An art exhibition from an altruistic perspective
Karachi: The city is dotted with art galleries and two or three exhibitions are always running concurrently; however, sometimes these stand out for the nature of works they exhibit that are always altruistically oriented.
One such show opened at the VM Art Gallery recently. Unlike most art exhibitions, this one aims not at lucrative sales but at informing the future generations of artists and youngsters about the contributions of the artists of the past and the manner whereby they brought Pakistan into the mainstream global art scene.
Prominent among these artists who are not in our midst anymore are Ahmed Pervez, Laila Shahzada and Lubna Agha.
Works of the late Ahmed Pervez which were bought by Wahab Jaffer were, in turn, bought by the VM Art Gallery to be put on show for the youngsters to see and know all about the most valuable contributions of the late artists.
The first two opening pieces are by Pervez: two abstracts; the first one an untitled oil-on-paper and the other one depicting free and rapid brush strokes typical of Pervez’s style at that time, when he was resident in New York between 1967 and 1979.
Then, as a total departure from his style, there are two paintings of vases with flowers, surrealistic impressionist works. What is most striking is his colouring technique. Pervez was indeed a lyrical colourist.
Then again, there’s an unusual change in his style. Here it is realism, as totally opposed to the abstractism characteristic of him, with two scantily clad figures, a man and a woman, presumably lovers, with palm leaves in the background.
The figures are in all probability from the annals of ancient Hindu mythology.
Similar is the variety of Wahab Jaffer’s forms of art. One of his paintings on display is a geometric design on a deep indigo/black background, with ‘VOTE’ written on top. On the other hand, there is a painting of three women with accentuated eyes and mouth conforming to the realist school of art.
There’s the late Laila Shahzada’s ‘Portrait of an artist’, an oil-on-canvas; it depicts the aesthetic, pensive element in the features, something characteristic of an artist.
There also are works by Barbara Hepworth and the late Lubna Agha. The exhibition titled ‘Significant Contribution’ runs up until September 30, and is a must-see for students of art and for history buffs.
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