KARACHI – Murad Khan Mumtaz’s series of paintings and drawings titled ‘Ghost Nation’ are tiny in size, but vast in their depictions of an idealised landscape.
His paintings present the world of the American Indians as a golden age on the verge of annihilation.
A group of stark graphite drawings on handmade khadi paper accompanies the paintings, presenting abstract windows into an elusive language of symbols inspired by American Indian spiritual life and visual culture.
Ripe with trans-cultural significance, these ciphers are at once immediate and remote.
Mumtaz studied miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore and has been actively participating in and teaching traditional miniature technique, history and theory for the past seven years.
A native of Lahore, he received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Columbia University, which he attended on a Fulbright Fellowship.
His drawings and paintings have been included in solo and group exhibitions in America and Pakistan.
Photos courtesy Canvas Gallery
