Zakariya Abdul-Qadir is a New York based painter. His practice is a chronicling of the day to day. Abdul-Qadir’s work is charged by historical events that have shaped the landscape of America— the Rodney King riots, 9/11, Covid Lockdowns, Black Lives Matter protests. His current work functions as a continuation of his Living Legend series, documenting civic leaders who exhibit a commitment to the people they represent. The Presence of Absence series captures moments of grief and loss in the artist’s life through the motif of flowers, and his Torn Paper series discusses landscape and erasure. Currently he has a practice of making collages that serve as a place of dialogue between ideas.

Zakariya Abdul-Qadir has exhibited in Hudson, New York and was selected for a five week residency at Haul Gallery culminating in an exhibition in Brooklyn. In 2024, he was awarded the Graduate Student Engagement Fund and his work was featured in two exhibitions at Pratt Institute. Zakariya Abdul-Qadir is co-founder of With Friends Like These magazine and serves as a curatorial fellow at Below Grand.