Lubna Agha

Lubna Agha was an American artist of Pakistani descent who lived in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her work has been exhibited in art museums and galleries in Pakistan and the United States, as well as Britain, Japan, Jordan, and Switzerland. Her paintings are part of the permanent collections at the Asian Collection at Bradford Museum, UK, National Council of the Arts, Pakistan, and the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Jordan. The Karachi School of Arts dedicated an Art Gallery to her name. The Lubna Agha Art Gallery was inaugurated with a showing of her work and a memorial lecture in March, 2016. A book about the artist by Marcella Nessom Sirhandi entitled Lubna Agha: Points of Reference was published by The Foundation of Museum of Modern Art, Pakistan in 2007. Her inspiration stemmed from visual images that once were seen daily but are now part of history. In her paintings, the forms and elements she drew upon became seeds for stimulation. The aim was not to capture those images faithfully, but use them as triggers to take her on paths all her own. Her work was about discourse with history, about issues of identity and culture. She used dots and brush strokes to create patterns that embodied the geometry and abstraction inherent in traditional Muslim architecture. She also reclaimed overlooked objects of Islamic culture and gave them a new life in her art. She died of complications from gallbladder cancer at her home in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 6, 2012. She was 63 years old.