NAQSH II: NOOR

The second of three works in the Naqsh series. Where the other two portraits carry shadow and reduction, this one holds light. The face is rendered in pale gold, the crosshatch marks fine and evenly distributed, the surrounding lotus forms opening outward. The blue scarf at the shoulder is the one note of weight in a work otherwise occupied with brightness.
 
Noor is not the word for sunlight or lamplight. It is the word for the light that emanates from a face,  a quality the Urdu language chose to distinguish from all other kinds of light. This portrait is named for that specific thing.
 
Part of Naqsh (2026), a self-contained series of three unique portraits in waterproof ink on fine grain paper, each set within a border of Indian brocade silk drawn from the artist's own textile archive.
 
Waterproof ink on fine grain paper · Crosshatch · Picture 9" × 12" · Brocade silk mat 3" · Distressed gold wooden frame 2" · Glass-fronted · Overall approx. 19" × 22" · Unique work · Signed · Certificate of authenticity · Ships from New Delhi