Art exhibition: Women and the Walled City

None of the 11 artists present at show opening.


Our Correspondent April 26, 2012

LAHORE:


Vision, an exhibit of 50 paintings by 11 artists opened at the Revivers Galleria on Thursday.


Women in rural settings, views of the Walled City dotted with domes, minarets and mosques dominate the exhibit. However, no artists were present at the opening.

Gallery curator Sara Anjum said most artists were unable to attend the opening as they were Karachi-based. Pointing to work by Moazzam Ali, Anjum said the artist used water colours in his paintings of women living in the desert villages of South Punjab and Upper Sindh. Ali’s painting of a woman in Rajasthani clothing was a big draw for viewers.

AQ Khan’s painting of the Lahore Fort painted using cubes and domes employing shades of brown and orange also drew praise. Anjum said that the Walled City was a favourite subject of Lahore artists to paint but Khan was able to make it appealing for people from all over the world. She said the artist mostly used oil on canvas and favoured used of a single colour. “He draws nuances, working with shades of a single colour and usually ends up with something magnificent.” Anjum said Khan was away in Italy.

Muhammad Arshad’s landscape of a forest showcasing a tree trunk and low plants was also a hit with the viewers. Anjum said Arshad used mild tones which had a calming effect.

Artits Khalid Saeed Butt, Babar Azeemi and Tanveer Farooqi have used different mediums but their subject was the same: women.

Farooqi has used pen and ink to sketch, Azeemi made use of mixed media and paper and Butt used gouache on paper – a technique using white paint tint to obtain opacity while using water paints.

Maham Gill has painted a village woman sitting in the midst of several crows with the figure of cupid floating in the air above. Anjum said Gill’s consistent theme was the suppression of women.

Asad Butt, a visitor to the show, said most of the work was old, with very few new pieces.

The paintings were priced between Rs15,000 and Rs185,000.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan was the chief guest. The exhibit will run until May 10.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2012.

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