Installation view of “Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light” at Seattle Asian Art Museum, 2025. (Photo: Chloe Collyer)
Artist Anila Quayyum Agha is making her debut in the Pacific Northwest. Her illuminated, large-scale installations are currently on display at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM), cloaking its galleries in intricate projections that immerse the viewer in patterned worlds. The exhibition, titled Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light, marks the first solo exhibition of a Pakistani-American artist in the Seattle Art Museum’s 90-year history.
Light and shadow are equal participants in Agha’s sculptures. In her most defining piece, A Beautiful Despair, a laser-cut steel cube is suspended from the ceiling. Each side is cut with intricate designs featuring patterns and motifs found in sacred spaces, notably Islamic ones. Lit from the center of the structure, even the smallest shapes are magnified on the walls, floor, and ceiling.
Agha uses her life experiences to inform her work, which similarly reflects both light and dark times. The dark moments, which are a catalyst for her as an artist, reference the gender discrimination she faced as a girl growing up in Pakistan. This issue isn’t unique to only Pakistan, however, and her installations transform her deeply personal work into one that invites larger reflection from its audience. After all, viewers can’t help but be part of the artwork as they enter the orbit of her illuminated pieces. The overwhelming feeling of stepping into the space, bathed in Agha’s work, is both an awe-inspiring and contemplative experience.
Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light is on view until April 19, 2026. Get your tickets by visiting the SAAM website.
Artist Anila Quayyum Agha is making her debut in the Pacific Northwest.
Installation view of “Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light” at Seattle Asian Art Museum, 2025. (Photo: Chloe Collyer)
Her illuminated, large-scale installations are currently on display at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in an exhibition titled Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light.
A Beautiful Despair (Blue), 2021, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, lacquered steel and halogen bulb, 60 x 60 x 60 inches, Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha. (Photo: Steve Watson/Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX)
A Beautiful Despair (Blue), 2021, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, lacquered steel and halogen bulb, 60 x 60 x 60 inches, Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha. (Photo: Steve Watson/Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX)
It marks the first solo exhibition of a Pakistani-American artist in the Seattle Art Museum’s 90-year history.
Installation view of “Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light” at Seattle Asian Art Museum, 2025. (Photo: Chloe Collyer)
This is Not a refuge! (2) (detail), 2019, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, laser-cut, resin coated aluminum, light bulb, 93 x 58 x 72 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha. (Photo: Masterpiece Art Fair, London, UK)
Viewers can’t help but be part of the artwork as they enter the orbit of her illuminated pieces.
This is Not a refuge! (2), 2019, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, laser-cut, resin coated aluminum, light bulb, 93 x 58 x 72 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha. (Photo: Columbia Museum, Columbia, NC)
The overwhelming feeling of stepping into the space, bathed in Agha’s work, is both an awe-inspiring and contemplative experience.
This is Not a refuge! (2) (detail), 2019, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, laser-cut, resin coated aluminum, light bulb, 93 x 58 x 72 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha. (Photo: Columbia Museum, Columbia, NC)
Liminal Space, 2021, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, laser-cut and lacquered steel, 65 x 65 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha, photo: Steve Watson/Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX.
Liminal Space (detail), 2021, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, laser-cut and lacquered steel, 65 x 65 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha, photo: Steve Watson/Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX.
Flowers (Red) (framed), 2018, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mixed media on paper (red circle with outer cutouts, red beads, and white stitching on center), 29 1/2 x 29 1/2 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Aaron Overstreet)
Flowers (Red) (framed), 2018, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mixed media on paper (red circle with outer cutouts, red beads, and white stitching on center), 29 1/2 x 29 1/2 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Aaron Overstreet)
The show also has textile art pieces on display.
Be Still My Heart II (framed), 2021, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mixed media (cut paper and mylar, embroidery and beads on paper), 37 1/2 x 29 3/4 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Jake Sneath)
Be Still My Heart II (detail), 2021, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mixed media (cut paper and mylar, embroidery and beads on paper), 37 1/2 x 29 3/4 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Jake Sneath)
Warhead II (framed), 2023, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mixed media on paper and mylar (cut paper, encaustic, embroidery, and beads), 37 1/4 x 29 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Randy Pace)
Warhead II (detail, framed), 2023, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mixed media on paper and mylar (cut paper, encaustic, embroidery, and beads), 37 1/4 x 29 in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Randy Pace)
Anila Quayyum Agha: Geometry of Light is on view until April 19, 2026.
Dream Catcher II (framed), 2023, Anila Quayyum Agha, Pakistani-American, b. 1965, mylar, paper, laser-cut wood, thread, beads, 29 3/4 x 29 1/2in., Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, NYC, and the artist, © Anila Quayyum Agha (Photo: Casey Cronin)