Art display: Shanghai based Pakistani artist to open exhibition at TAG

Realist painter captures what is seen and illustrating it through classical realism

ISLAMABAD: An exhibition of exquisite artworks by Shanghai based Pakistani artist Irfan Cheema will open on February 4, Monday at Tanzara Art Gallery (TAG). The artist Irfan Cheema has been living and working in Shanghai since 2005.

He is a self-taught painter and has developed his technique through extensive study of classical realism. Cheema is a realist painter, but his paintings are more than an imitation of what is seen. He has the magic of capturing the essence of the vignette that he replicates on canvas.

Beyond realism he understands his subject matter well. His canvases are well balanced and the imagery strong and fascinating- one can almost taste and touch the fruit or smell the fragrance of the roses and lilies that he renders skillfully.

He intricately works his still life compositions depicting fruits at the peak of ripeness or flowers in full bloom. In his recent work at this exhibition, he moved away from simply using fruit and flowers in their pure form for still life portraiture, by incorporating birds and embroidered Kashmiri textiles, infusing a different dimension to his work that refreshingly generates a significant sense of existence and rich heritage.

His skillful use of colour invigorates his subjects and breathes life and vitality into each composition. For instance, in 'Still life with Finches and Strawberries' his tantalising use of red gives the berries a succulent appearance. His work, overall celebrates nature, life and creative heritage of places that he has visited, lived in and loved.

The gallery's curator Noshi Qadir said, "In fine art, the expression 'still life' denotes a particular genre of painting, usually consisting of an array of items laid out on a table. The expression is a direct translation of the Dutch word 'Still even', which was used from 1,656 to illustrate paintings previously called simply 'Fruit' or 'Flower Pieces', or 'Ontbijt' (Breakfast Piece), Bancket (banquet) or Pronkstilleven pieces (from the Dutch word 'pronk' meaning ostentation).

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2019.