Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA presents First Major Solo Exhibition in Melbourne by Acclaimed Artist Nusra Latif Qureshi

Nusra Latif Qureshi: The House of Irredeemable Objects
26 July – 21 September 2025
Curators: Dr Rebecca Coates and Melanie Oliver

Melbourne/Naarm, Australia: Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA is pleased to present the first major solo exhibition in Melbourne of acclaimed artist Nusra Latif Qureshi. Opening 26 July to 21 September 2025. Forming part of MUMA’s 50th anniversary year, The House of Irredeemable Objects offers a survey of Qureshi’s thirty-year practice, bringing together painting, collage, photography, and installation, alongside a new commission developed in response to the Monash University Special Collections.

"While Nusra Latif Qureshi’s intricate painted works are well-known in Melbourne, this exhibition presents them in dialogue with her expansive installations incorporating found objects and imagery, offering audiences a deeper understanding of her conceptual and material explorations.

Her work speaks to the complexities of power, and the ability of beauty to obscure loss. In a time of increasing global turbulence, her practice remains profoundly relevant,” says Dr Rebecca Coates, exhibition curator and Director of MUMA.

Renowned for her exquisite painted works that extend the tradition of South Asian miniature painting into a contemporary context, Qureshi’s practice is deeply engaged with themes of history, migration, and cultural memory.

"This is a deeply personal and reflective project that weaves together historical narratives, cultural memory, and contemporary realities. The exhibition is an opportunity to reimagine the past while questioning how histories are constructed, preserved, and erased. Through this body of work, I invite audiences to consider the power of images and objects in shaping our understanding of identity, migration, and belonging," says Nusra Latif Qureshi.

The exhibition will include works from across the artist’s thirty-year career: witty and insightful collages; delicate, vibrant paintings; and several installations that incorporate images, objects and threads, exploring a range of noble causes and deplorable histories.

Expanding upon her recent commission at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Qureshi’s new body of work engages with Monash University Special Collections to explore mapping, geographies, the provenance of objects and acquisition processes. This new commission is framed within broader themes that include reinterpreting art histories from multiple perspectives; interrogating the role of women in patriarchal societies; and examining issues of borders, barriers, and migration.

Layering historical and contemporary references with vibrant colour, delicate line drawing, and poetic motifs, Qureshi’s work challenges traditional perspectives on power and knowledge, memory and desire. Trained at the National College of Arts in Lahore during the 1990s, she mastered the miniature painting techniques introduced to the Mughal courts from Persia in the 16th century. By integrating fragments of her own experience with reflections on political and colonial histories, Qureshi subverts the conventions of this artistic tradition, reimagining spatial and temporal relationships in her compositions.

Public Programs

Curatorial Tours
Join MUMA’s curators for a 30 minute curatorial tour of the paintings, photography and installations that make up The House of Irredeemable Objects by Nusra Latif Qureshi.
Tuesday 29 July, 10.30am
Thursday 31 July, 12pm

Artist Talk: Nusra Latif Qureshi on Violence and BeautyJoin artist Nusra Latif Qureshi for a conversation about violence and beauty in The House of Irredeemable Objects. Across a thirty-five year career, Qureshi has persistently explored ideas of collective trauma and loss through works of immense beauty. In this conversation, with MUMA Director, Dr Rebecca Coates, Qureshi discusses her fascination with beauty and the dark histories that often lurk at its edges.

The exhibition will be also be accompanied by a thoughtful program of artist-led workshops for school and university students with Nusra Latif Qureshi – offering deeper engagement with the ideas of the exhibition.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:Rhiannon Broomfield, Publicist, Monash University Museum of Art
Email: Rhiannon.Broomfield@monash.edu
Phone: +61 (0)410 596 021
Website: www.monash.edu/muma
Exhibition Dates: 26 July – 21 September 2025
Location: Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA, Melbourne

About Nusra Latif Qureshi
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1973, Nusra Latif Qureshi initially trained in Mughal miniature painting at the National College of Arts before relocating to Australia in 2001 to complete a Master of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Melbourne. She has since established an international career, presenting solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane; 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney; and Shepparton Art Museum, among others. Her work has also been exhibited internationally at Smith College Museum of Art, US; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, US; Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Austria; and the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

Qureshi’s practice has been widely recognised, with accolades including the Bulgari Art Award (2019) and international residencies in New York, Los Angeles, and Banff. She has participated in numerous international biennials, including the 15th Sharjah Biennale (2023), the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009), and the 5th Asia Pacific Triennial (2006). Her work is held in significant public and private collections worldwide.