Asim Waqif Hyderabad, India, b.1978
Asim Waqif’s (b. 1978, Hyderabad, India) practice spans architecture, sculpture, installation, video, and interactive environments to explore urban ecologies, materiality, and the politics of public space. He studied architecture at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and began his career as an art director for film and television before developing an independent art practice. Waqif’s work often emerges from direct engagement with the city, activating abandoned or marginal spaces that function as informal sites of activity for overlooked communities. Central to his research are ecological and anthropological concerns, including vernacular systems of water, waste, and architectural management. His labor-intensive processes frequently employ temporary materials or those designed to decay, foregrounding impermanence, transformation, and ethical considerations of making.
He has exhibited widely in international institutional contexts, including solo projects at the Islamic Arts Biennial, Jeddah Saudi Arabia (2025); Chicago Cultural Center for the Chicago Architecture Biennial 5 (2023); Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London (Bagri Foundation Commission, 2023); Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh (2023); Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite (2017); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2012); and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (2012). He has participated in major platforms such as the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, and his work has been supported by residencies including the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Waqif’s ongoing engagement with Nature Morte includes solo exhibitions Overkill (2025, Mumbai), Material Scars (2021, New Delhi), Residual Fear (2018, New Delhi), Autolysis (2016, Mehrauli, Delhi), and ख़लल Khalal [Disruptions] (2013, New Delhi).
He currently lives and works in New Delhi, India.
Selected Artworks
Exhibitions
![ख़लल [Disruptions] Asim Waqif](https://naturemorte.com/public/storage/exhibition/image/2_20260606_193805.jpg)
Solo Exhibitions
2023
वेणु [Venu], Bagri Foundation Commission at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London
Assume the Risk, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, USA
2021
Material Scars, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2019
লয় [Loy], Site-specific installation for Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club, Kolkata, India
2018
Residual Fear, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2017
Salvage, at Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite, Canada
2016
Autolysis, at a derelict ruin in Mehrauli, Delhi, India, Organised by Nature Morte
2013
Epreuves, at Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, France
ख़लल Khalal [Disruptions], at Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2012
Bordel Monstre, at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
Punha, Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, India
Group Exhibitions
2024
The Armory Show, Nature Morte, New York, USA
Liminal Gaps, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Mumbai, India
India Art Fair, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2023
Pretty Wrecked, Chicago Architectural Biennial 5, Chicago, USA
2021
Markers of Time and Space, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
On Site, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India, Organized by Nature Morte
2020
Future is not Fixed, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
Sculpture Park, Curated by Peter Nagy, Madhavendra Palace, Jaipur, India
2018
Waste Land, Curated by Birgid Uccia, Tarq, Mumbai, India
Regimes of Truth, Curated by Shaunak Mahbubani, Gati, New Delhi, India
2017
Crash Dig Dwell, 2-person show along with Yamini Nayar, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India
Site-specific installation in collaboration with LEK, for St+art Mumbai- Sassoon Dock Art Project, Mumbai, India
Sculpture Park, Curated by Peter Nagy, Madhavendra Palace, Jaipur, India
Improvise, Site-specific installation-Colomboscope, Sri Lanka Water + Wisdom, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
50:50, Curated by Johny ML, Birla Academy, Kolkata, India
India Re-Worlded, Curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, Gallery Odyssey, Mumbai, India
The Evidence Room, Khoj International Artists’ Association, New Delhi, India
Jeju Biennale, Korea
2016
Autolysis, Select works, In collaboration with the Independent Regent, Brussels, Belgium
Megacities Asia, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
2015
I was once lonelyness, Blain-Southern, Berlin, Germany
After Midnight, Curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala at the Queens Museum, New York, USA
2014
The Missing Pavillion, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi, India
Urban Utopia, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, India
The Science of Speed, Famous Studios, Mumbai, India
Changwon Sculpture Biennale, Korea
Beirut Art Fair, Curated by Fabrice Bousteau, Beirut, Lebanon
Invisible Cities, Curated by Bhooma Padmanabhan at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
Bright Noise, Curated by Girish Shahane, Art Chennai, Chennai, India
Listen Up!, Curated by Diana Campbell, IAF, New Delhi, India
2013
Rebirth of Detail, Sunaparanta Goa Center for Arts, Panaji, India
Lateral, Curated by Heidi Fichtner, KONA, New Delhi, India
2012
Inaugural Film Room Program, Wanas Konst Foundation, Knislinge, Sweden
Sarai Reader 09, Curated by Raqs Media Collective, Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon, India
Days of Overlap, Curated by Anne Maniglier, Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
2+2=5, Palette Gallery, New Delhi, India
Cynical Love, Curated by Gayatri Sinha, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India
2011
Tolstoy Farm, Curated by Gayatri Sinha, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
To be continued…, FICA Award Show, Gallery Volte, Mumbai, India
What after First Showing, Curated by Deeksha Nath, Nature Morte, Berlin, Germany
2010
Scratch, Curated by Swapan Seth, Sakshi Gallery, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
Form and Phenomenon, Project 88, Mumbai, India
Contested Spaces - Incursions, Curated by Heidi Fichtner, Seven Art Ltd, New Delhi, India
2009
Analytical Engine, Curated by Heidi Fichtner, Bose Pacia, Kolkata, India