Visual balance: Art connoisseurs throng exhibition

The show, featuring miniatures, will continue till June 2.

ISLAMABAD:

An exhibition of the work of two contemporary artists opened at the Khaas Art Gallery on Tuesday. Titled “Kit and Kaboodle” the exhibition features miniature pieces by Saima Ali and sketches by Ali Karimi.

“It is a collection of things and people, from inanimate objects such as chairs to monochromatic, figurative sketches, and the contrast works really well,” said Alia Bilgrami, the gallery curator commenting on the exhibition.

Ali’s canvases revolve around interiors and particularly chairs. “I’ve literally searched, collected and cut out chairs from architecture magazines to narrate a story,” she said. The chairs of varying colours, textures and dimensions are in a state of transition through a house-like structure, depicting intrusion of personal space and creating a void where they leave.

A piece central to her collection, “I’ve got your back” is a pun on the expression that typically stands for support, concern or comfort but it is also manipulated to represent abandon or neglect, so it is more of a comment on life, death and loss.

The chairs and their placement take on a whole new meaning in this context, where some of them are entering the house, others lined up straight and still other creating a blockade at the exit, so in a sense the artist has tried to humanise them.

The vivid detailing and compositions, whether it is digital prints, paint or collage, draws the viewer in a visual balance.

Meanwhile, Karimi’s charcoal and graphite sketches allude to self-defence, with the subjects in some physical conflict, showing fleshed-out forms and muted silhouettes. One cannot help but notice the finesse amid the contrasting tones of white and black amid shades of grey.

“(Karimi’s) is a new voice calling to be heard,” commented Nasreen Askrai, the curator of Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi. “Marks are presented as fragments— head, arm, leg, foot or shoe. These can, but need not necessarily be pieced together – the line and the space have a tight reciprocal relationship and are both highly skilled and evocative.”

The exhibition that attracted a sizable number of artists, art critics and students will continue till June 2.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2014.