my divergence is my convergence - ambreen butt

Ambreen's work is rich with observation and reflective commentary on contemporary issues she has personally experienced.

In her talk, she walked us through a chronological journey of her observations and how they have played out in her work. 

It was a breath-taking moment when her final slide of her most recent work appeared - it clearly was a compilation of all her work to this point. Executed with extreme beauty. It was our print.....    

Robin Gross  

One hour 36 minutes. Ambreen Butt at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (video courtesy of the museum)

Ambreen's presentation inspired a poem the next morning.  These words rang out as her art seemed to alter my Western perspective.  Very therapeutic in light of the Presidential election the day before. Context is everything.  

"The Same"

Donald and Hillary
Both materialistic
Both White
Both Capitalist
Both Christian
Both Western
Both left people out

Both Won
One Won the popular vote
The Other Won the Electoral College 
Both Lost
One Lost the dream of breaking a glass
The Other Lost his way of life
A mirror
The Same
Hallelujah says Leonard Cohen

Inspired by Ambreen Butt - Pakistani artist

Curtis V. Smith  Dec 6, 2016

I was particularly struck by her freedom of inspiration and creativity given the stereotype of rigidity that defines her ethnic and religious background. 

David Mc Gee 

Ms. Butt's presentation on her art and studio practice was a powerful and powerfully engaging experience. From her early pieces in the Persian miniaturist tradition to her recent commission for the walls of US Department of State in the Embassy in Islamabad, Ms. Butt revealed the multiple layers that inform and literally compose her art. This allowed her work, including the print commissioned by the Print Society, to be appreciated in new and deeper ways. I was particularly struck by her suggestion that as an artist, she occupies two worlds -- one that is idealized and without boundaries and another where there is both incredible beauty and great ugliness. Throughout the course of her presentation, it became clear that she absolutely succeeds in deftly weaving together those dual worlds and accomplishes her aim to take the broken pieces from society, process them, and turn them in to something beautiful.      

Stephanie Knappe 

I found her discussion of her artistic process fascinating; how she started with the traditional, extremely detailed techniques and how her style has developed along the way. I also was really interested in hearing Ambreen talk about her thought processes that went into some of her works.

Debbie Sokoloff

I am happy to share my impression of Ambreen Butt's presentation.  It was very enlightening to hear her talk about her process and development  of her ideas.  She was a delight to meet and I applaud the Print Society for bringing her to Kansas City.  We  spoke about her use of shredded money in her work and I mentioned the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank here.  She said that she would like to return to Kansas City for a longer visit, and would like to bring her family to our fair city. I also would like to thank  Kim and the Department of Asian Studies for the lovely reception that they hosted.   I look forward to more shared programs with the museum.  

Susan Lawrence  

Nov 15, 2016

    It was the miniaturist Ambreen Butt who talked about the lengthy steps making her art. The wesselly was a paper surface made of gluing fine cotton to silk - then flattening the sheet with pressured passes of a conch shell. Top to bottom and right to left - over all. Brushes were made from squirrel tail hair put in a pigeon shaft. Tiny distinct marks placed in layers to create the intended pattern. 
    She described the intimacy of creating. Sitting on the floor with her painting in her lap, taking the time to do it. "A very meditative process," she said. 
    As she continued about her ideas, she kept coming back to the layers, the process. The words that came to my mind were TEDIOUS and INTENTIONAL and ENGAGED and IMMERSED.   
    Mylar plastic sheets with the slight brushed on layer of transparent acrylic paint. Something for the watercolor strokes to rest upon.     
    Outline drawings of people. Her pushing a threaded needle through the layers of plastic. "piercing the layers with thread" for the six foot tall creation.  
    Gentle mark making with pencils shaved careful to a point for her work "Ideas Of Rightness And Wrongness." How she had trained to apply slight pressure in those graphite drawings.   read more here

Karl Marxhausen

Pakistani-American artist Ambreen Butt discussed her career, including her 2015 commission for the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, as well as the latest commission for the Print Society, my divergence is my convergence. This print is available for purchase and on view in the Museum Store. HERE

Ambreen Butt website: http://www.ambreenbutt.com/  

Ambreen Butt was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and received her BFA in traditional Indian and Persian miniature painting from the National College of Arts in Lahore. She moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1993 and attended Massachusetts College of Art and Design earning her MFA in painting in 1997. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions around the world and is included in private and public collections such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She works and resides in Dallas, Texas.

[Photo credit: Richard Howard]