Abid Hasan brings his intricate world to the capital

Solo exhibition ‘Scintillating Allegories’ opens at Gallery6

Karachi-based artist Abid Hasan has brought his intricate and often melancholic take on what makes up the earth beneath our feet to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

His solo exhibition, titled, ‘Scintillating Allegories’, opened at Gallery6 on Friday.

Hasan, who was born in Rawalpindi, had completed his early education in the garrison city. He then moved to the city of lights to pursue an artistic education at the Karachi School of Arts. Over the next 20 or so years, he established himself as a painter and an interior designer apart from teaching at his alma mater.

During this time, Hasan developed a unique style to his painting, owed in part to the process he puts every painting through.

Each of his artworks receives a five-step application of chemicals, paints and metals.

He first lays out layers of silver and gold leaves on canvas based on a carefully conceived theme of each painting.

The metals are then exposed to oxidising agents which create enticing textures of their own. These are then painted over without losing that texture to produce intriguing compositions.

Discussing the philosophy behind his current body of work, Hasan explained, “My artwork does not describe the visible clichéd landscapes, but the invisible and undiscovered insides of our world.”

“It is astounding that everything needed for life and to fulfil our energy requirements is embedded in nature, and that we must only discover and invent ways to make use of them,” he added.

Explaining his muse, the inside of the earth, Hasan said that the plant is composed of layers upon layers rocks, water and an entire world of species and materials.

“Like the layers on an onion, the inside of the earth is layered extensively and separately, yet every layer diffuses within the other,” he said.

“With the warm pink and earthy tones, and aesthetically pleasing design has been put inside the earth and thus it can be said that not just the exterior but the interior of the world that we live on is created with great dexterity. Just like a journey within a person’s inner self, a voyage within the earth we live on is necessary to explore its potential, the amount of energy it has, and the extent to which it is self-reliant and self-sustaining,” he said.

The exhibition will open on February 21 (today) and will continue until February 26. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2020.