KARACHI: An exhibition of artworks made by 170 artists from the province of Sindh titled Baad-i-Saba opened at the Clifton Art Gallery on Friday.

‘Baad-i-saba’ is a phrase often used by Urdu poets. It means a gentle breeze. This suggests that the organisers of the show associate certain ‘breeziness’ with the exhibition. One doesn’t know how to corroborate this, but one does know that seeing some of the paintings on display can make the viewer feel a breath of fresh artistic air.

There’s a reason for it: artists from Sindh have always surprised with their unique sense of style and distinct handling of subject matter. Take for example the works of Najib Rashdi. There’s a profusion of colours in one of his paintings that immediately catches the eye. Once the viewer absorbs the colour scheme, it is the figures in the artwork that get noticeable in a manner that they become an inalienable part of the delectable profusion. There is also ‘order in disorder’ at play. All of that combines to make a painting that’s hard to take your eyes off.

A similar feeling can be had while watching Sara Qureshi’s work. Here, however, there is a sensitivity to urban issues that assumes prominence. Still, the artist does not want the viewer to take it as her primary motive for making the piece. What remains supreme is the genial, unfussy aesthetic sense which is the most important component of the painting.

Then there is Hanif Shehzad, with his lovely and heartfelt tribute to colonial Karachi. Watching his depictions of the city’s old stone-made works of construction is like going back in time without losing touch with the present.

The show, organised by the culture department of government of Sindh and Centre for Excellence in Art and Design, MUET, Jamshoro, concludes on April 8. And while browsing through the internet, it became known that a similar exhibition with a similar title was held last year in a different gallery.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2018