Tariq Rafiq Biography
Tariq Rafiq was born in Kabul Afghanistan, but after the communist takeover in 1978, he was forced to leave his country, and he immigrated to the United States. Settling in California with his family, he grew up and blossomed into a talented artist. Both of his parents were also artistic, his mother was a gifted artist, and his father is a talented photographer. Tariq currently resides in Virginia with his wife. He realized early in life that creating art was in his blood and genes, from his earliest years as an artist, as soon as he got a pen into his hands, he couldn’t stop himself from sketching images from his imagination. Tariq attended a couple of art classes in high school, but he is primarily a self taught artist. He always attempts to create art that challenges the eye and mind with exciting, unique and vibrant abstract forms and figures. During his art career that spans over 20 years, he is continuously taking chances and creating art in different styles that include abstract, surreal, still life and portraits. He has always believed that taking chances in art increases his artistic ability and broadens his scope as an artist. Over the years, Tariq has mastered a wide range of techniques that include pen and ink, oil, acrylic, oil pastel, water color and silver scratch board. Tariq’s imaginative and strong sense of composition gives his work a distinctive look and style. Most Afghan artists paint in the traditional style, but his style is Contemporary Modern. Tariq has been influenced by masters such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Jonathan Borofsky, Joan Miro, Max Ernst, Archile Gorky and Yves Tanguy, Julian Schnabel, David Hockney, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Marcel Duchamp. Fans of his work have called his work very “Original” “Unique and “Imaginative.” Over the years, Tariq has participated in many exhibitions and his work can be found in private collections worldwide. Tariq believes that art can change the world for the better.