BASHA

Artist (b. Pakistan) · Salt Lake City, Utah · Founder of Absgraff, an abstract graffiti and calligraffiti visual language

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

BASHA is an American artist and founder of Absgraff, a visual language merging graffiti-derived abstraction, calligraffiti, symbolism, and disciplined structure. Active since the mid-1990s, his practice encompasses painting, murals, installations, education, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. He is also the founder and executive director of Art Over Destruction (AOD), a nonprofit organization focused on youth arts, creative resilience, and mental health.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

1995 – Present

Independent practice and study in graffiti, letter form abstraction, and visual systems — Salt Lake City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; San Francisco

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2006 – Present

Founder and Artist, BASHA Worldwide / Absgraff, Salt Lake City, UT

2012 – Present

Founder and Executive Director, Art Over Destruction (AOD), 501(c)(3), Salt Lake City, UT

2013 – 2016

Art Educator, Salt Lake Youth Services; Art Over Destruction (AOD), Salt Lake City, UT

2013

Art Educator, Art Over Destruction (AOD) International Program, Beijing, China

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025 Quiet Monarch, Absgraff Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2024 Velocity Saints, Absgraff Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2023 Concrete Saint, Absgraff Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2022 Concrete Profit, 801 Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2021 Saint Augustine, 801 Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2020 Escape the Chaos, 801 Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2019 Anna Relax, Abstract 11 Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2009 The Melrose Method, BYN Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2008 BASHA x 801 Made, Aperture Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS

2018 Six Stories Above Sugar House, Redman Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2017 Absgraff by BASHA, Fort Collins, CO

2017 Salt Lines, Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2016 The First Ascent, Park City Fine Art Gallery, Park City, UT

2015 BASHA x Coronation (fashion collaboration), Newport Beach, CA

2015 Tracks & Paint, Mod Gallery, Seattle, WA

2014 Urban Origins, Urban Arts Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2012 Art Over Destruction (AOD) Launch Lecture, Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, UT

2011 Emergence, Art Access, Salt Lake City, UT

2011 Relax Arts, Salt Lake City, UT

2010 LTW: Emergence, Salt Lake City, UT

2009 ITX: Emergence, Salt Lake City, UT

2008 801 Made, Aperture Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2007 Mural collaboration with Mohammed Ali, Soul City Arts, Birmingham, United Kingdom

2006 Early works acquired by private collectors, Zurich, Switzerland

LECTURES & EDUCATIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

2016 Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA — Artist lecture on Absgraff, abstraction, and graffiti lineage

2013 Art Over Destruction China Residency, Beijing, China — Lectures and workshops on abstract graffiti and visual language

2012 Magna High School, Magna, UT — Artist lecture and student engagement on graffiti history and abstraction

GRANTS & AWARDS

2018 – 2025

Utah Arts & Museums — Artist and Project Grants (multiple awards)

Utah Governor's Office — State Grant

Salt Lake Arts Council — Artist Grant

Art Over Destruction (AOD) — Youth Arts Development Grant

PUBLIC SERVICE

2012 Six original works donated to the Teen Recovery Wing, Primary Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT

PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA

Books

2011 Michael K. Corbin, Art for the People

2008 Michael K. Corbin, Art of Everyday Joe

Selected Press

2026 Voyage Utah — Artist Feature

2021 15 Bytes — Artist Feature

2017 Salt Lake Magazine — Interview / Feature

2016 Cornish College of the Arts — Absgraff Feature

2007 Art Crimes: Utah 2 — Early Graffiti Archive

Magazines

2010 Under Pressure, Issue 15 — Philadelphia

2004 Full Spectrum Graffiti Magazine — Vancouver, BC

1996 Deseret News — Young Entrepreneur Feature

COLLECTIONS

Public Collections

Primary Children's Hospital — Teen Recovery Wing, Salt Lake City, UT

Private Collections (Selected)

United States, Canada, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Argentina, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Pakistan.

AFFILIATIONS

Phillips Gallery; Art Access; Urban Arts Gallery; Utah Governor's Office; Art Over Destruction (501(c)(3)); University of Utah; Salt Lake Community College; Cornish College of the Arts; Primary Children's Hospital; Ronald McDonald House.