About Anwar Jalal Shemza
​(1928-1985)

Anwar Jalal Shemza (born Simla 1928, died Stafford 1985), is a world-renowned British Pakistani painter. There has been greater recognition of his work since his death in 1985 beginning with the pioneering exhibition ‘The Other Story’ 1989, Hayward Gallery. Shemza’s painting ‘The Wall’ was chosen to illustrate the cover of the catalogue. His unique style developed through a painting practice which fused Western ideas of abstraction with Eastern influences such as Islamic architecture and calligraphy.

Selected public collections include: Tate, British Museum (UK), Metropolitan Museum, (USA), Guggenheim (Abu Dhabi), Sharjah Art Foundation, and M+ Museum, (Hong Kong).
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The Estate of Anwar Jalal Shemza is represented by Hales Gallery (London) and Jhaveri Contemporary (London, India).

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Latest News

The Other Story (Revisited)
12th December - 6th February 2026 
Grosvenor Gallery

We are delighted to share that works from the Estate will be exhibited at Grosvenor Gallery's The Other Story (Revisted), a new exhibition that revisits Rasheed Araeen’s groundbreaking 1989–90 exhibition The Other Story.
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Our presentation will feature works by all of the South Asian artists who participated in the original exhibition: Rasheed Araeen, Avinash Chandra, Avtarjeet Dhanjal, Iqbal Geoffrey, Balraj Khanna, Ahmed Parvez, Ivan Peries, Anwar Jalal Shemza, Francis Newton Souza, and Saleem Arif Quadri.

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Works

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"One circle, one square, one problem, one life is not enough to solve it” - Anwar Jalal Shemza, 1962