Jamali (born Aqdas Hussain Khan, Pakistan, 1944) is an American avant-garde artist. His artistic style has been termed Mystical Expressionism by art critic and historian

Donald Kuspit Donald Kuspit (born March 26, 1935) is an American art critic and poet, known for his practice of psychoanalytic art criticism. He has published on the subjects of avant-garde aesthetics, postmodernism, modern art, and conceptual art. Education ...

. He is known for his unique, organic textures, experimental techniques, and figurative paintings of

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

. Currently his bestselling works are

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. He is a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and his spirituality is highly related to his art.

Life

Jamali was born Aqdas Hussain Khan on April 12, 1944, in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, to Shafquat and Ahmad Hussain Khan. His autobiography reports that his family was visited by a wise man who prophesied that the family would achieve greatness and should adopt the surname Jamali. As a teenager, Jamali attended the

Cadet College Hasan Abdal Cadet College, Hasan Abdal (CCH) Urdu/Pashto :کیدت کالج/کیڈٹ کالج حسن ابدال is a residential secondary school located in Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan. The college has over 500 enrolled students aged 13 ...

, but left due to its warlike bent.

Travels

After the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, Jamali made a pilgrimage to

Tirich Mir Tirich Mir (also spelled Terich Mir, Terichmir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas–Karakoram range, at above sea level. It is located in the Chitral ...

and then traveled throughout Europe, seeking a stable home for his

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

art. In Paris he met a number of American students studying abroad and decided to apply to the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

to study Fine Art. Jamali moved to America in 1970 on a student visa to attend the

. He has been based in the US since then.

Career

Aqdas Jamali started going by the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Jamali as he launched his career in the 1970s. In this time, the artist worked primarily in

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

. After successful initial exhibitions, Jamali was inspired to embark upon more experimental methods and media, including but not limited to cork, egg

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

, and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. Today he is considered a prominent modern expressionist who owns and operates

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

galleries in New York and Florida.

Mystical Expressionism

Jamali's work is documented in two volumes, ''Mystical Expressionism'' and ''Mystical Expressionism - Dreams and Works'', as well in his recently published autobiography ''Jamali: A Mystical Journey of Hope, The True Story of an American Artist'' (2023). Jamali launched Mardan Publishing, Inc., which offers limited edition artist proofs of his works as well as catalogs showcasing these prints and publications.

Business

The artist is represented internationally, and owns and operates three galleries of his own.

Jamali Gallery (New York City)

The Jamali Gallery in the

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

district of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

was established in 2006. The gallery offers regular events and exhibitions of the artist's work. It is in the histori
Kochendorfer Building

Jamali Fine Art

Jamali's flagship operation is Jamali Fine Art in Winter Park,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. This is the operational core of Art and Peace, Inc., Mardan Publishing, Inc., and Jamali Fine Art, L.L.C. This location contains a gallery marketplace and an administrative center with amenities such as a scanner,

plotter A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes known as a cutting pl ...

, and an

art studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

for Jamali.

Jamali Gallery (Fort Lauderdale)

The Jamali Gallery in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

is on the popular shopping street

Las Olas Boulevard Las Olas Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alab ...

Jamali Gallery (Miami)

Jamali's

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

location is in the

Brickell City Centre Brickell City Centre is a large mixed-use complex consisting of two residential high-rise towers, two office buildings, a high-rise hotel, and an interconnected five-story shopping mall and lifestyle center covering located in the Brickell dis ...

; it opened in mid-2018.

