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Jamali was raised in the foothills of the Himalayas near the Khyber Pass, in northwest Pakistan. The son of prominent physicians, Jamali was sent to a British military academy at the age of 13. Only three years later, he left the school and went to live in the desert amongst the Sufi, a people devoted to the worship of the higher omnipresent power or mysterium tremendum through intimate and personal rituals, such as dancing. Thus, the Sufi’s belief in a leading a life of inner calm, reflection, and love had great influence on the young Jamali and his subsequent artistic endeavors. After years of learning and reflection with the Sufi, the artist returned to his homeland to further his education. He eventually earned a Masters Degree in advanced economics, the first of five graduate degrees he would receive. Further travels and exploration lead the artist to immigrate to the United States in the early 1970s. By 1976, Jamali recognized his calling and he devoted himself to a life of painting, discipline, and meditation. Jamali, through his artistic process, has developed a particular aesthetic, which utilizes the complexity of his mediums while incorporating decidedly emotional characteristics. Preeminent American art critic, Donald Kuspit, heralds Jamali as the originator of a movement in painting he termed, Mystical Expressionism. This new movement in art combines the elements of the raw emotion of German Expressionism, the play of light and forms in Impressionism, and the conceptual elements of American Abstract Expressionism. Incorporating the Sufi practice of dancing to achieve spiritual closeness with the elements of nature and consequently the universe, Jamali dances over the surface of his paintings in a meditative state. The physicality involved with the application of his mediums produces richly embellished surfaces, oftentimes integrating the natural elements in proximity to the area where the artist creates his artworks. Included in his paintings are humanistic features and archetypes, that which have been depicted in man’s artistic expression since the dawn of time. This creates a visceral, decidedly human response to his paintings. Jamali is the subject of 6 monographs published by Rizzoli International Publications. He was also cited in GQ Magazine (2001) as being one of “The Most Fascinating People in the World.” Selected Collections:
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