Young artists impress art connoisseurs
Karachi: Works of graduates from 12 art institutions from across the country are being displayed at the VM Art Gallery’s 10th Annual Emerging Talent Show.
With 165 paintings and installations, the largest art gallery of the city is brimming with art pieces all over. “It was quiet a task putting them together beautifully in the space,” said Riffat Alvi, director of the gallery.
A majority of the artists show a surprising depth of ideas in their work which Riffat believes is very “promising”. The gallery sold 20 artworks on the first day of its opening, which tells a lot about the enthusiasm Karachiites have about collecting art. But apart from the enthusiasm, Riffat cites the low prices as a main reason behind such quick selling.
The average price range of artworks in the exhibition is Rs20,000 to Rs40,000. “Since they are works of students, the prices are very much affordable. The most expensive installation in this exhibition is priced at Rs150,000.”
Some of the young artists stood out for their approach and techniques. Like Imran Soomro of the Centre of Excellence in Arts and Design, Jamshoro, in his Digital Print series, uses an everyday Facebook home template showing masters like Van Gogh and Da Vinci as his friends sharing their masterpieces in a photo album.
Explaining the idea behind his work, Imran said that technology has occupied every space of our lives. We are related to computer in every step of the way. The machine has its own signs and symbols. “As an artist, I have used these signs eg paste, loading, delete, rotate, zoom etc to represent my inner-self.”
Another powerful work by Mahwish Pervaiz shows human figures caged in cartons that are placed in stacks, depicting the story of human struggle for survival or the blind pursuit of materialism.
A chair laced with coins is perhaps the most eye-catching piece, placed prominently, at the centre of one of the rooms. The chair explains itself. The piece explores the symbolism of chair (Kursi) and its inextricable connection with money.
There is also a palm placed on the chair which is beckoning people to sit, perhaps symbolizing the unabated temptation of power. The piece was designed by Shafqat Ali Kambrani of the Centre of Excellence in Art and Design, Jamshoro.
Young artists from the following institutions took part in the exhibition: The Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Karachi, the School of Art, University of Karachi, The Central Institute of Art & Craft, the National College of Art, Lahore, the University of Punjab, the Beaconhouse National University, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, the Fatima Jinnah University for Women, Rawalpindi, the National College of Art Rawalpindi, the Multan College of Art, the Gujrat University, the Centre of Excellence in Art and Design, Jamshoro. The exhibition is attracting both students and collectors regularly. It is opened till 12th February 2012.
Source: The News
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