True art: Bringing out the ordinary in an extraordinary way
‘Streetwise’ comprises 13 enamel-on-canvas pieces which exude a lively-cum-funky vibe.
The paintings draw the viewer in for their loose, fluid effect and visual balance. PHOTO: HUMA CHOUDHARY/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
An art exhibition showcasing paintings by contemporary artist Qadir Jhatial will go up on display at Khaas Art Gallery on Tuesday (today).
Titled “Streetwise”, the collection comprises a total of 13 enamel-on-canvas pieces which exude a lively-cum-funky vibe, depicting cityscapes and street life in a rich palette of electric, neon and transient colour tones.
Jhatial brings out the ordinary in an extraordinary way. He feasts on the subtleties of life around him, to amplify them in subtle detail, dissolving the noise into loud splashes of colours which assume a strange, spontaneous harmony.
“You don’t really find these colours in nature, but merely see literal perspectives stretching in front of you,” said the artist, who has enhanced the mundane scenes into bright imagery that is pleasing to the eye.
What looks like a trip into the pages of a graphic comic book, are actually scenes partly inspired by the artist’s imagination, amplified in vibrant interpretations on canvas. The paintings draw the viewer in for their loose, fluid effect and visual balance. There is a certain rhythm to the fluid silhouettes and stencil-like forms that fall into place effortlessly in the art pieces.
For example, the depiction of “Itwar bazaar” pieces together tall structures, figures in motion and can well pass for a modern cityscape, a scene from a busy cosmopolitan anywhere in the world. The universal appeal is perhaps the beauty of the paintings set in a localised context.
Instead of concrete outlines, the artist lets the figurative forms take their own course, to profile everyday people, places and things. Reminiscent of the humdrum of his surroundings in Lahore, he uses some imagery and a lot of imagination to highlight the dynamism of the city and its people.
From street hawkers such as the ice-candy man and the burger-wala to elderly men sitting cross-legged, his profiles are finely-detailed, highly nuanced and simultaneously abstract.
The paintings come alive with their unique treatment, luminosity as well as a dramatic feel, abuzz with people and activity.
“Jhatial’s paintings are distinctly about human presences, even as they carry all the marks of human observation and usage, of the felt and the seen, the used and the thrown away,” said Aasim Akhtar, art critic and curator. He added that within the artist’s framework, he puts together notions of status and progress, and the vexed questions around self and location.
Babar Gull, curator at the gallery, said the paintings reflect a certain nostalgia to him, an almost melancholic feeling. The exhibition continues till February 2.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2015.
An art exhibition showcasing paintings by contemporary artist Qadir Jhatial will go up on display at Khaas Art Gallery on Tuesday (today).
Titled “Streetwise”, the collection comprises a total of 13 enamel-on-canvas pieces which exude a lively-cum-funky vibe, depicting cityscapes and street life in a rich palette of electric, neon and transient colour tones.
Jhatial brings out the ordinary in an extraordinary way. He feasts on the subtleties of life around him, to amplify them in subtle detail, dissolving the noise into loud splashes of colours which assume a strange, spontaneous harmony.
“You don’t really find these colours in nature, but merely see literal perspectives stretching in front of you,” said the artist, who has enhanced the mundane scenes into bright imagery that is pleasing to the eye.
What looks like a trip into the pages of a graphic comic book, are actually scenes partly inspired by the artist’s imagination, amplified in vibrant interpretations on canvas. The paintings draw the viewer in for their loose, fluid effect and visual balance. There is a certain rhythm to the fluid silhouettes and stencil-like forms that fall into place effortlessly in the art pieces.
For example, the depiction of “Itwar bazaar” pieces together tall structures, figures in motion and can well pass for a modern cityscape, a scene from a busy cosmopolitan anywhere in the world. The universal appeal is perhaps the beauty of the paintings set in a localised context.
Instead of concrete outlines, the artist lets the figurative forms take their own course, to profile everyday people, places and things. Reminiscent of the humdrum of his surroundings in Lahore, he uses some imagery and a lot of imagination to highlight the dynamism of the city and its people.
From street hawkers such as the ice-candy man and the burger-wala to elderly men sitting cross-legged, his profiles are finely-detailed, highly nuanced and simultaneously abstract.
The paintings come alive with their unique treatment, luminosity as well as a dramatic feel, abuzz with people and activity.
“Jhatial’s paintings are distinctly about human presences, even as they carry all the marks of human observation and usage, of the felt and the seen, the used and the thrown away,” said Aasim Akhtar, art critic and curator. He added that within the artist’s framework, he puts together notions of status and progress, and the vexed questions around self and location.
Babar Gull, curator at the gallery, said the paintings reflect a certain nostalgia to him, an almost melancholic feeling. The exhibition continues till February 2.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2015.