Zahoor ul Akhlaq

Zahoor ul Akhlaq (February 4, 1941 – January 18, 1999) was a pioneering artist from Pakistan. He is known for his approach to painting, sculpture, design and architecture, as well as his teaching at the NCA (National College of Arts) in Lahore.

Born in Delhi, India, he was the eldest in a family of 11 children. His family moved to Lahore in after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, eventually settling in Karachi. Akhlaq attended the Sindh Madrassah as a young boy and went to study in art in Lahore at the Mayo School of Arts now (NCA). In 1971, he married Sheherezade Alam, a potter, and the couple had two daughters, Jahanara, (1974–1999), Nurjahan (b. 1979).

Akhlaq along with his elder daughter, Jahanara, was shot dead in their Lahore home on 18 January 1999.

Akhlaq's painting invoked a dialogue between modernist abstraction and many traditional forms and practices found within South Asia (including Mughal Miniature painting, calligraphy and vernacular architecture). At a time when his contemporaries in South Asia were developing their work within a modernist tradition, or had primitivist leanings, he eschewed both schools by merging his interest in abstractions with traditional and vernacular practices. Although he evaded the label of an abstract artist, his work mostly fits this definition.

Akhlaq's influences are from a vast range of sources, which include painting, literature, philosophy, Sufism, dance, and music. His teaching and practice is considered to have had a significant impact on a generation of Contemporary Pakistani art and artists.

The logo the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi was designed by him. In 1981, he designed 2 of a set of 5 stamps issued to mark the Third Islamic Summit Conference at Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Both designs (40 paisas and Re 1) depicted an Afghan refugee girl.

The gallery at National College of Arts, Lahore is named in his memory as is the gallery at the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, Karachi.

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