Art exhibition: Artist depicts love for city by the sea

Use of monotones and colours bring out contrast in compositions.

ISLAMABAD:

An exhibition of oil paintings by Karachi-based artist Hamid S Alavi opened at Jharoka Art Gallery on Wednesday.

Resonating with a love for and sense of belonging to one’s home, the 30 paintings depict picturesque scenes in and around Karachi, the artist’s birthplace.

“This is the first time the artist has exhibited in Islamabad. His work deals with expressionism and thick layers of oil paint. He has created a viable balance of colour and composition of light and dark,” said the gallery’s curator, Nahida Raza.

She added that the palette comprises colours like coral blue, sea green and vibrant yellow. Hazy, orange sunsets hover over the tombs and minarets of a sacred structure, outlining the silhouette of a tree with layers of aqua at the bottom of the painting. The city comes alive with lights twinkling in the dark, shadows in the night and moonbeams across the restless sea.

Revolving mostly around the harbour, high-rise buildings and other landscapes, the paintings encapsulate the essence of the country’s largest city that is constantly buzzing with life irrespective of the hour. With an eye for aesthetics and all that makes up his city, the artist depicts the essence and the beauty of the city by the sea.

Alavi, who was not present at the exhibition, said in his artist’s statement, “The city is inextricably linked to my work; the shanty towns, the pale monochrome of our buildings against the backdrop of our moody skies – it is all very raw, powerful, and inescapable for an artist.”

Instead of competing with other professional artists, Alavi finds the medium a means of therapy that is “incredibly uplifting” for him. “Art has embraced me, and I continue my love affair with art by trying to portray with honesty, delicacy, and inclusiveness, the colours of my country. With the unswerving support of my wife, I have gone from strength to strength, both in art, and in my life,” he added.

Zahra Kazmi, an artist and guest, said, “The colours are very vibrant, whether it’s monotones of black and white or otherwise. The thick stroke works really well.”

Before he took up painting, the artist was an entrepreneur and worked as a fashion designer.

After suffering heavy losses in the fashion industry, he picked up the paintbrush and has been painting with a well-known artist, AQ Arif in a shared studio since 2006. The exhibition will continue till November 10.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2013.