collection. Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
SAMOCA. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Fundación Calosa. Guanajuato, Mexico.
Publications
Drawing in The Present Tense. Published by Thames & Hudson, written by Claire Gilman and Roger Malbert. 2023.
Color and Line - The Naqvi Collection. Published by The Naqvi Collection. 2015. ISBN: 978-9948-18-110-1
Feelings: Soft Art. Published by Rizzoli. 2015
Waqas Khan: The Untitled Show. Published by Sabrina Amrani Gallery. 2014
Three Trends, a Divided Art World, and 10 Artists Under 40: Deutsche Bank Senior
Curator Alistair Hicks Shares Insights on Frieze. Published by Artsy. 2014
The Miniature, Mystical Cosmologies of Waqas Khan. Published by Artsy. 2014
Waqas Khan. Abstraction Contained. Published by Sabrina Amrani Gallery. 2012