Art Dubai concludes: A touch of Pakistan evident at region’s leading fair

Art Dubai concluded on Sunday, shedding a light on Pakistani artists who used vibrant colours, masterful compositions and symbols to tell stories through their displayed works.

The region’s leading international art show showcased galleries from around the world, while becoming a platform for multiple South Asian artists, including plenty from Pakistan.

Faiza Butt, a UK-based artist of Pakistani origin, has showcased her work around the world. At Art Dubai this year, she presented her work depicting the Muslim man.

“The body of work you see here generally shows men who are some of them are Muslim men as your first reading of the image,” she told Business Recorder at the fair, “but we also have a Hasidic Jewish man and we also have a head of a classical Halkidiki from the Greek time.”

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While at Slade School of Fine Art, Butt was inspired to draw the feminine form. A deeper look at the extensive body of work around the female form made her reconsider her options.

“So to reject the western history as not the history of the world but the history of the west and its domination of how we understand and perceive certain genres in art,” she explained, “I picked up this concept of working with the male form.”

Before Slade, Butt had been a student at Lahore’s famed National College of Arts (NCA), where she studied from renowned Pakistani artist, Anwar Saeed.

His works, which was also displayed side-by-side with hers, deeply inspired her and gave her a launchpad for her current art theme, she said.

“As a social commentator, I want my work to be purposeful,” said Butt. “I think as long as I can provoke people to ask a question to break the ice and to work on pre-existing presumptions, cultural framings.”

She isn’t trying to change society, Butt clarified, she’s only trying to start a conversation.

“I cannot change the world but as long as I can provoke or shake up the existing presumptions that could be a healthy start for the community,” she explained.

Butt was surrounded by a dozen people at Grosvenor Gallery, one among the 140 other pop-ups at the show. She explained her thought process behind a piece ‘Get out of my dreams’ that showed two men posing together, framed by colourful items, each of which had a meaning for Butt.

The images she uses are journalistic photos, which she refines by hand, and then wraps in themes inspired by Pakistani truck art and the larger-than-life, vintage movie posters she saw in Lahore.

Butt wasn’t the only one instilling Lahore in her art work.

‘Global cultural hub’: Art Dubai draws to a close

Maryam Baniasadi, who moved to Pakistan in 2012 from Iran, documented her journey through NCA in miniature paintings.

“Pakistan was really inspiring for me,” said the artist, who lives in Lahore with her husband. “The architecture, the nature, the vibrant colours － so I used a lot of composites in my work also, like nature is there.”

Baniasadi said she also tries to reflect the political environment around her in her work.

“When I moved to Pakistan, there was a lot of security [issues] in Pakistan,” she said. “You can’t tell that this painting has, like, you know, the tension of the city. It’s calm.”

Baniasadi said she hopes her journey from being a visitor to Art Dubai to exhibiting her work here will inspire other Pakistani artists to try, too. She was enjoying her first time exhibiting her work at LATITUDE 28, an Indian art gallery, which was showcasing works from other Pakistani artists as well.

“We have a nice roster of artists from Pakistan,” said Bhavna Kakar, who owns Latitude 28.The walls of her gallery were adorned with works by Noor Ali Chagani, Farhat Ali, Waseem Ahmed, and Khadim Ali.

All these Pakistani artists, she said, added to strongly to her gallery’s theme of miniature and sculpture.

“Each one has their distinct identity which adds so much to what we already do,” said Kakar.

In another part of the art show, Hannah Matin, gallery associate, agreed with her peer about how artists from different backgrounds complement each other’s works.

She was referring to Pakistani artists Sana Arjumand’s work displayed at Aicon Gallery, a New York-based art shop that specializes in contemporary works created by emerging and established Indian and Pakistani artists.

Arjumand’s piece title ‘The Perfect Mirror’ was specially placed across from an monumental piece by Nigerian artist Peju Alatise, said Matin, because the visuals of the former piece corresponded well with the sectioning of the Alatise’s expansive, brightly coloured creation.

Prajit Dutta, Aicon’s owner, said Matin, has a special passion for highlighting artists from India and Pakistan.

“They really encapsulate the cultures of Pakistan and India in a very beautiful way,” she noted. “For example, Sana Arjumand’s work, it’s all about the sense of spirituality and female representation in Pakistan.”

Arjumand was unable to attend the event due to visa issues, but her art piece was sold for more than $20,000 and was displayed with the likes of Pakistan’s famous artist Sadequain.

The fair, which ran from April 18-20 (with previews on the 16th and 17th) also featured an Art Dubai Modern segment with presentations by the region’s modern masters. The event, held at Madinat Jumeirah, also featured Digital Summit, a unique curated section dedicated to pioneering artists, collectives, galleries and platforms who are shaping today’s digital art world.

At a press conference earlier in the week, Art Dubai’s artistic director had said said, “Dubai is a unique, global city, one which is home to communities and peoples from all over the world, with different languages and traditions and, as we approach our twentieth year, the fair has become the main platform and commercial marketplace for galleries and artists from these scenes and geographies. We are proud to champion these voices, supporting a more diverse and global art world.”

Art Dubai is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.