LAHORE: An exhibition of Faizan Peerzada’s artworks titled ‘Faizaan Peerzada: A Retrospective’ opened at Alhamra Art Gallery, The Mall, on Friday.

It covers three decades of Faizan’s work as a painter and gives an insight into his life and devotion. The late Faizan Peerzada exhibited in several group exhibitions nationally and internationally. To his credit there are 27 solo exhibitions and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz 2004, the Presidential Award for Puppetry.

It’s exhibition of works of the man who was better known as a puppeteer and a wonderful creative mind when it came to organising world class festivals in the country. He was also into fashion and was a magnificent fashion designer.

Faizan was a multitalented person. Once while talking about himself he said, “I have painted while dancing to music and painted murals as a public performance in open spaces, I know that I have been divided within the multiple interests and disciplines that fascinated me in so many different ways but there are little bridges that connect all this to one point”.

Faizan Peerzada was more known as a driving force (along with his other brothers) behind the Rafi Peer Theatre.

Asad Hayee, who curated the exhibition, says, “His (Faizan’s) trade mark style of painting portraits with large eyes and prominent features reminded us of ancient times and of cave painting. All compositions were vivid and bright. A sense of luminosity was always present on each canvas. Either you see his early works of the 80’s or even later when he moved back to Lahore from Karachi in early in the 90’s.

The motives were universal, sometimes his subject matter was purely a portrait or sometime it included a body. The mid-90’s series are more vocal with social premise of society”.

About 130 artworks are on display in the exhibition. The mediums are acrylic on paper, ink on paper and oil pastel on paper.

Early this year, Faizan’s family and friends decided that they should put that dream to reality that Faizan was planning to do from a long time. The exhibition was inaugurated by Faizan Peerzada’s mother and his twin brother Saadan Peerzada and other family members were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, the Beaconhouse National University’s head of Visual Arts Saleema Hashmi paid tribute to Faizan Peerzada and shared her memories with the audience. She said Faizan was a multitalented artist and was a moving spirit behind Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop.

Prominent on the occasion were Nayyar Ali Dada, Lahore Arts Council Executive Director retired Captain Atta Muhammad, Samina Peerzada, Usman Peerzada, Sheherzad Alam and many others. The exhibition will remain on display till Jan 9.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2014