Art exhibition: Summer splash: putting some zing into the mundane

Six artists exhibit paintings and prints at Nomad Gallery.

ISLAMABAD: Diversity of creative expression seems to be theme for the ongoing Summer Art Show at Nomad Gallery. A total of six artists have collaborated to showcase their paintings and prints with a myriad of textures and symbols in the exhibition.

Celebrated for her work in miniature art, Samina Ali has merged the medium with calligraphy and collage into contemporary art. Dabbling with images of birds and Mughal art borrowed from miniature work, she has filled in the details with cardboard, gold leaf, newspaper and steel. Her paintings and prints exude a coppery, metallic feel. Ali has exhibited her work around the world and is also the official interior designer of Serena Hotel. She graduated from University of the Punjab.



Anjum Ayub’s work is as poignant as it is aesthetic. Her female figurines are sketched with charcoal and pencil and are set against bright red, black and white oil paint. The subjects seem despondent, looking distracted for the most part. However, in one of the pieces, a woman is holding up a musical instrument and singing, perhaps symbolising freedom and happiness. Ayub holds a BFA from National College of the Arts (NCA), Lahore and has also exhibited her work abroad.

Asadur Rehman is a French abstract expressionist painter and sculptor of Pakistan origin. Bold colours and strokes dominate his abstract work. One of his paintings shows faces, framed with uneven lines running throughout the canvas, of people caught up in the complexities of life. Rehman has spent over two decades in France where he also studied art. He has participated in many national and international art exhibitions.



Faraz Ali has used ink on Arches paper. His subjects are men in search of hope and salvation. In one of the paintings, a man desperately reaches out to a light bulb, trying to cling on to hope. In another one, a man cups his face, with teapots hovering in the background. According to the artist, the teapots symbolise war and the man has had enough. His subject is political art with mixed media on canvas but for now he is focusing on paper. It seems that the protest may never stop and the dialogue shall continue to express certain latent aspirations. Ali graduated from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi.

Zia Zaidi seems influenced by Eastern art. His paintings are layered with oil and acrylic, giving an effect of water drops trickling down. Though the colours are mostly pastels, he has used multiple shades of blue in all his pieces. His paintings are an expression of non-physical experiences about love and life, believing in inner truth and guidance. Zaidi graduated from NCA as well.

Fascinated by truck art while travelling to the country’s northern areas, Nadeem Ahmed decided to use lively colours in his paintings. He has used acrylic, giving the effect of oil paint. In one of his paintings, rural women try to balance pots on their heads and lose foothold in the process. Behind the painting, the artist has inscribed a verse that reads, “Khara behar nahi aah mein jhool jhool kay” (When I fill my water pitcher, I cannot balance myself properly as I am in love and remembering my beloved). His work is inspired by sufi traditions. He was introduced to the palette at Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur by latherer Qasim Mahpora who began painting in East Pakistan during the sixties. The exhibition is set to continue till July 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2013.