Fatema Halvadwala is a London-based representational artist whose work layers spaces, memories, and moments into richly symbolic compositions. Known for her vibrant palette and quietly embedded riddles, she often reminds viewers that her paintings hold far more than what first meets the eye.

Her visual stories trace a continuum that spans 1,400 years, reflecting on the love and sacrifice of Imam Hussain and the ways this legacy resonates today. Themes of food, communion, and togetherness become pathways through which she reflects on meaning, belonging, and the rituals that hold communities together. While her subject matter is rooted in an eastern narrative, her painting language is distinctly western, shaped by her academic training and influences such as John Singer Sargent, Edgar Degas, and J. M. W. Turner. This interplay allows her to render familiar cultural histories through a fresh visual idiom.

Fatema’s brushwork is intentionally thin and deliberate, revealing each gesture and decision with clarity. The transparency of her paint mirrors the transparency of her storytelling, inviting viewers to step into the spaces she constructs and discover their layered emotional terrain.

Her work has appeared in multiple exhibitions in Mumbai and New York, including Eye to Eye, a collaboration between Arsenal Contemporary and the New York Academy of Art; Daily Rituals at the New York Academy of Art; and The Present at The Living Gallery.

Born in Mumbai in 1998, Fatema began painting in childhood. She received her B.A. from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai (Autonomous), while also studying oil painting at Sir JJ School of Art. She completed her M.F.A. at the New York Academy of Art in 2024.