Almost all artists around the globe throughout the history as well as in present times have touched the topics of cityscape and figurative themes during their careers in art. As the urbanization of countries of the world increased the social issues related to cities began to effect people and also artists. Since then artists started to paint cityscapes to address various social problems and of course beauty of cities with impressive architecture to ignored slum areas.
Another topic of interest among artists is figurative work. Every artist wants to represent form in artistic way whether in a realistic figure or semi-abstract. The most fascinating figure for artists is woman. It is a matter of fact that women are the most vulnerable person in a society in the world. Therefore face many difficulties during lifetime and became a subject for literature and art alike.
Every artist has his/her own observation and keen eye to judge the surrounding hence they produce unusual and distinct artworks accordingly. Their instincts and their own life mould their personalities and their way of thinking and observation that reflected in their artworks. Same was the case with the artists participating in the group exhibition titled "Figure City(E)scape" at Sanat Gallery, Karachi as they investigated the two most painted topics with their own perception and personalised styles.
Alumnus of National College of Arts, Lahore (NCA) using particular visual languages and mediums the artists examined the viewer's conscience as they shared their concerns for moral issues. The people's figures whether men, women or children were used by the artists to represent their subjects depending on the themes of the artworks. They worked on various ideas using figure in urban spaces to present their view point.
The title of the show also indicated that we as citizens escape from the basic issues of a city and hide behind cityscape. The exhibition comprised of artworks that influence as well as settle some issues conclusively for the viewers. Curated by Aamna Hussain the exhibition aimed to combine two very basic contents of visual imagery that have been persistent throughout the art history. ie Figure and Landscape/Cityscape. Aamna has previously also curated different shows that were unique in approach and representation. Her selection of artworks is commendable.
The subject of figure in a cityscape is very wide as figures are people of all casts and creeds living their lives in a city side by side. The figures not only presenting people but also their backgrounds and personalities same is the case with cityscape as many buildings represents certain history or a story that shape the city's infrastructure and value among other cities of the country or the world.
Both figures and architecture had undergone social, political and cultural transformation during the years since the city has taken form of a city. Hence talking, writing or painting certain figures and buildings do have social impact good or bad depending upon the portrayal. As the time passed by the city and its people go through transition and a city became a city of great diversity may it be cultural, political or social. Thus the artworks by the artists were diverse visually as well thematically but aesthetically and artistically impressionable.
Jamil Baloch's work was relevant to the present scenario of the world that is environmental issues blended with social issues. He tackled the global issues like natural disasters, droughts, earthquakes, floods and abnormal climate conditions. His fiberglass work titled "Mother and Child" reflected the same problems emerged due to certain climate changes of the world. Jamil is associated with the fine arts for almost two decades and he is currently a faculty member at NCA.
Zahid Mayo liked to tell stories through his artworks as he believes that people understand and listen to advise that is in a story form. People got entertained and trained the same time while going through a story. He narrated his experiences in life in stories. Thus he connected to the outer world through visual form of his works and conveyed his message about everyday events taking place in his surroundings. His oil on canvas painting titled "5th Ramadan" depicted the abundance of information in our lives through media may it be electronic media or neon signs.
Suleman Khilji works with many different materials to achieve his artistic result according to the theme he selected. Here for a figure in a cityscape he used pigments, ink, acrylic, sand, and gold on archival board, oil on canvas and gouache on acid-free paper. He painted an urban character that seemed to be strolling in a city and while walking he went through different situations and surroundings depicted by Suleman very skilfully in various paintings. Thus the character in diverse outfits appeared in paintings having unique background atmosphere at different places representing diversity of a cityscape.
A recipient of President's Pride of Performance Award Kaleem Khan has a long association with fine arts as he graduated from National College of Arts, Lahore (NCA) more than three decades ago and at present he is the Director of Fine Arts Department at Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta. Kaleem is a sensitive person inspired by nature and his surroundings he used painting as tool to express his feelings, experiences, perceptions and ideas about the city he lives in. His works depicted people working at construction site and people building a house for a living. The houses that create a cityscape were discussed and the people who contribute in creating a city were portrayed in his work along with beautiful landscape.
Scheherazade Junejo's artworks discussed people's perception of identity in today's society. The digital era has drastically changed our lives and thinking. Now we like vanity over simplicity. People present themselves on social media without realizing that their privacy is being compromised. Now the concept of modesty has changed to imitation and perfection. Everybody is someone else instead of being themselves.
Maria Khan's figurative paintings portrayed women's suppress lives in our society. She talked about the right of women living with their own conscience and not being dictated by the society how to live a life. Women often live according to the desires of their men family members. They may like it or not they were forced to live an abnormal life and hence they started to believe their life as a burden. Thus she depicted female figures as they wanted to be not as the society wanted them to be.
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