The Unfinished Knot 

Azad Gallery is proud to present “The Unfinished Knot,” a solo exhibition by Afghan painter, researcher, and professor Said Navidulhaq Fazli. The exhibition will be on view from July 23 to August 5, 2025.

Said Navidulhaq Fazli (b. 1978, Herat, Afghanistan) is a prominent figure in the Afghan contemporary art movement, having been one of the first artists to introduce modernist painting to the country after decades of stagnation. His work consistently reflects the social, political, and cultural concerns of his society. Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Tehran, Fazli has held five solo exhibitions in Afghanistan and curated four painting biennials at Herat University.

The Unfinished Knot features two distinct yet interconnected bodies of work: a series on the burqa and a collection of paintings inspired by war rugs. The burqa series began around 2021 as a response to the Taliban's return to power5. Fazli painted the burqa onto iconic artworks, such as Leonardo da Vinci's

Mona Lisa and pieces by Vermeer, as a form of emotional protest and critique. The collection also includes a portrait of Donald Trump wearing a burqa, connecting the political situation to the peace treaty he signed with the Taliban. These small-scale works are created using acrylic on printed photographs.

The second series is inspired by Afghan war rugs, which have become a central theme in Fazli's recent work. These rugs, typically woven by anonymous women, carry complex narratives of life, violence, and femininity. Fazli's paintings re-examine these rugs, which often depict weapons and symbols of war alongside traditional motifs, sometimes transforming instruments of destruction into childlike toys. For Fazli, the satirical and contradictory nature of these rugs, which are both domestic accessories and platforms for the subdued stories of women, is particularly compelling. The exhibition will also feature an actual Afghan war rug, which Fazli hopes will spark a unique reaction from viewers.

Both collections serve as a testament to the artist's enduring focus on the pain and resilience of women in Afghan society, revisiting their collective experiences of suffering, resistance, and beauty through painting.