Textures of Emotions — A Solo Exhibition by Mobina Zuberi Opens at Gallery 6, Islamabad
Textures of Emotions, a solo exhibition by Mobina Zuberi, opens today, Thursday, 1 October 2026, at Gallery 6, Islamabad. The exhibition brings together 27 recent and selected works from two distinct yet interconnected strands of the artist’s practice: her evocative paintings of women and her abstract compositions.
Mobina Zuberi’s artistic journey spans several decades, beginning in the 1970s and evolving through a wide range of subjects, styles and approaches. Over the past decade, two particular bodies of work have occupied a significant place in her practice. Although her figurative paintings of women and her abstractions appear markedly different at first glance, both emerge from the artist’s sensitivity to mood, expression, form and visual atmosphere. In both, Mobina is less concerned with describing the external world than with capturing something more elusive—the emotional quality of a moment.
The women in Mobina’s paintings do not conform to familiar ideals of feminine beauty or to established archetypes. They are neither glamorous figures nor fairy-tale princesses, mythological characters, fertility symbols or folkloric heroines. Nor do they derive from the imagery of the traditional Mughal miniature. Instead, Mobina presents women in seemingly ordinary yet psychologically charged moments. Her figures appear absorbed in their own worlds, often caught in moments of introspection, stillness or quiet anticipation.
There is no deliberate grotesqueness or theatrical distortion in these works; neither does Mobina rely on overt nudity or exaggerated eroticism. Yet many of her figures possess a quiet sensuality and an alluring presence. Their appeal lies not in conventional physical perfection but in the suggestion of an inner life. They seem to exist somewhere between the personal and the universal, inviting the viewer to wonder about the thought, memory, desire or experience that may lie beyond the painted surface.
It is often a seemingly small detail that gives these paintings their emotional resonance—a particular pose, the inclination of the body, an angular contour, a gesture, or the expression conveyed through the eyes. Her distinctive drawing technique, together with her handling of paint and surface, adds further character to each work. Through an economy of line and form, Mobina transforms an apparently fleeting moment into something more enduring: a feeling, an instinct, a desire, a memory or perhaps the suggestion of a story.
Her abstract paintings follow a different visual vocabulary, yet they too are deeply concerned with atmosphere and feeling. Here, the human figure disappears, and emotion is communicated through the relationships between shape, colour, space, texture and movement. Balance and spatial depth are carefully orchestrated to create compositions that engage the viewer beyond the immediately visible.
Particularly significant is the tactile quality of the Nepalese handmade paper on which many of these works are created. Its naturally uneven, rugged and sometimes irregular surface becomes an integral part of the artwork rather than merely a support for the paint.
The physical texture of the paper interacts with colour and form, giving the paintings a material presence that can almost be sensed through the eyes.
Rather than relying on surreal or mythological imagery, Mobina allows abstraction itself to evoke different states of mind. Her compositions do not prescribe a particular narrative or interpretation. Instead, they invite the viewer to respond intuitively—to allow forms, colours and textures to stimulate personal associations, memories and imagination.
Seen together, the two bodies of work reveal an important continuity in Mobina Zuberi’s artistic thinking. Whether she is depicting the human figure or working entirely through abstraction, her primary interest remains the evocation of an emotional experience. One body of work finds emotion through the presence of the figure; the other discovers it through the language of colour, form and texture.
Textures of Emotions therefore brings together two seemingly different approaches that ultimately speak the same visual language. Across these 27 works, Mobina Zuberi explores not simply what we see, but what we feel when we encounter an image—those subtle, often indefinable responses that linger long after the moment itself has passed.
