The choice of the most unimpressive and ordinary things to paint by Shakeel Siddiqui make his still life paintings widely popular among the art lovers. He paints his subject meticulously in microscopic detail with strong light effects and shadows, which give a deep and realistic look to his images that, could not have been caught by the camera.
The exact representation of the object along with the elements of composition, which raises a picture to its real appearance, shows Shakeel's competence. The objects in his paintings play against each other in respect of their size, placement, colour and light thus creating a balanced composition with rhythm and flow which creates dynamics of the still life painting. There are a few artists who are doing still life nowadays but Shakeel's love affair with this genre continues since early 70s.
The finest paintings by Shakeel Siddiqui titled "Beyond the Surface" at Artscene Galleries, Karachi speaks volumes about the artist's skills. The collection of about 38 paintings has variety of objects painted in various styles. The exhibition comprises of both colourful oil on canvas and radiant graphite on paper paintings, each has its own place in the show.
The tangible forms are the focus of his attention and emotions. In some paintings there is only a single object like a window, a door, an envelope, a basket while in others a number of objects are involved thus introducing many elements of balance and proportion such as a breakfast table with breakfast items, a kitchen cabinet having kitchen accessories, a bookshelf with variety of books, a writing table spread with books, pen and a cup of tea.
While Shakeel Siddiqui became famous by his painting of a small table covered with a lace table cloth and a few objects on the table in late 70s his another painting of a bookshelf is the most perfect realistic work. It is so real that one wants to reach out for a book for real from the painting. The books in the painting are untidily arranged on the shelf, some with frayed binding and others with discoloured covers. Some books are standing straight in the shelf and one or two are lying on the side, a file cover and a register is also part of the self. The various sizes of the books and their arrangement on the self adds to it's realistic look.
Shakeel uses the lifeless inanimate objects in his paintings as a conversation piece through which he silently speaks with the viewers. It is a conversation that everybody wants to indulge in as everyone has known that language spoken by the paintings. The viewer see a daily activity which he/she pass through almost everyday and do not take notice of the surrounding which he/she now see in Shakeel's painting and remember the moment's warmth and feelings of the texture that is used in the painting bringing it close to reality.
He creates fascinating images of newspapers and envelopes against the backdrop of old closet with several keys hanging on its door, a cup of tea on a window waiting to be drink near an empty chair, a kitchen cabinet full of various colours and sizes bottles of different edibles. These objects and forms offer a glance on life with glimpses of the familiar, domestic and soothing moments of pleasure and sadness that might have occur in the your life. [email protected]
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