The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will present the nationally touring "Raqib Shaw: Ballads of East and West," featuring intricate paintings of dream-like, mysterious realms that blend Eastern and Western influences.

Throughout his career as an artist, Shaw has created mesmerizing images, in which references to Western art history are seamlessly combined with Asian ornamental aesthetics and philosophical traditions. Subverting geographical boundaries, Shaw blurs the lines between art and ornament - Japanese aesthetics, Mughal artifacts, Islamic textiles, and Indo-Persian architecture converge with citations from Renaissance masters.

The artist paints with porcupine quills and fine needles to render the precise details of delicate flowers or distant mountains, which are outlined in embossed gold. Jewels, glitter, and semiprecious stones further enhance the sublime opulence of the scenes, beguiling viewers through the iridescent shimmer of their surfaces, even as they sense the sadness that lurks beneath the glamour. Upon closer examination, conflict is present in almost every painting, evoking Kashmir’s turbulent history.

The exhibit will be on display through September 2.