BIOGRAPHY
Naveed holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree, which he earned in 1997 from The Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, USA. His major focus during his undergraduate years was in Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture, complemented by a Minor in English.
During his undergraduate years, Naveed had the privilege of participating in various artistic residencies, including those in New York City, New York, and Taos, New Mexico. He also embarked on an academic adventure by spending a term at University College, Oxford, where he delved into the realms of Gothic Literature and Aesthetic Philosophy.
Naveed’s interests extend beyond the canvas. He has a passionate hobby of collecting books, with a particular penchant for rare and out-of-print editions.
His love for exploration and connection to art and culture often takes him to vibrant urban centers worldwide. Cities like Paris, London, New York, and Mumbai hold a special place in his heart. Naveed’s preferred way to experience these bustling metropolises is by immersing himself in their cores, using movement and architecture as anchors for his thoughts and ideas. He believes that even the most seemingly insignificant objects, like a humble door knob, can open portals to visually schematic and intellectually provocative thoughts.
Mumbai, in particular, holds a unique significance for Naveed. His mother’s birthplace, he spent his summers there, relishing moments with his grandparents in South Mumbai during his formative childhood years.
Born in 1974 in the historically and culturally rich nation of Pakistan, Naveed draws artistic inspiration from a diverse range of interests, including poetry, literature, classical music, and history. These influences find their roots in his academic pursuits during his undergraduate years.
Naveed’s studio is based in Karachi, Pakistan, where he passionately creates his art. Besides his visual art, he also occasionally indulges in the world of poetry. Renowned figures such as William Shakespeare, Charles Baudelaire, Lucian Freud, and J.W. Turner play a significant role in shaping his artistic processes. Additionally, the traditional Venetian school of painting has profoundly impacted Naveed since the inception of his artistic journey.
When working on a painting, Naveed prefers to approach it in phases, taking intermittent breaks that allow him to view his work from different perspectives each time he returns to it. His love for collecting and reading poetry from various parts of the world is a testament to his broad cultural interests. He also possesses a keen appreciation for contemporary 20th-century classical music, which further enriches his creative experiences.
CV
Selected Group Exhibitions
1995: Doolin Gallery H, Dallas, Texas, USA.
1996: Pollock Galleries, Meadows School of the Arts, Dallas, Texas, USA
1997: Gallery Hughes Triggs, Dallas Texas, USA
1997: Gallery X500, 500, Exposition Avenue, Dallas, Texas, USA
2010: South Asian Art at Capital One Bank, Plano, Texas, USA
2011: Agora Gallery, New York, USA
2016: La Capitale Galerie, Paris, France
2017: Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art London, England
2024: Abstraction in Textures at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Dubai, UAE
STATEMENT
The prepared canvas, now dry and ready, extends an invitation to explore, to evoke thoughts and weave a language that employs an array of sensory experiences and elusive notations. This journey is one of introspection and profound reflection, a system of ideas engaging in a dialogue with the external world, utilizing various techniques to explore possibilities both internal and external. The application of paint plays a provisional role that the artist must embrace while uncovering their unique idiosyncrasies and dialectical musings, observing and transcending them in rational and irrational terms. The tension that arises from these meandering thought patterns is what may ultimately result in beauty or distress. Moments of frustration should not be erased or suppressed; instead, they should be embraced, allowing them to evolve into the unknown.
Provocative thoughts are the catalysts for breaking new ground, scaling treacherous slopes in pursuit of a landing, albeit a rare one. Gazing over one’s shoulder, the breathtaking sunset and the vast expanse of the earth offer perfect hyperboles. It is these moments that demand to be seized. Hovering above all that is and below all that could be, suspended in absolute bewilderment and disbelief, a painting eventually takes shape. Colour is my quest, the epicentre of my argument. The materiality of paint must be transcended, with numerous grounds for transgression, both diverse and multifaceted. Colour and its analogues are not the sole determinants; the chemistry of thought, the expansiveness of imagination, and other curiosities all play a role in shaping a painting’s idea.
Several such ideas mark the beginning, followed by reflective conjugations, dark facets of the mind, and a staunch rejection of the banality surrounding the human experience. Memories merge into narratives, and olfactory notes and sounds blend with the silence haunting the chambers of the heart. Baudelaire cradling the Flowers of Evil in a casket, Hamlet contemplating the inadequacy of life, and Macbeth haunted by the image of a dagger piercing a king’s conscience-all these threads are picked up and pursued. The chasm between what is spoken and what is heard is an eternal struggle to which I willingly submit. At times, the canyons are too vast to bridge, and the sea too deep inhabited by monsters both real and imaginary.
Fear is the initial barrier to be confronted with a barbaric determination, followed by a serenity that is heartwarming yet transient. The transience of any given state enriches the experience, infusing it with an electric charge significant enough to initiate a chain reaction with the power and potential to illuminate the universe.
