Exhibit celebrates women’s struggle

Artists paint the feminine form to commemorate women’s movement.

ISLAMABAD:

Impressionism and realism mesh together in the latest exhibition of paintings at Nomad Gallery, as a duo of artists strive to portray women’s rights.

At the exhibition, “From the feminine perspective”, art for the sake of art was not the main motive of the show where Anjum Ayub and Tabassam Rizwi showcased their work. Ayub who has studied printmaking and painting from the National College of the Arts in Lahore, mostly relies on his imagination.

Staying true to feminism, the artist celebrates feminine beauty as he paints the female form with bold
free stokes instead of restricting them to the usual submissive figures that many artists tend to showcase when depicting women’s rights.

However, his work leans towards the abstract as he uses black and white to portray his women who are slightly distorted to create the desired abstract affect.

“Colours and shapes are something you will always find in my work; these paintings are the product of my ideas, style, spirit and most importantly my imagination and conscience,” said the artist.

Aiming to combine colours and shapes to enhance the beauty of the woman, he creates paintings that seem more avant-garde in style.

“When my attitude is right, nothing comes in between me and my work. I take it up as a challenge and start painting away.”

Where Ayub is bold and abstract, Rizwi is soft and flowing. Working with layers upon layers of oil paint, the artists creates texture. Tuning in on more mellow colours of yellow and light shades of red, his pieces exude beauty with strength but with a calm vibe.

“To capture on canvas the fleeting effects of forms and their expressions is a challenge for me, of course enhanced by the effects of light and shade,” said Rizwi. The inevitable horse creeps into his work that signifies power and beauty for many artists. His pieces are fused with movement, colour, texture and strokes that may be bold or soft, depicting different facets.

Curator Nageen Hayat said the exhibition is in commemoration of the creation of the Women’s Action Forum that came into being during the Zia era.

“February 12 is a dark day in our lives when Fahmida and Allah Baksh were sentenced to death by stoning under the Zina Ordinance and women were galvanised into action in their support.”

The curator feels that both artists have managed to portray women in a powerful and progressive manner.

“I feel the work is defiant in a way, its very powerful and depicting strength instead of showing females subservient and docile. That’s what makes the work stand out,” she said.

The exhibition will continue till February 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2013.