LAHORE: American author Og Mandino has said: “I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure darkness for it shows me the stars.”

This quote gels well with Ali Hammad’s artworks, a 2006 graduate from the National College of Arts. The artist hails from Quetta, but is settled in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Hammad is passionate and paints with great intensity. His first solo exhibition in Pakistan currently on display at Ejaz Art Gallery truly goes with its title In Pursuit of Light since most of his artworks depict perhaps the ideal utilisation of light; the kind of light one would rarely come across in paintings.

Hammad has been displaying his works in group exhibitions, both nationally and internationally. The canvases on display here are the outcome of his passion. The 54 paintings on display at Ejaz Art Gallery depicting still life give the visitor a new dimension to life through objects and faces. The intensity of colours and play of light make these artworks extraordinary.

Some of the portraits represent faces from Balochistan that seem deeply woven into the rich culture of the land. One being asked where the artist drove inspiration from to paint with such a subtle approach with an aura of its own, Hammad told Dawn that mainly he was inspired by Rembrandt which was why he painted in the Flemish/Dutch style; “other western masters who have inspired me are British painter Turner and Hovsep Pushman, an Armenian-American artist”.

In Pakistan, Hammad is inspired by Saeed Akhtar, Kaleem Khan and Khalid Iqbal. “I paint keeping in view the originality of the light and time. On the surface it may be still life or a portrait but in depth it’s a skillful intertwining of colour, light, form and space,” he added.

To a question about the basic concept behind his paintings, Hammad said he tried to paint with a sense of inventiveness rather the mechanical rendering -- copy of the outside world.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2016