Contemporary craft

Coffee and contemporary art take centre stage at a recent exhibit at Mohatta Palace

Art and coffee make a stellar combination and that’s just what guests were treated to at a recent exhibit of contemporary art curated by Canvas Gallery at the grand Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi. With two live performances and works from a mix of established and fledgling artists, visitors were gripped by what was on offer.

‘Portrait of Marten Looten, after Rembrandt van Rijn’ by Irfan Hasan

Muhammad Ali’s striking portraiture uses an ironic juxtaposition of celebrities with the formal constraints of historical painting styles. Ali depicts celebrities within the framework of an early Christian Icon painting or in the manner of a renaissance portrait. “The paintings are kitsch and address issues of class and taste,” he explained. His skillfully and aesthetically executed painting ‘Zalim Coffee Pila Dey’ is a take on the prevalent consumerism.For over a decade, Irfan Hassan’s art practices had been heavily influenced by Realism. In his recent series called ‘After’, the artist paints famous paintings from old European artists in miniature style and puts his own spin on them. His works pay homage to European classical portraiture and the practice of stylisation in Indo-Persian miniature painting.

Salman Toor’s ‘Housekeeping’ is based on the indifference to news and ideas of victimhood. Inspired by contemporary fiction from the subcontinent, the image is an act of resistance to a monolithic or simplistic reading of all of the above. This particular work was originally part of a group show in February 2015.

‘Always Forever Now II’ by Sajjad Ahmed.

Aamir Habib’s video titled ‘Embezzle Bedazzle’ attracted a lot of visitors. It shows the phenomenal high-rise, seven-star hotel surrounding the holy mosque in Mecca to explain how the greed of commercialism doesn’t stop for anything.Muzzamil Ruheel blends calligraphy and digital imagery with his masterful technique to create wonderful illusions. He weaves an intricate web of stories through his intense works.

Amir Butt is a Karachi-based art collector.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, December 13^th, 2015.