A display of paintings and crafts to showcase diverse talent

Handloom cotton spun by home-based workers will also feature at the show.

An exhibition of paintings and crafts showcasing diverse talent will open at Nomad Gallery on Saturday, said a press release.

Oil and water colour paintings by artists Riffat Khattak, Asma Abbasi and Shehr Qayyum will go on display today, while exquisite hand-crafted jewellery by Asadur Rehman and Azeem Iqbal promises to steal the show.

In addition to these, a crafts exhibition displaying a collection of apparel in handloom cotton by home-based workers from Taxila and Rawalpindi’s outskirts will prove to be an added attraction. The exhibit will continue till Eid.

“The initiative of promoting home-based workers is to economically empower women and it is our resolve to promote it,” said Nageen Hyat, director of the gallery.

Profiles of the artists

Seyhr Qayyum, a fourth year student at Boston University, studying Painting with a minor in Art History, said exhibiting her work at Nomad was a pleasant experience. “More of my works will be going up on display this year.”

Riffat Khattak is a freelance artist. His water colour and calligraphic paintings have been appreciated in art shows. Asma Abbasi, trained at the Swain School of Design, USA, paints primarily landscapes in watercolour and oil. She finds oil to be a rewarding medium.

Asadur Rehman is a French abstract expressionist painter, jewellery designer and sculptor of Pakistan origin. His jewellery is exclusively designed in pure silver with stones, coral and pearl. He has participated in many art exhibitions. Azeem Iqbal has had numerous exhibitions. He also designs exclusive jewellery with Islamic motifs.  In his art pieces he has used leather, metal, bamboo, lapiz and different kind of rock stones.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2012.