Late Masur Aye's innovative, symbolic and soft images are shared with Karachiites by Citi Art Gallery, Karachi among a group show of twenty contemporary artists title "Fusion of Contemporary Art". The exhibition was full of forms, colours, textures, surfaces and symbols. All the paintings are full of feelings with powerful expression and theme that are the experiences of the artists.
Mansur Aye had developed his own distinctive style, consisting of moon-faced girls with the moon in the background, a flower and moonlight showing the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. There was no sign of bitterness or turmoil in his work. Everything was soft and serene. He used different medium but his forte was portraits and the one subject that surfaced again and again in his paintings is moon-faced girls. All of his paintings depict large eyed women with a touch of wildness.
Going beyond the naturalistic rendering of the subject, Mansur Rahi gives greater emphasis to the compositional structure of the subject on the canvas and the solidity of the forms and figures. He drew and painted figures with anatomical accuracy but rendered geometrically not realistically. With the help of swinging arcs, circles, squares and triangles he render approximately the particular natural shape and creates a forceful design than it could be in a naturalistic rendering. There was more feeling for form and space and a distinctly marked design quality in his paintings. The attractive cascades of colours and sharp and clear contours appeal the viewers.
Hajra Mansur's paintings have a rich touch of eastern and modern art elements and seem to be locked together, which evoke charm and enchantment. It's not only her paintings which highlight her emphasis on love and harmony; rather the same themes are reflected in the way she paints. Her work focuses on a stylized female form with plenty of jewels and flowing garments inspired by the era of her mother and grandmother. Her woman depicts her delicate feminism, blessed, peaceful and in love. Her mastery over water colours creates beautiful diversions. Her hues melt into each other, creating exquisite delicacy. There is a smooth liquid touch to her paintings where the colours dissolve into foggy backgrounds.
Mashkoor's artworks with bold colours combination and fine strokes capture the diverse presentation of women and horse in attractive semi-abstracts paintings. He uses a visual language of form, colour and line to create a composition which contains a degree of independence from visual references in the real world - woman and horse. The horse - a majestic animal bears immense fascination for Mashkoor. Horses serve both as a subject and symbol in his paintings. He portrays horses as a symbol of beauty, power and speed. The dynamic application of brown, black and white heightens the glory of the animal. Different moods and action of horses reflect an intense and passionate atmosphere in motion.
Tassaduq Sohail's rich imagination converts his canvases in an amusingly unusual surreal art. Amalgamating power of people and animals on canvas has now become an identity for him. The glimpses of animal and plants or the human form especially females can be seen in all of his works. His strong expression depicts his strong sense of colours and an aura of antiquity. The brilliant and exceptional use of colours from brown, blues, green, red and ochre gives the paintings a unique look. The exquisite work was full of figures revealing emotions, moods and expressions.
Shammi Ahmed skilfully apply all the basics of art - the intricacies of drawing, brush strokes, mixing, separation and blending of colours, creating depth and playing with imagery, which she had learned from her mentor on her canvases. Her paintings portray wide-eyed female faces with an enigmatic gaze. She has great emphasis on eyes in her paintings and she portrays all expressions through them easily. Smooth colours applied in harmony create a balanced composition enhancing the soft female images giving them a sharper and effective look reflecting moods and emotions through the eyes of the figures.
The driving force behind Tabinda Chinoy's paintings is the women's states of weariness, dejection and melancholy or it can be said an emotional paralysis suffer by women in our society. She uses the symbolic expression of a deeper meaning to convey her message like birds and flowers. Being a woman she feels strongly for other women, she understand their problems better than anyone else. And hence she portrays what she feels and sees regarding women in our surrounding atmosphere. She wants women to liberate and do whatever they want to do and whatever they know to do. Free themselves from the unseen shackles.
Mehtab Ali is basically a realistic painter and has done a lot of portraiture during his career. He has acquired a diverse mode of painting which distinguishes him among his contemporaries. His work relates today's woman with old civilisation. By depicting the female figures draped in heavy dresses and heavy jewellery of the past he has given a new touch to his paintings and the subject also. Heavy necklaces, bangles, and earrings having Mughal era designs are used to relate two different times with each other. His paintings are very well balanced with the background depicting our cultural heritage. His paintings are close to reality and therefore impress the viewers. He is a realistic painter but his work has evolved during the time and now it appears with a touch of impressionism. His drawing is impressive and the light and shade creates a mesmerising effect.
A Q Arif has got a signature style of his own he is famous for his architecture painting. His unique style is a result of his experimentation in form and texture in various colour schemes creating a sense of perception, exposing his paint application, composition and basic drawing. He adds a touch of fantasy to some of his paintings by using images of bright full moon, clouds, mist and autumn leaves blowing with wind around the old buildings. His motifs and architectural forms filled with hues of blue, brown, red and yellow. The images of diverse and contrasting environments are juxtaposed in one space showing the work of exceptional architectural heritage of Pakistan.
Ahmed Anver's colourful paintings depicting faces of women in various moods in a single painting creates an aura of mystery thus trying to explain motives behind the emotional phases of women. He paints universal feelings and concepts regarding women, rather than objects that go beyond representational images. His paintings are done in search for true feelings and beauty through the use of colour and form.
Moin Shah portrays his feelings much easily and in convincing way in his figurative paintings. The faceless female and male figures in various moods and situations unveiling different realities of life attract the viewers as they see reality in them. His paintings effectively discuss social issues which reflect his deep understanding of the surroundings. His works are spontaneous and near to the hearts of many.
He communicates with the masses through his semi-abstract female figures which symbolise the most fragile yet most powerful part of our society. The situation, time and place decide her position and command for that situation, place and time. The exhibition also includes artworks of artists - Aziz Hasan, Dr S. Ali Wasif, Mahnaz Lakha, Mansur Saleem, A S Rind, Sara Balouch, Shan Amrohivi, Syed A. Irfan, Zoay all of them are quiet scenic and sensational in their own way.
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