Shafaq Ahmad was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. After Ahmad left Pakistan she lived in the United Kingdom, Iran and Denmark before settling down in the United States. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 1991 and a Master of Fine Art degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in 2011. She has travelled around the globe to many countries in Asia, Europe and North America. Ahmad worked as an art glass designer from 1995 to 2003 and collaborated with several art glass studios in Czech Republic and Sweden. She also designed art glass for Barovier and Toso Czech Republic till 2003 for 8 years. Her art glass designs are in private collections in many countries. Presently, she works as a multimedia artist. She employs painting, 3D, digital media, print making, mixed media and onsite installations. Ahmad has participated in many exhibitions in the USA, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Italy, China, Portugal and United Arab Emirates. Her work is a part of permanent collections at the Sharjah Department of Art and Culture in the United Arab Emirates, Museum of Geometric and Madi Art in Dallas, Texas, Mercedes Benz Daimler Financial, Corporate Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas and other institutions. Ahmad’s work has been published in Art Voices magazine, Studio Visit magazine, Islamic Arts Magazine, Emel magazine, Art Now Pakistan Dallas Art Review, Star Telegram, Libas Magazine, Valassko, Vlastivedna Revue, VAIA, bont VOOR BINNEN, and Ceramic & Glass, among other publications.
Statement
I was born in Rawalpindi and raised in Islamabad, Pakistan, regions steeped in cultural, poetic, and spiritual heritage. My life has since moved across multiple geographies, including the United Kingdom, Iran, Denmark, and the United States, each contributing to the development of my visual language and philosophical sensibilities. These experiences have expanded my understanding of identity and belonging, and they continue to inform the layered, contemplative nature of my work.
At the heart of my artistic practice is a devotion to the act of creation as a meditative and spiritual process. Whether I am painting, working in printmaking, constructing digital compositions, or creating site-responsive installations, the studio becomes a space of stillness, an inner sanctuary. I approach art making as a form of Zikr or Remembrance, a repetitive, rhythmic invocation leading to a way to connect with the universal spirit that animates all living beings.
My visual language blends luminosity of color, calligraphic gesture, and intricate layering to evoke the inner dimensions of consciousness. Through the movement of the brush, the rhythm of repeated marks, and the depth of overlapping textures, I seek to convey the sensation of being enveloped by the divine. Geometric forms appear organically, offering balance and harmony echoing sacred design traditions while emerging through intuitive process. The calligraphic elements, inspired by Urdu, Persian, and Arabic poetry and spiritual texts, often repeated, suggesting the infinite and ever shifting nature of existence.
Having worked as an art glass designer for nearly a decade in Europe, particularly in the Czech Republic and Sweden, my practice also reflects a sensitivity to material, light, and transparency. These qualities inform not only my surfaces but also the energy within each piece. More recently, I’ve expanded my work to include textile elements and fashion, further exploring how the physical and metaphysical intertwine.
Across over 80 international group and multiple solo exhibitions in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia, I’ve continued to develop a visual vocabulary that speaks across borders, cultures, and disciplines.
Ultimately, my art is a form of spiritual inquiry, a journey through color, gesture, memory, and silence toward something universal, timeless, and unseen.