What a week it’s been.
A heart felt thank you to the @artdubai team, @benedettaghione , @dunjagottweis , @alexieglass , @natashacarella and everyone else you guys are legends for pulling off such an incredible Art Dubai and for your continued love, support and belief in us.
A huge thank you to our own @ohrobella who while not physically being here was with me remotely and made everything happen so smoothly.
And to our artists for believing in what we are creating at @dastaangoigallery
To all our interns for their support during the fair.
And finally to you our community, our friends, family and collectors without whom we wouldn’t have gotten this far.
The first time we ever do a fair and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
With gratitude,
Amad
Special thank you to @marinavvetrova for the beautiful reel.
Aalia Zahra Butt is miniature artist, based in Pakistan. Using gouache on archival paper as her main medium, she paints dense and intricate paintings of her home, using the building, foliage, the weather and even light as metaphors to express her concerns that revolve around memories and the idea of home. These elements are carefully chosen to express her concerns, which persistently revolve around the nature of different relationships and the profound, multifaceted idea of ‘home.’ Each brushstroke is like a deliberate act of recollection, an attempt to preserve the essence of moments lived and the emotions that they evoke.
Through this process, she seeks not only to document a physical space but also the emotions that it represents. Her work is an exploration of belonging coupled with the enduring human need for a sense of place, and to express the connections between family, security and strength in togetherness. The choice of using gouache on paper is integral to her artistic expression. It allows her to build layers of color and texture as she renders her intricate and meticulously detailed works. The archival paper, though seemingly merely a surface, is almost like a metaphor: a silent witness to the passage of time spent making the works and the preservation of the themes she explores.
Dastaangoi Gallery will be exhibiting incredibly detailed works of Aaila Zahra Butt at Art Dubai, 2026 as part of its presentation at the fair.
@artdubai@ohrobella@amadsmian@aailazahrabutt
Dastaangoi Gallery is proud to announce its participation in Art Dubai 2026 at Madinat Jumeirah, May 14 - 17, Booth A11
Maheen Elahi’s practice is inspired by the city’s layered histories and quiet, atmospheric rhythms. Her work revolves around trees, still water, and open fields, forms that hold space rather than describe it. These elements allow her to explore states of transition: between presence and absence, movement and stillness, sound and silence. Maheen Elahi’s practice explores landscapes, memory, and liminal spaces through intricate detail and layered narratives.
We’re excited to present Maheen Elahi’s meticulously detailed works at Art Dubai this year.
@artdubai@amadsmian@ohrobella@maheenelahi.art
Dastaangoi Gallery is proud to announce its participation in Art Dubai 2026 at Madinat Jumeirah, May 14 - 17, Booth A11
In her works, Aaila Zahra Butt navigates the emotional and psychological dimensions of relationships, memory, and the layered notion of home. Her works move beyond the documentation of physical spaces, instead preserving the emotional atmospheres attached to them: familial bonds, quiet intimacies, and moments of togetherness that shape one’s sense of belonging. Aaila approaches home not as a static location, but as an emotional structure continuously formed through relationships and shared presence. Her works delve more into human interactions themselves, rather than merely documenting spaces.
Dastaangoi Gallery will be presenting incredibly detailed works of Aaila Zahra Butt at Art Dubai, 2026 as part of its presentation at the fair.
@artdubai@ohrobella@amadsmian@aailazahrabutt
Dastaangoi Gallery is proud to announce its participation in Art Dubai 2026 at Madinat Jumeirah, May 14 - 17, Booth A11
Shamir’s practice exists in an ongoing dialogue between painting and cinema. Drawing from the ways filmmakers have historically referenced painting to construct mood, symbolism, and narrative, his work investigates how cinematic sensibilities can alter the perception of an image. These visual languages inform his process of image-making, shaping compositions that exist between observation and staging.
Dastaangoi Gallery will be presenting this series of Shamir’s works at Art Dubai 2026 as part of its presentation at the fair.
@artdubai@ohrobella@amadsmian@shamir_iqtidar
Dastaangoi Gallery is proud to announce its participation in Art Dubai 2026 at Madinat Jumeirah, May 14 - 17, Booth A11
Ahsan Javaid’s practice explores themes of identity, memory, and power, focusing on how histories are remembered, hidden, or forgotten. His work looks at the gaps within collective histories and examines how images, objects, and cultural narratives influence what is preserved over time and what disappears. During his artist residency with Dastaangoi in Dubai last year, Javaid explored these ideas through the city’s changing social and urban landscape, reflecting on how identity and space are constantly shifting rather than fixed. This year, Ahsan Javaid brings these works to Art Dubai, inviting audiences to experience his reflections on memory and history.
@artdubai@ohrobella@amadsmian@ahsanjavaid21
Dastaangoi Gallery is coming to Art Dubai for the very first time, and we cannot wait to show you what we’ve been working on
See you at Madinat Jumeirah, May 14-17
“ghar” opens tomorrow at Dastaangoi Islamabad, at 5pm.
ghar brings together works of three young artists
Hamza Bin Faisal, Irfan Channa and Maryam Jahanzaib Baig.
Through their practices, the artists explore spaces around us, engaging with ideas of belonging, attachment, intimacy, and the pull of familiarity. They approach space not as a fixed site but as something lived, that is shaped over time by memory, absence, and presence.
Drawing from their immediate surroundings, they examine sites that may initially appear ordinary, emphasizing their quiet presence and frequently overlooked details. In doing so, the artists re-read spaces as carriers of personal and collective histories, where the visible and the concealed coexist.
Join us at the opening of “ghar” on Friday, February 13, 2026 at Dastaangoi Islamabad to experience exceptional works of Maryam Jahanzeb Baig.
“My work offers a close look into the heritage sites of Pakistan, exploring the idea that we are both perpetrators and recipients in an ongoing dialogue with our past. I approach these historical sites as dynamic storytellers, where every weathered surface, each scar, and every layer bears witness to the resilience and inevitable decay that define human history.
Using oil on clay and wood, I aim to capture the textures and patina of timeworn surfaces. Each layer of clay symbolizes the historical strata of these sites, while the weathered tones and varied brushstrokes evoke the complexities of decay. The layered surfaces serve as a metaphor for the palimpsest of cultural and political histories.”
Ghar brings together works of three young artists Hamza Bin Faisal, Irfan Channa and Maryam Jahanzaib Baig.
Through their practices, the artists explore spaces around us, engaging with ideas of belonging, attachment, intimacy, and the pull of familiarity. They approach space not as a fixed site but as something lived, that is shaped over time by memory, absence, and presence.
Drawing from their immediate surroundings, they examine sites that may initially appear ordinary, emphasizing on their quiet presence and frequently overlooked details. In doing so, the artists re-read spaces as carriers of personal and collective histories, where the visible and the concealed coexist.
Join us at the opening to view the works of these three incredible artists. The show opens on Friday, February 13, 2026, 5pm at Dastaangoi Islamabad.
