Naqsh Raj (b. 1984) is an artist and educator based in Islamabad. She holds a Master’s in Visual Arts from the National College of Arts, Lahore, and has taught Art and Design for over a decade in Pakistan and a few years in the UK. Raj introduces one of the most primitive forms of printmaking into the act of gestural painting, using the stencil as a tool of discipline, self-awareness, and communication. She has received several honors, including the main prize in Open 23 at Tarpey Gallery, UK. She was also shortlisted for the John Moores Painting Prize, in 2023. Her work is in well-reputed private and corporate collections in New York, London, Dubai, and with various prominent collectors in Germany, France, Italy, and Pakistan.
Naqsh’s work emerge from a synthesis of printmaking and painting. She uses stencil as a tool to invite the opportune moment for color calibration, studying how tints, hues, and shades behave when held together by quiet order against a raw background. The template is arranged with vertical cells cut into a grid, and the application of paint through these rectangular windows offers the artist a sense of guided expression.
The cyclic process helped her gain a sense of trust and establish a foundation for balance between internal conflicts, revealing how the known (implicit or explicit) elements of dissonance within us can coexist rhythmically.
Naqsh Raj (1984, Quetta)
Lives and Works in Islamabad
Solo Show
2025
Half Light, XVA Art Gallery, Dubai, UAE (up coming)
2024
Klangfarben, Galerie Klaus Braun, Stuttgart, Germany.
2023
Escape with the Homeland, Galerie Klaus Braun, Stuttgart, Germany.
Group show
2025
Almost Nothing, Ejaz Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan (upcoming)
klein aber fein, Galerie Klaus Braun, Stuttgart, Germany (upcoming)
Encounters in Time, 8B2, Islamabad, Pakistan.
2024
Holding Up (three person show), Mura Ma Art Space, Manchester, UK.
That … Which Binds Us, Curated by Aasim Akhtar in collateral to LB03, Lahore.
Next Nature, Curated by Aasim Akhtar Tanzara Art Gallery, Islamabad.
National Women Exhibition HERSTORY, Pakistan National Council of Arts. Islamabad.
2023
Moving Art, XVA Gallery, Dubai.
OPEN 23, Tarpey Gallery, UK.
International Post Card show, Surface Gallery, Nottingham UK.
2022
Anna Molka Award Exhibition, Punjab University, Lahore.
Art Exhibition on Kashmir Solidarity Day, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.
Inaugural exhibition of Islamabad art Gallery F9, Islamabad.
LIMINAL, HAAM Gallery, Lahore.
The Winners, Gallery 6, Islamabad.
2021
Alhamra 3rdNational Exhibition of Visual Arts, Lahore.
Compassionate Women: Kindness in Action (International exhibition),London UK.
2020
Onrushing-4, Gallery 6, Islamabad.
The 100th Exhibition, Gallery 6, Islamabad.
2017
9th National Exhibition, Pakistan National Council of Arts, Islamabad.
Arjumand Painting Award, Gallery 6, Islamabad.
2012
Between the lines, Comsats Art gallery, Islamabad.
National Women Artist Exhibition, Pakistan National Council of Arts, Islamabad.
2011
Young Artist Exhibition Award, Alhamra Art Council, Lahore.
VM Art Gallery, Karachi.
Jharoka Gallery, Islamabad.
Royaat Gallery, Lahore.
Residency Group show, Rohtas, Islamabad.
Awards and Achievements
2024
Nigaah Award, Mohatta Palace, Karachi.
2023
Main Prize Winner, Open 23, Tarpey Gallery, UK.
John Moores Painting Prize (short Listed).
2017
Arjumand Painting Award.
2009
REFRESHED, Young Artist Exhibition Award, Alhamra Art Council, Lahore.
2008
Received Gold Medal from the University of Baluchistan for outstanding achievement in Bachelors of Fine Arts.
Residencies
Vasl-Rohtas International Residency, Islamabad, 2011.
Education
2004 – 2008 BFA, Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Balochistan, Quetta.
2009 – 2010 MAVA, Master's in Visual Arts, National College of Arts, Lahore.
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