The Pakistan National Council of the Arts has opened an exhibition titled Quranic Calligraphy and Paintings, a solo presentation by artist Yusuf Khan at the National Art Gallery in Islamabad on December 12, 2025. The show was inaugurated by Fuad Pashayev, UNESCO Representative to Pakistan, with Farah Naz, Parliamentary Secretary for the National Heritage and Culture Division, and Muhammad Ayoub Jamali, Director General of PNCA, in attendance alongside diplomats, artists and members of the cultural and academic community.
The exhibition features more than forty works that pair Quranic calligraphy in a contemporary Kufic script with striking monochrome portraits of everyday Pakistanis. Khan’s calligraphic panels draw on verses that emphasise truth, justice, kindness and integrity while his portraits pay quiet tribute to cobblers, artisans and rural women whose perseverance shapes everyday life across the country.
Fuad Pashayev praised the show for linking spirituality with social ethics and noted that the artist uses calligraphy as a moral language rather than mere decoration. He described the works as part of a living tradition of Islamic art that continues to adapt within contemporary practice and underlined PNCA’s role in supporting creative expression.
Muhammad Ayoub Jamali highlighted PNCA’s commitment to nurturing diverse creative voices and pointed to Yusuf Khan’s personal journey from a career in public service to artistic self discovery as evidence that creativity can emerge at any stage of life. He said the calligraphic compositions communicate Quranic values such as honesty and generosity in a restrained, minimalist manner while the portraits celebrate the resilience of ordinary citizens.
Yusuf Khan expressed gratitude to PNCA for hosting his first exhibition and described his paintings as meditations on values that guide society. He said the simplicity of form and clarity of verse are intended to convey universal principles central to both the Quran and human experience, and that the faces he paints serve as reminders of dignity and determination he encountered during years in public service.
The exhibition will be open to the public at Gallery No 6, PNCA National Art Gallery, Islamabad from December 12 to December 19, 2025. Visitors are invited to view this blend of Quranic calligraphy and contemporary portraiture that speaks to Pakistan’s artistic heritage and social fabric.
