Hiba Schahbaz's Mythical Painted Worlds Debut in Miami Retrospective

The artist's first major solo show, "Hiba Schahbaz: The Garden," features 80 works spanning 15 years of her fantastical, feminine-focused art.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Pakistani-American artist Hiba Schahbaz is showcasing her fantastical, feminine-focused paintings and drawings in her first major retrospective exhibition, "Hiba Schahbaz: The Garden," at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. The show features 80 works spanning 15 years, including her signature Indo-Persian miniatures and larger-than-life paper cut-outs that depict women as angels, mermaids, and other mythical beings.

Why it matters

Schahbaz's art explores themes of female identity, sensuality, and spirituality, drawing from her traditional upbringing and Western artistic influences. The exhibition marks a career milestone for the rising artist, who has gained recognition in recent years through solo shows in London and Paris and public art commissions.

The details

Schahbaz, who was born in Karachi and is based in Brooklyn, trained in Indo-Persian miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore before moving to New York to study at Pratt Institute. Her works, which often feature self-portrait-like figures, blend Eastern and Western artistic traditions, with references to iconic paintings like Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' "La Grande Odalisque" and Frida Kahlo's surreal self-portraits. The exhibition is organized thematically around the elements of air, earth, water, and fire, and also includes the artist's first foray into sculptural works.

  • Schahbaz had back-to-back solo exhibitions at Almine Rech in London and Paris in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
  • In 2021, Schahbaz orchestrated a large-scale public art commission at Rockefeller Center in collaboration with Art Production Fund.
  • "Hiba Schahbaz: The Garden" is on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, through March 16, 2026.

The players

Hiba Schahbaz

A Pakistani-American artist known for her fantastical, feminine-focused paintings and drawings that blend Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

Jasmine Wahi

The founder of Project for Empty Space and the curator of "Hiba Schahbaz: The Garden" exhibition.

Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami

The museum hosting Schahbaz's first major retrospective exhibition.

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What they’re saying

“There are paintings that are most definitely self-portraits, titled Self-Portrait as Leda or so and so, but sometimes the really small miniatures don't necessarily look like me at all.”

— Hiba Schahbaz, Artist (artnet.com)

“In miniature, we make everything unrealistic, but when I started studying Western art, I thought, all the women look like women and had these faces and personalities and are painted so lusciously. I was trying to sit like the Odalisque, and I totally sprained my neck. That was misconception number one. Those bodies are not necessarily real.”

— Hiba Schahbaz, Artist (artnet.com)

What’s next

The exhibition marks a career milestone for Schahbaz, and the debut of her first sculptural works will be closely watched as she continues to expand her artistic practice.

The takeaway

Schahbaz's fantastical, feminine-focused art blends Eastern and Western traditions, exploring themes of identity, sensuality, and spirituality through a unique visual language of mythical beings and self-portrait-like figures.