‘Lyrical Waves’ brings imagination to life
Islamabad-based artist showcases her abstract paintings.
No matter what people say, the art scene has not entirely diminished in Pakistan. Recently, an Islamabad-based artist, Fariya Zaeem, showcased her colourful abstract paintings in an exhibition titled ‘Lyrical Waves.’
Zaeem, a Communication Design graduate from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, calls herself a contemporary expressionist painter. Watercolours are her preferred medium and she has experimented with wet-on-wet, dry-on-wet, salt technique, shrink-wrap, bubble-wrap, dry flat, round and all kinds of brush strokes and bleeding effects.
Discussing Zaeem’s paintings, curator of Gallery 6 Dr Arjumand Faisel says: “Her paintings are based on lyrical abstraction that primarily conveys a sense of the larger spiritual outlook.” He further adds, “Her work is more about a certain temperament — a desire to communicate concepts, thoughts, ideas, and emotions abstractly, beyond merely exploring art principles of composition, tone, value, line, hue and texture.”
According to a press release, commenting on her own composition, Zaeem states, “I paint intuitively with spontaneous strokes, gestural elegance and fluidity, transporting both the artists and viewers into a visual landscape and dialogue of vibrant hues, unfolding swirls, textural depth and layers forming its own narratives.”
She says she has experimented with various techniques and embraced serendipitous moments on her substrate to bring the unexpected out of the ordinary.
The artist, who strongly believes in the words of American existential psychologist and author of influential book Love and Will, Rollo May, has also introduced pastels in her work as it blends well with softness of water colours and acrylics, creating depth in her work.
Her third solo exhibition, ‘Lyrical Waves’ — the first one in Islamabad besides six other group exhibitions in Karachi — commenced on November 10 and will continue till November 24, from 11 am to 7 pm at House 19, Street 10, F-8/3, Islamabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2012.