Zain Majeed is a self-taught Chicagoland-based artist and fashion designer. As a graduate of DePaul University with a business degree, it wasn’t until his senior year that he really discovered his creative passions and decided to pursue a career in art. During his time in the height of the pandemic, he had the opportunity to take an art class as an elective, where he would eventually discover his first artistic influences of Jean Michel-Basquiat and George Condo. As a South-Asian Muslim, there is a sense of perpetual navigation through diaspora in his life and work. His upbringing was centered around an internal and societal struggle in assimilation with his peers outside of his cultural and religious circles, as adulthood brought along an urgency and emphasis to reconnect with his culture and roots.
This continual learning process has allowed him to provide a more expansive outlook through his art. Stylistically, a standout element of his work is the clear depiction of both Western and South Asian tropes. Many of the concepts that appear in his work are centered around politically and emotionally charged themes of ethnicity, religion, mental health, individualism, love, and death. These themes allow him to have an outlet to communicate the vulnerabilities and anxieties that each of these concepts bring about.
In regards to his creative output, Zain focuses on canvas paintings, alternating between, or combining, works including oil and acrylic paints. He focuses on drawings as well, utilizing a large range of writing instruments.
Many of his artistic compositions work around a combination of elements in contemporary, realist, cubist, and surrealist art. Much of his creative intention is to provide works that elicit a wide range of emotions, particularly centered around unsettling and melancholic feelings.