Budding marvel: When colours speak and exude a fragrance

Irum Kazmi blends bold colours to display her love for nature

ISLAMABAD: An exhibition of paintings by landscape expressionist Irum Kazmi opened up at Jharoka gallery on Thursday evening.

Titled “Rang baatein karein aur baton se khushboo aye”, the exhibition combines a vibrant collection of commercial decorative art, displayed in frames of varying sizes and geometrical shapes in the gallery.

The natural landscape, birds and butterflies and an assortment of flowers is depicted through a rich palate, employing mostly bright colours such as yellow, fluorescent green and red.

“I’ve exaggerated the colour palate to reveal colours you don’t typically see in real life but the series is about the colours you find around you,” she said, speaking about her work.

The artist, based in Lahore, has an MA in Fine Arts. PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD JAVAID/EXPRESS

Nahida Raza, curator of the gallery, commended the artist’s play of colours. “This young artist is full of ideas, which beautify whichever canvas she has painted on — paper, newspaper, canvas or wood. She has also framed the artworks uniquely and is very confident about her choice of colours and strokes,” she said.

Kazmi, who is based in Lahore, has also painted scenes of Ravi River and Lawrence Garden.  Mainly musing a knife to chisel out the shapes and angles and work out intricate details, she has blended extremely bold colours to showcase her love for nature.

Renowned artists Mansur Rahi and Hajra Mansur, who inaugurated the exhibition, critiqued the art pieces on display.

“To my understanding, the artist is a beginner so she is still in the stage of exploring the elementary side of painting world and the shapes in nature in her paintings. She uses some very strong colours which seasoned artists avoid, they tend to keep their artworks more subtle and subdued,” said Mansur.

Meanwhile, Hajra complimented the presentation of paintings and the way the frames of different shapes were displayed in the gallery. “These are very loud artworks and the artist certainly has talent but what people really need to understand is the thought process and the message behind the paintings — every picture is not a painting. You have to have an eye to discern authentic, in-depth art pieces,” she said.



Referring to the renowned late artist, Ismail Gulgee, she said his years of experience in art, was evident from a single stroke and that was the true quality of an artist.

Kazmi holds a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Punjab University’s College of Art and Design and has exhibited her artworks in multiple displays within the country and abroad. The current exhibition will continue till November 30.

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

Correction: In an earlier version of this article, the gallery curator's name was misspelled. The error is regretted.