New and old: Gallery anniversary marked with 100-artist exhibit

Art Bazaar includes works of new and established artists from across Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD:

A show of art pieces using different mediums and techniques by some recognisable names and a few fresh ones began at a local gallery on Sunday.

Gallery 6 celebrated its first anniversary with an Art Bazaar, with prices on sale items were slashed by half.



Despite pouring rain, people started coming to the gallery quite early in the day. Flooded with art lovers, collectors, students and diplomats, the gallery was lined with pieces from the courtyard at the entrance to the basement of the gallery.

Miniatures, calligraphies, drawings, prints, sculptures, carvings to photographs, decorative mirrors, ceramics, and terracotta pieces from as many as 100 artists lined the walls and displays.

The exhibition was an opportunity for art students, emerging talents and established artists to present their work.



The media varied from watercolours, oils, acrylics, pastels, pen and ink, printing ink, digital prints, giclee prints, mixed prints and stones. The paintings and prints include realistic works, figurative work, landscapes, works in expressionism, surrealism, and abstract paintings — all dealing with either aesthetics or various personal, social issues, cultural or political issues.

There are sculptures made from clay and diyaar wood. Decorative mirrors are exotic and appealing.

Gallery 6 Curator Arjumand Faisel said, “There is something for everyone to choose from. Some artworks are dreamy, while others are surrealistic, depicting varying techniques, treatment and styles of different artists.”

Kiran Firdous, a graduate from Fatima Jinnah Women University was exhibiting her work of still life in oil paints for the first time. “This is a great platform for us emerging artists not just to make sales but interact with people and develop our own network,” she said.

Hearing impaired Momina Khattak’s works were as pleasant as her personality. Khattak did not let her disability come in her way. Using crayons, water colors on hot pressed paper and acrylic to create abstract art, her work was purely a reflection of her thoughts.



Kausar Zaman, exhibiting for the first time had interesting art pieces with real stones engraved in them. Belonging to Nowshera, Zaman collects stones of different textures, shapes and prints from Tarbela Dam and then filters out ones that match his art work.

The exhibition also featured film art paintings with dazzling images of Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nargis, Shah Rukh Khan, Shabnam, Saima, Rani, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Lorene and many other leading film stars.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2014.