Hanging Fire Contemporary Art from Pakistan Salima Hashmi, Iftikhar Dadi, Carla Petievich, Ayesha Jalal, Quddus Mirza, Naazish Ata-Ullah, Mohsin Hamid, Iftikhar Dadi

Accompanying the first U.S. museum exhibition devoted to contemporary art from Pakistan, this dynamic catalogue provides a groundbreaking look at recent and current trends in Pakistani art. "Hanging Fire" covers a fascinating range of subjects and media, from installation and video art to sculpture, drawing, and paintings in the 'contemporary miniature' tradition. Essays by distinguished contributors from a variety of fields, including Salima Hashmi, Pakistani-American sociologist and historian Ayesha Jalal, and the celebrated novelist Mohsin Hamid, place contemporary Pakistani art in a cultural, historical, and artistic perspective. The book's title, "Hanging Fire", alludes to the contemporary economic, political, and social tensions - both local and global - from which these artists find their creative inspiration. It may also suggest to the viewer to delay judgment, particularly based on assumptions or preconceived notions about contemporary society and artistic expression in Pakistan today.

Salima Hashmi is currently dean of the School of Visual Arts at Beaconhouse National University in Lehore, Pakistan. She has remained at the forefront of creating and articulating Pakistani art. A reputed painter, her works have been exhibited extensively.