Oil on canvas pairs with hands on clay

Husband wife duo exhibit works at Gallery Louvre.

ISLAMABAD:

Sculptor Tariq Kakar and his wife, painter Natalia Kakar, on Saturday combined to create a dialogue between their works at Gallery Louvre.

Tariq was born and brought up in Balochistan before going on to master the art of sculpting at the University of Moldova. It was at the same university that he first met Natalia. The couple’s work fluidly compliments each other, much as they do in real life. Natalia’s palette knife paintings are a perfect complement to her husband’s sculptures.

“It is marriage of art that is being exhibited at the gallery” said, Louvre’s owner and curator Alina Saeed.

Tariq’s works are unified by a single historical and philosophical drive. His sculptures are depictions of stoic, heroic faces with strong, chiselled features dressed in medieval garb. The pieces themselves are given a touch of the “just been dug-up” look. The strong, menacing faces give out the impression of having an age-old story behind them. Besides these, the artist also exhibits metallic sculptures, finely polished with abstract connotation. While some are purely metal, others consist of large stones to add that extra tone to the sculpture. These however, are purely for decoration purposes, as abstract sculptures usually are.

Natalia, a native Moldovan, carries her homeland in her art. The vivid colours of her abstract landscapes are as captivating as her technique. Paintings of blossoming trees and prairies remind one of the paintings on top of many a fireplace at home, especially in a windowed room. According to the artist, “Once I start painting, I cannot stop the flow of colours on my canvas.” Her objective is quite simple — a painting should make the viewer happy-- explaining the homely feeling her work exudes. However, their work does at times leaves the viewer asking for a little more spice. “Putting the prettiness aside, buyers nowadays thirst for unconventional art that is missing from this work,” said a visitor.

The exhibition will continue till January 26. For those searching for the perfect painting to add colour and cosiness to their homes, this exhibition might be worth stopping by for.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2012.