Emerging artists: Young artists’ diverse work on display

Exhibition features dozens of artworks, from calligraphy to digital manipulation

ISLAMABAD: A group exhibition of young artists’ pieces is under way at My Art World gallery.

The collection comprises over 75 contemporary art pieces by a number of upcoming artists that are on display at the gallery and on the web.

The diverse portfolio of modern and contemporary art encompasses portraits, landscapes, miniatures, abstract art, calligraphy and sketches.

The trend of online exhibitions is slowly picking up in the capital, where art lovers can browse through and pick art pieces at their leisure as opposed to attending scheduled art exhibitions.

Zara Sajid, the gallery curator, said she focuses on the global market and the power that lies with all the social media platforms as well as the gallery’s website which is also a unified platform and database for contemporary Pakistani art.

“I believe in promoting emerging artists with cutting-edge work which is also affordable and also enabling art lovers around the world to connect with contemporary Pakistani art effortlessly,” she said.

Some of the exhibiting artists are: Fatin Suleman, Nayha Jehangir, Shaista Momin, Fariha Rashid, Mahjabeen Mirza, Saud Baloch, Sidra Ali, Noormah Jamal, Sabeen Ahsan, Sameen Agha, Sabir Ali Talpur, Mina Arham, Rubab Javed, Rabia Malik, Hera Shakoor, Sarah Rajper, Laiba Baig, Rabia Dawood, Anushka Musa, Akbar Ali, Warda Rasheed and Zohra Nasir.

Jehangir’s portraits employ an innovative technique of digital manipulation and painting over the images. The multi-layered treatment of colour, lines and contours creates portraits, adding a creative edge over traditional practices.

Malik’s paintings exude a calligraphy effect, with earthen tones and bold red and green that also give off a Japanese-art effect.

Meanwhile, Mirza’s palate is unique and experimental – a profusion of bright and neon colours offset by strands of calligraphic script, an intersection of the traditional with the contemporary styles.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.