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Mala Iqbal’s paintings, including works dated 2025 and 2026, are being shown at JJ Murphy gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. A Hyperallergic review describes how they examine shared urban spaces, screen-mediated images and encounters among strangers; the source does not give exhibition dates or additional gallery details.
Mala Iqbal’s paintings, including works dated 2025 and 2026, are on view at JJ Murphy gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, according to a Hyperallergic review. The review focuses on the artist’s depictions of city crowds, subway riders and images filtered through screens, using everyday encounters to examine how people share space while often looking away from one another.
The review describes figures that crowd the surfaces of Iqbal’s canvases, often under orange and yellow light that the writer associates with life shaped by electric illumination. One exception is Through the Curtains (2026), which the review reads as a sequence: a scene of collapse seen through tulle, a figure’s reaction, and a patterned curtain that transforms the image into something difficult to decipher.
The writer interprets that painting as a metaphor for screens delivering images of violence and collapse faster than viewers can absorb them. This is the reviewer’s reading of the work, not a statement attributed to Iqbal in the supplied material. Other works, including Times Square (2026), place city life in a chalky palette that the review compares with Ben Shahn’s, while describing the mood as avoiding despair.
Several paintings are set in subway cars, where proximity can resemble intimacy without necessarily becoming familiarity. In Subway Riders (2026), the review identifies one figure as Iqbal’s partner, artist Angela Dufresne. The figure appears to look toward the viewer without meeting their gaze, a detail the writer connects to the ways relationships shape how people see and depict one another.
The paintings take up a recognizable urban condition: people are physically close in transit and public spaces, but attention is divided among strangers, private thoughts and screens. That subject gives the exhibition its immediate relevance for viewers familiar with crowded commutes and the steady flow of images on phones and other displays.
The review also points to a tension between social realism and formal composition. Iqbal’s scenes include recognizable settings and human interactions, yet faces may be obscured or reduced to stylized shapes. The result, as described by the reviewer, is not simply a record of city life; it asks how images and relationships mediate what people can know about those around them.
These implications are interpretive rather than evidence of a stated artist intention. The source material does not include a direct comment from Iqbal explaining the works. The review’s account nonetheless offers readers a way into paintings that combine crowded scenes with an unsettled question: how much of another person can be understood when attention is elsewhere?
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Subways, Screens and Earlier Works
The report presents the paintings as part of Iqbal’s continuing attention to urban figures and constructed reality. It describes her pictures as assembled through images, figures and signs, sometimes layered and sometimes arranged into more overtly philosophical scenes. Social realism is identified as a reference point, alongside a lighter mood the reviewer compares with Matisse.
The works cited span at least two years: Transparent Friend is dated 2025, while Through the Curtains, Times Square and Subway Riders are dated 2026. The supplied report identifies the exhibition venue as JJ Murphy gallery on the Lower East Side and credits its photographs to Hrag Vartanian for Hyperallergic. It does not provide a full exhibition checklist or opening and closing dates.
““The world is a room we share with strangers, most of whom are looking elsewhere.””
— Hyperallergic review
Exhibition Details Not Provided
The supplied report does not state when the exhibition opened or closes, whether all the discussed works remain on view, or whether the gallery has published further programming. It also provides no direct statement from Iqbal about her intentions, materials or process, so interpretations of the paintings’ meaning should be attributed to the reviewer.
The available information identifies the venue and several works, but it does not establish the exhibition’s full title, complete list of paintings, prices or availability. Those details cannot be confirmed from the source material provided.
Check Gallery Dates and Listings
Readers interested in seeing the paintings should check JJ Murphy gallery’s current listing for exhibition dates, visiting information and confirmation of which works are on view. The Hyperallergic review provides a critical account and identifies several pieces, but the supplied material does not name a closing date or describe any upcoming artist event.
Any further reporting would need confirmation from the gallery or artist about the exhibition schedule and additional works. Until then, the confirmed development is the presentation of Iqbal’s paintings at the Lower East Side gallery and the review’s account of their subjects and visual approach.
Key Questions
Where are Mala Iqbal’s paintings on view?
The Hyperallergic review identifies JJ Murphy gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side as the venue.
Which paintings are discussed in the review?
The review discusses Through the Curtains, Times Square and Subway Riders, all dated 2026, and includes a detail of Transparent Friend (2025).
What subjects do the paintings explore?
As described in the review, the works depict city crowds, subway encounters and images mediated by screens. The writer interprets these scenes as reflections on how people share space and process images of violence and collapse.
When does the exhibition close?
The supplied report does not give an opening or closing date. Readers should consult the gallery’s current listing for schedule details.
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