Solo exhibitions

Jamali has held over 100 one-man shows in the U.S. Selected exhibitions include: * 2018 “Pastel Retrospective”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, November 4-January 1 * 2016 “The Shroud”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, May 1–June 30 * 2015 “Mystical Leaves”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, October 1–January 31 * 2015 “Three Mystics, Hands & Hearts”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, November 1, 2014–February 1 * 2012 Grand Opening, Jamali Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, November 15–16 * 2012 Gallery d’Orsay, Boston, Massachusetts, November 1–30 * 2012 Fifth Avenue Design Gallery, Naples, Florida, February 23 * 2010 “Nevelle”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, October 15–December 1 * 2009 “The Lost Horse”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, March 6–31 * 2008 “Four Horsemen“, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, May 29–September 1 * 2008 “Four Horsemen”, Art Resources Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 1–June 15 * 2008 “New York Muse“, Madison Gallery, La Jolla, California, August 1–31 * 2008 “Seven Steps to Heaven“, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, February 2–April 23 * 2008 “Jamali: New Works”, New River Fine Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida * 2008 “Frescos”, Jamali Fine Art, Naples, Florida * 2008 “Dancer”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, November 15, 2007–January 13 * 2008 “Day”, Jamali Fine Art, Naples, Florida, December 5–January 10 * 2007 “Day”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, September 13–November 11 * 2006 Syd Entel Galleries, Tampa Bay, Florida, October * 2006 “Journey of Hope”, Jamali NYC Gallery, New York, December 7, 2005–January 20 * 2006 Art Miami, Miami, Florida, January 1–31, * 2006 “Jamali: New Works”, Stellers Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida * 2006 “Jamali: New Cork Paintings”, Onessimo Fine Art, Palm Beach Garden, Florida * 2006 “Jamali: New Cork Paintings”, Art & Peace, Inc., Winter Park, Florida, June 1–3 * 2005 Chicago Navy Pier Art Show, Pop-n-Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, May 1–30 * 2005 Art Miami, Miami, Florida, January 1–31 * 2005 “Jamali: Mystical Expressionism / New Works”, Hilligoss Gallery, Chicago, Illinois * 2005 “Jamali”, Gallery West, Hampton, Connecticut * 2005 “Jamali: Cork Paintings”, Gallery d’ Orsay, Boston, Massachusetts * 2005 “Jamali”, Onessimo Fine Art, Palm Beach Garden, Florida * 2004 Art Miami, Miami, Florida, January 1–31 * 2004 “Jamali”, Onessimo Fine Art, Palm Beach Garden, Florida * 2004 “Jamali: New Works”, Gallery Sono, Norwalk, Connecticut * 2004 “Jamali Retrospective: 25 Years”, Art & Peace, Inc., Winter Park, Florida, May 1–30 * 2003 Toronto International Art Fair, Nikola Rukaj Gallery, Toronto, Canada, November 13–17 * 2003 New York Art Expo, New York, NY * 2003 “Jamali: Mystical Expressionism”, Hilligoss Gallery, Chicago, Illinois * 2003 “Jamali: Cork Paintings”, Gallery d’ Orsay, Boston, Massachusetts * 2003 “Jamali”, Gallery Sono, Norwalk, Connecticut * 2002 “Jamali: New Works”, Walker Fine Art, Denver, Colorado, July 19–August 30 * 2002 New York Art Expo, New York, NY * 1998 Chicago Navy Pier Art Show, Art & Peace Inc., Chicago, Illinois, May 1–June 1 * 1995 Caesarea Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida, May * 1992 Kenneth Raymond Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida, November * 1991 Marie Ferrar Gallery, Winter Park, Florida, November * 1991 “Jamali”, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL * 1990 Holly Hunt Ltd., Chicago, Illinois, November * 1986 Holly Hunt Ltd., Chicago, Illinois, November * 1985 “Man of Peace”, Maitland Art Center, Maitland, Florida, March 23-April 21 * 1985 Young & Co., Hobe Sound, Florida, April * 1984 Maitland Art Museum, Maitland, Florida, December * 1983 Riji Gallery, New York, NY, March * 1983 Vered Gallery, East Hampton, NY, July * 1983 Edna Hibel Gallery, New York, NY, March 4–31 * 1982 Hans Beck Gallery, Aachen, Germany, October * 1981 Abasin Art Center, Peshawar, Pakistan, April * 1980 Lehman Gallery, Gainesville, Florida, December

References

External links

Jamali Fine Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamali Painters from New York (state) Living people Pakistani painters Sufi artists American artists of Pakistani descent 1944 births