Artists paint moods and architecture on canvas

Exhibition will end on May 28

LAHORE: A group exhibition called Visual Verses, featuring artworks of four veteran artists is underway at the Ejaz Art Gallery. The show will end on May 28.

Karachi-based renowned artist A.Q Arif’s artworks in mixed media on canvas are inspired by famous Mughal architecture and painted in surrealistic manner. The buildings appearing as half imaged and half real are often depicted as reflected images in a pool of water.

According to Arif, having chosen architecture as his point of interest, he has tried to show the complexities as well as its simplicity side by side to complement each other. “I usually choose minimum colours and work in their tones so that the attention of the viewer does not divert from my objective,” he added.





“I choose to use earthy tones and the various shades of the night sky because to me they depict our soil,” he said, adding that his choice of structures usually limit to famous buildings from the Mughal empire, shrines of famous Sufis or even newer structures that show inspiration from the Mughal era.

Arif said he took inspiration from the Gandhara art, miniature paintings and Bengali art as women being the main theme of his paintings.

Another artist Abrar Ahmed’s work is a unique blend of traditional and modern art, as an expressive depiction of a woman’s pursuit of her desires and her struggles. “My paintings revolve around different moods and colour of women, the difficulties they face, their strengths, stubbornness, sorrows and joy,” he said.



Artist Muhammad Arshad’s paintings in oil on canvas present a calm and colourful depiction of forest and natural landscapes.



According to noted art critic Majorie Hussain, Arshad’s gentle landscapes serve as the balm for troubled spirits since his paintings depicts a world of innocence where small creatures make their homes and peacocks gaze at the world from slender branches of trees in forest glades of the Changa Manga.

She said one could see from Arshad’s theme of paintings that autumn was his favourite season to work with. “There is an element of peace and softness in the world he discovers, instead of loneliness or isolation one tends to sense in landscape paintings,” she said. “It seems that the artist reminds us of the world outside teeming, doubled cities, invoking a comforting assurance of calmness.”

Artist Maliha Azmi Agha said that her work was largely inspired by human form. “My work is a mixture of both abstract and realistic art, which at times can be a challenge,” she said, adding that the human form inspires awe and wonderment and could be seen as a celebration of love, a study of form, or a mediation of nature of art, she added.

“The female face and in particular her eyes, calls into question her vulnerability, isolation, anxiety and introspection”, said Maliha.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2017.