Paintings on display: Exhibition showcases landscapes, cityscapes at NCA

Misbahuddin Qazi has exhibited works extensively both nationally and internationally.

LAHORE: More than 70 paintings by Misbahuddin Qazi went on display in a solo show at Zahoorul Ikhlaq Gallery of the National College of Arts on Tuesday. The artist’s work is exemplified by an exploration of form and space in both natural and urban settings.

Qazi is a fine arts graduate from Punjab University and has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. He specialises in landscapes, urban cityscapes and still life.

“Whether it is a view of the city or a cluster of trees, the eye cannot help but move with the steady rhythm of what Qazi establishes in the deft creation of interlocking planes that draw us in,” said NCA Principal Prof Dr Murtaza Jafri.



The viewers, he added, can feel themselves traipsing across rooftops or weaving their way in between volumes of colour that light up a landscape. “The vertical picture plane, structure and the creation of depth are a very important component of Qazi’s approach.”

Jafri said the artist had made use of tones and hues that make the viewer stop and develop connections with similar yet mundane scenarios. “His buildings rise and ebb, reveal and hide as he plays with space and the transformation is aided by bursts of colour; strokes that extend both upwards and outwards,” he added.

Speaking about his work, Qazi said his paintings were inspired by on spot regular scenarios and most of them depicted daily life in Rawalpindi.

“Whenever I’m travelling from Islamabad to Lahore I keep a sketch book along and I paint for satisfaction,” he said. “I consider myself a follower of Professor Khalid Iqbal, however, my paintings are not anywhere close to his work in terms of expertise.”

Prof Dr Shaukat Mehmood said the artist had expressed tremendous love for trees, foliage, green fields and several other subjects related to the ever living poetry of words worth.



“Occasionally he punctuates his paintings with some mud houses typical of Punjab villages and while painting trees and fields he never overlooks the contribution made by the weather,” he said. “After all it is weather that affects us every day. The weather finds its way into his paintings both as a subject and as a backdrop in his works.”

According to Mehmood, as an accomplished artist Qazi could depict something fleeting such as wind blowing, the sun shining, rising dust and so on. “The moments depicted in Qazi’s paintings are serene, smooth and steady,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2016.