Talk #22

Faiza Butt

Faiza Butt was born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1973. She received her BA from the National College of Arts in 1993, with honours, and was awarded the Berger Gold Medal for outstanding student of the year. She holds a master’s degree in painting with a distinction award from the Slade School of Fine Art, and a teaching certificate from the Institute of Education. Faiza’s elaborate drawings are obsessively crafted with passion and rigour, and create surfaces that hover between photography and embroidery. Born into a family of five sisters, gender related themes are close to her heart. Her work has been exhibited at various art fairs, such as Art Dubai and the Hong Kong Art Fair, and extensively in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and the United States. Her work can also be found in private and public collections, including the British Museum, The Kiran Nadar Museum, Burger Collection and many more. Her mid-career retrospective, Paracosm, was shown at New Art Exchange (Nottingham) and Attenborough Arts Centre (Leicester). The specially commissioned installation, Paracosm, was shown at Alchemy Festival at the Southbank Centre, London. Faiza has exhibited twice at the international Venice Biennale.