A myriad of colours and ideas
Farhan Siddiqui
Paintings from all over the country are on display at the National
Millennium Art Exhibition 2000 being held at Alhamra Art Gallery,
Lahore.
Ayesha Majeed reviews the works
After the decline of the Mughal school, painting flourished in the
Punjab hill states and later in the Sikh kingdom at Lahore. From that
period onwards this city remained the centre of arts and crafts and
produced great names in the field of painting like Chughtai, Allah
Bukhsh, Anna Molka Ahmed and Shakir Ali.
In this centre of rich artistic activities the Artists Association of
Punjab has arranged a National Millennium Exhibition of painting,
sculpture and graphic arts, participated in by around 122 artists from
all over Pakistan -- Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta,
Gujranwala and D.G.Khan, with the majority belonging to Lahore.
There is a large variety of mediums, new experiments with new
techniques and a different visual concept. Some artists have touched
modern subjects as well. In painting there is a large range of work on
abstraction, portraits, calligraphy, still life, landscapes and
everyday life on streets, in the park and at home.
Among abstracts, apart from Gulgee, there are eye catching works by
Salima Hashmi titled 'The people wept at dawn', Zubaida Javed, Qudsia
Nisar, Samina Mansuri, Moeen Faruqi titled 'Man's fate', Dr. Khalid
Mahmood, Ali Zafarullah, Aslam Kamal, Musaib Qureshi, Kamal Hyat,
Farhat Abbasi and Jamal-e-Mustafa. Gulgee uses a heavy impasto
technique in which thickly applied brilliant hues, particularly orange,
on blue background. Zubeida Javed's round about kind of brush strokes
echoes Van Gogh.
Another outstanding abstract piece is by Jamal-e-Mustafa (an artist
from Fine Arts Department, Punjab University). His work is a good
example of expressionism and reveals a painful monochromatic study of
humans; their life, attitude, sufferings, struggles and ultimately, the
loss. The work is apparently considersed only a vehicle to associate
with the public and invoke awareness in them.
The calligraphic canvasses feature the works of Ahmed Khan, Sami-ur-
Rehman, and Talat Mahfooz Butt, all from Lahore. The work of Ahmed Khan
speaks of the artist's command over his medium. Talat Mahfooz
Butt's 'Bismillah' has an ochre, brown and maroon colour background
from which the words stand out boldly, symbolising their strength and
power of meaning.
In portrait painting the canvasses which catch the attention are of
Rahat Naveed Masood (a teacher at Fine Arts department Punjab
University), Tayyeba Aziz Ahmed (Peshawar), Iqbal Hussain (Lahore),
Shah Nawaz Zaidi (chairman Fine Arts department Punjab University), Dr.
Musarrat Hassan (teacher at Lahore College for Women), Aftab Ahmed
(Rawalpindi), Ali Azmat (an artist from Fine Arts department Punjab
University), Riazat Hussain (Lahore), Sumera (Lahore) and Jamshed
Tahir.
One of the two portraits by Rahat Naveed Masood is done in a realistic,
but modern manner somewhat different from the 'traditional
representation' of portrait painting. The other portrait titled 'In
Search of a Soul', indicates her ability to capture realit, with a life-
like shine in the eyes of her model, probably a 'malang'. Although his
body is physically present, throught the eyes, his soul seems to search
for some other world.
Jamshed Tahir presents an outstanding portrait, using a collage of
feathers. In the huge panel three natural colours of feathers, white,
brown and black are used, to portray light and dark areas. Ali Azmat
(an artist from Fine Arts department Punjab University) is inspired by
the female figure and depicts the fragility and beauty of the female
form, a recurrent subject with him.
In still life painting Mohammad Asif, Shahid Jalal, and Mughees Riaz,
all from Lahore stand out. A very different and innovative subject
matter in still life painting can be seen in the work of Mughees Riaz
(a young artist from Fine Arts Department, Punjab University). His
lantern hanging on the wall conveys a mysterious atmosphere since the
lantern itself is darkened and the light falls on the room from some
other source. Overall, the study by the artist is exuberant and his
choice of subject matter outstanding.
Shahid Jalal's still life of grey coloured stones is beautifully
arranged and captured. Some extraordinary canvasses are by artists like
Ghulam Mustafa (general secretary of Artists Association of Punjab),
Ijazul Hassan (chairperson of Artists Association of Punjab), Maleeha
Azmi Agha (teacher at Fine Arts department Punjab University), Ghalib
Baqar (Karachi), Kaleem Khan (Quetta), Zafarullah (a teacher at Fine
Arts department Punjab University) and Nusrat Azmatullah (Karachi).
Ghulam Mustafa who graduated from NCA in 1974 and is now an executive
member of Artists Association of Punjab, has used pastels to paint a
street scene of interior Lahore. His canvas titled 'Dark Streets' show
light and dark as his subject matter. The emphasis is on green colour.
An afternoon light falling on the remote part of the canvas, that is on
the buildings, creates a melodious, soft feeling. His handling of the
medium is quite impressive.
The bright, bold colours of Maliha Azmi's two canvases are eye-
catching, as in her painting 'Summer Madness', a wide, orange-coloured
sky is painted with blue flowers; her sky more brilliant than the
flowers. Another canvas titled 'Mother's Heaven' features a wide blue
sky, with the landscape in the same sombre blue tone.
Another exquisite study of nature by Kaleem Khan, an artist from
Quetta, has painted a flock of sheep and a shepherd, in earthen hues,
beige, off white, brown, oker, greys and whites. His thickly applied
patches of oil colour create a texture that is tempting to touch. His
close study of village life and his choice of simple but pleasant
subject matter, are marvellous.
Zafarullah, a professor at Fine Arts department Punjab University, has
painted two beautiful canvasses 'Nathia Gali' and 'Khanuspur after
Snow', totally personalising the work by eliminating the bright colours
of huts, giving them a monochromatic tone tone instead. He admits that
he has consciously eliminated the pine trees which were present in
reality.
Aftab Zafar, a renowned artist from Karachi, has painted the same
festive activity, gay atmosphere and bright colours which are the
trademark of his work. Only one artist, Aamina Jahan, has exhibited
miniatures, three 'Turkish Series', different in the way it is done as
well as the border.
Two major fields of graphic arts and sculpture have been neglected by
the artists themselves in the exhibition. The Artists Association of
Punjab has made a good effort to bring to focus the work of emerging
artists from all the provinces, thereby encouraging them to initiate
new ideas, giving them a chance to share inspirations and experience
with the renowned artists of Pakistan.
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