Creative chaos: Mughees Riaz, depicting serenity in a country torn by terrorism

KARACHI:

A picture-perfect sunset fell over a small sailboat at the banks of the Ravi. The water reflected hues of pink, purple and orange emanating from the sky.

This was one of the 25 oil paintings by Mughees Riaz, an alumnus and a faculty member of Punjab University. His exhibition titled “From pottery to poetry” opened at Canvas Art Gallery on October 18 and will continue till October 27.

The soft Sufi music in the background harmonised perfectly with the misty sunsets in the paintings. “I can stare at these pictures for hours without so much as blinking,” said Rabia Firdous, an art enthusiast and a graduate of National College of Arts, who came to take a look.

Riaz has been painting professionally since he graduated in 1999 with a Master’s in fine arts. In 2003 he received an award from the National Council of Arts.

“Sunsets are my favourite subject to work on,” he elaborated.

The exhibition was divided into two broad themes with landscapes in one room and the other tackling social problems. “I aimed to highlight the insecurity of our country, constant fear among the people and the overall life in Pakistan,” said Riaz.

One painting that the audience kept coming back to, was also the artist’s favourite. It showed a naked man on the floor holding a clay pot in his hands and a chicken at his back. “This painting ‘Begging’ symbolises the cycle of terrorism in our country,” Riaz explained. “I compared the treatment of a chicken and related it to the elevated level of terrorism.”

The paintings were worth between Rs175, 000 and Rs325, 000. The only sketch, of a buffalo, was priced at Rs75,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2011.