Exploring Raqib Shaw: Night Sonnets at Compton Verney
An upcoming solo exhibition titled Raqib Shaw: Night Sonnets is set to open at Compton Verney in Warwickshire, UK. Running from 19 September 2026 through 21 February 2027, the showcase brings together a broad collection of intricately detailed paintings that highlight the artist's distinctive working process and deeply personal visual vocabulary.
Discovering the Technique and Influences Behind Raqib Shaw
Visitors to the exhibition can expect to encounter works defined by an unusual and meticulous technique. Shaw creates his compositions by drawing enamel and industrial metallic paints with porcupine quills, achieving rich surface textures and sharp details that evoke rocks, coral, foliage, feathers, and flowers.
The imagery bridges a vast spectrum of historical and cultural touchstones, incorporating elements from Renaissance painting, Persian, Mughal, and Hindu art forms, Japanese aesthetics, Western literature, and Jungian philosophy. At the same time, the works remain intensely personal, frequently referencing the artist's studio environment in Peckham and childhood memories of Kashmir, alongside recurring depictions of self-portraits and his beloved pets.
Highlights for Exhibition Visitors
A central feature of the presentation is the inclusion of several works making their UK debut, most notably The Retrospective 2002-2022 (2015–22). Inspired by Giovanni Paolo Panini’s 1757 painting Picture Gallery with Views of Modern Rome, this ambitious piece features miniature representations of over fifty of Shaw's previous paintings and sculptures rendered with extraordinary precision. Additionally, the exhibition features a dedicated display explaining the artist's unique porcupine quill and enamel manipulation methods, giving visitors a closer look at how these layered compositions are brought to life.
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