Persian miniatures and mermaids: Hiba Schahbaz’s garden of delights at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami
- 4 days ago
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The first major retrospective devoted to the Karachi-born, Brooklyn-based artist Hiba Schahbaz, The Garden, features works spanning 15 years of the artist’s practice—including loans from private collections, work from her studio and newly commissioned pieces. It was curated by Jasmine Wahi and is anchored by the idea of the jannat, the Paradise Garden, a motif rooted in Islamic tradition and Sufi poetry.
Much of the exhibition’s success stems from Schahbaz’s trust in Wahi’s curatorial voice. The show is rooted in the elements—earth, water, fire and air—which gently guide visitors through an immersive and sensual journey. “It’s not something I could have done on my own,” Schahbaz tells The Art Newspaper. “I’ve watched Jasmine evolve as a curator and seen what she’s capable of. I can be pretty hands-on with curatorial decisions, but for this project, I really wanted to step back and let her lead.”
Drawing on the geometry and symbolism of Persian and Mughal char-bagh (four-part garden) design, the show unfolds as a contemplative landscape that oscillates between personal and cultural memory. “Each painting holds memories, emotions and moments,” Schahbaz says, “particularly the interior spaces I depict, which resonate with an intense emotional clarity.”
Trained in the Indo-Persian miniature tradition at the National College of Arts in Lahore, and later at the Pratt Institute in New York, Schahbaz works primarily with water-based pigments and tea on handmade paper. Her materials evoke a deep sense of ritual and care. Her soft, self-referential paintings centre the female figure, frequently her own. “I am the subject I know best,” she says.
