With Indo-Persian miniature painting forming the basis for all of her work—including her own approach to this traditional art form, as well as animation, video, photography, murals, and installation—Shahzia Sikander explores history, politics, and current events, as well as interpersonal themes. She trained under a traditional master, and went on to pioneer alternative approaches to miniature painting. “I found it ripe with potential—to change its status and its narrative and to deconstruct its stereotypes,” she writes. “I recognized…a path to expanding the medium from within, embracing the complexities of craft and rigor in order to open up possibilities for dialogue.” Among the ways she does this is by combining different religious and cultural references in her internationally acclaimed work, which was included in the 2005 Venice Biennale and the 1997 Whitney Biennial.