Unherd: Without the stroke of a brush

Farhan Manto displays his artwork at For the Love of Art.

ISLAMABAD: Unherd, a collection of art pieces by Farhan Manto, is on display at the gallery, For the Love of Art.

The Lahore-based artist, speaking to The Express Tribune, said, “I am a strong believer in experimentation and the role of subconscious in art. I allow my paintings and artwork to be an organic expression of my mind”.

He further shared that over the years he has developed his own technique using a method unique to his style and paintings. “I lay the canvas on the floor and walk around it in high speed as I paint with the tip of a broken pen and a tin of paint with different swings and strokes of my arm”, said Manto.

It is the fluid and the unpredictable process that helps Manto test his limits and come up with the remarkable work he creates.

The tones of the collection displayed at the exhibition are black and white with some that include red in them. It is the simplicity of colors and the featuring of human faces and horses as the dominant subject in his artwork that particularly stands out.

The artist mentioned his fondness for polo, which is presented in his work in the form of horses. He believes that perfection and balance are the inspiration behind his work and the symbolic in the dominant subject of his paintings. He added that he has been practicing motion art since years to achieve this level of perfection.

Sakina Ahmad Shah, who runs For the Love of Art, while sharing her experience said she found the art gallery to encourage young and amateur artists to practice art and to have a platform to showcase their work. “Most art galleries are too expensive for young artists to showcase their artwork and I believe every artist must be able to reach the masses, which is precisely why I opened this”, said Shah.

Taking about Farhan’s work, she said it was very different from other artists’ work. “He does not paint; he dribbles oil paint on the canvas with a nib of the pen and hardly touches the canvas with a brush, which is what makes his work so unique, raw and intricate”.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2015.