BIO

Rabia Rizvi (Lahore, Pakistan) is a contemporary painter based in Sarnia, Canada. She works primarily in watercolour on handmade Wasli paper and watercolour paper, employing traditional Persian and Mughal miniature painting techniques, including meticulous layering and mark making, to create contemporary compositions with stylized imagery, multiple stacked perspectives, and flat opaque colours. Rizvi is best known for her socio-political paintings that examine contemporary global conflicts through the visual language of miniature painting.

Rabia Rizvi's practice is centred on the human condition and the impact of ongoing socio-political conflicts. Her compositions integrate poetry, written phrases, and symbolic iconography, with recurring motifs such as barbed wire, poppy flowers, toys, fish, weapons, and other visual elements that address themes of displacement, violence, memory, and resilience. Her notable series include Landscapes of Conscience (2024), her first online socio-political exhibition advocating for the Palestinian cause; We Bear Witness 1 (2026), her first in-person solo exhibition portraying the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank; and We Bear Witness 2 (2026), which further examined the destruction in Gaza and the West Bank while addressing the proposed "Peace Plan for Gaza" and introducing the two-headed man symbol representing the United States and Israel.

Rabia Rizvi has exhibited at The Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, Gallery in the Grove, and Gallery Lambton, all in Sarnia, Canada. Her work is held in private collections in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan. She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in Pakistan and Canada.