This year’s final exhibition at Satrand includes work of eight different artists. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL/EXPRESS
Keeping in line with Satrang Gallery’s tradition of showcasing a combination of seasoned and upcoming artists, collective work of eight artists went on display at its year-ending exhibition here on Friday.
Titled “As we roll along from morning to night” the exhibition spotlights pieces by AQ Arif, Asma Abbasi, Dhoufishan Raza, Mugheez Riaz, Qadir Jhatial, Schezre Syed, Shireen Ikramullah Khan and Tahir Ali.
“The show encapsulates the unique journey that each artist takes when creating a work of art. It presents a spectrum of colours, depictions and styles inspired by the artists’ individual surroundings. They have translated their sensory inputs into pictorial masterpieces,” said Satrang Curator Zahra Khan.
Mughees Riaz and Asma Abbasi have immersed themselves in nature with the latter’s work while more impressionistic, rivets form one landscape to another. Painted in traditional style, her oil paintings depict varying tones of foliage in a calm manner.
Abbasi carries a sketchbook wherever she goes. “You cannot help but stop and see the surroundings,” she said. “The smaller pieces have been painted in the presence of bugs and mosquitoes at spots where large canvases tend to get blown away by the gushing wind.”
Meanwhile, Riaz explores the elusive translucent haze of fog. Depicting natural beauty and serenity, the works of the two artists complement one another.
Aqeel Solangi, an artist who was visiting the gallery, found the light in a painting of a forest by Abbasi “mesmerising”.
Portraying her perception of the living world, Shireen Ikramuulah Khan’s use of black, orange and blue creates an intense and invigorating contrast. While the painter focuses on natural elements, her work exudes an almost mystical sensation --- especially with the minimal use of royal blue and turquoise against the intertwined black and red.
“For me, these are landscapes. The combination of the texture and colour lifts the surface,” Shireen Khan said while explaining her work. “The blue and orange colours connect one to nature,” she added.
On the other hand, his work with time-worn and withered historical buildings showed that AQ Arif’s forte was traditional architecture. Utilising minimum washes to bring out the constructions, his work encapsulates the secrets amidst the past lives of the monuments. He dulls the surrounding colours and emphasises the texture with his subject that he paints.
Unlike Arif, Tahir Ali dilutes and transforms his inspiration to bare contours, shapes and lines. He then inverts the forms, colours and textures of his concepts, rendering them unrecognisable.
Qadir Jhatial reduces his environment into bright-colour blocking that forms distinguishable scenes of city or domestic life. By playing with the colours of his pieces and the seperation of figures, he encourages his viewer to re-identify and re-examine familiar sights.
Dhoufishan Raza creates similar pieces where she fractures her natural arrangements into geometric shapes. She rearranges these individual shapes to create new configurations before delving deeper into the nuances of imagery.
Finally, Shehezre Syed too has utilised bold, geometric forms to imitate natural scenarios. Her precisely-assembled pieces in their vibrant palettes assist in her quest to analyse space and form, and locate a man’s place within them. For her, less is more. “The less you show in your work, the more room you give the viewer to form their own interpretations,” she said.
The show will continue till January 20.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2013.
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