Welcome to StudioYusuf
Where words and lives find their canvas
I began painting in 2020, at the age of 55. Though I could make passable drawings as a student, I had never painted on canvas.
My work now moves in two directions. One is Quranic calligraphy, written in the Kufic script. Over many years I have collected Quranic verses that speak about good social behaviour, such as kindness, justice, generosity and honesty. Such verses are seldom promoted in educational institutions or mainstream media. My calligraphic paintings are minimal in style, focusing on clarity and vibrant, unconventional colors. Their content remains the strongest element.
The other direction of my paintings is portraiture. Inspired by thirty-six years of traveling across the country as an officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, I paint ordinary working-people. They are cobblers, watch repairers, rural women, all in shades of black and white, against plain backgrounds. These portraits honor their quiet resilience and dignity.
Together, these two strands form StudioYusuf: art rooted in timeless words and the enduring strength of everyday lives.
Introduction to the Calligraphy Section
For over two decades I have been fine combing the Holy Quran, collecting more than a hundred verses and phrases that have deeply moved me. Teaching myself Quranic Arabic grammar opened the door to experiencing the text directly. That privilege has been transformative: it freed me from reliance on translations, textbooks, and television, and allowed me to encounter the words in their original clarity. With each new reading I continue to stumble upon gems whose significance I had not recognized before.
The verses I have gathered over the years mostly address how people should live with one another, within families, communities, and society at large. They call us to be more loving, generous, trustworthy, and hopeful. They urge us to avoid wastefulness and ostentation, inconsistency between words and deeds, silence in the face of injustice, and so much more.
To bring these messages into a visual form I taught myself to write in the Kufic script, one of the six main styles traditionally used in Quranic calligraphy. In 2020, at the age of 55, I painted my first Quranic calligraphy on canvas. Since then I have created dozens of compositions, deliberately minimal in style. Unlike the ornate embellishments often associated with calligraphy, which are beautiful but sometimes difficult to read, I focus on clarity, experimenting with vibrant and unexpected color combinations. My compositions remain faithful to the rules of the Kufic script while highlighting the text as the central element.