July 17, 2004

Art belongs to the world of thoughts, hopes, wants, love, hate, oppression, protest, investigation, growth and much else that is not material. Yet, at the end of the day, those who buy it or those who evaluate it, are mortals too and fall under a long, dark shadow of fallibility.

Iqbal Ahmed received his Masters degree from Punjab University in 1962 and has been painting ever since. The current exhibition at the Alhamra galleries is one of his many solo and group shows. He is displaying oils, mainly landscapes, urban and rural — these being statements of the finesse that an artist has to offer in the midst of changing times vs. unaffected values — and some calligraphies and portraits too. His canvases are compact, his concentration intense, accentuating on the finer moments in the world around him.

Because of the fluidity in form and more ‘sensationalized’ expressions, it can be argued that non-representational art is naturally interpreted intuitively. Iqbal’s work is one instance when realistic painting is equally subjective. For instance, ‘The Hut’ painted in ‘86, shows a thatched shelter, with nominal material; the colour too is conservatively used, possibly making it a symbolic interpretation of the future our society has in mind for the underprivileged. The roofs of the huts are strewn with reeds, bits and pieces that would hardly be able to sustain rough weather, but the even, mellowed sunlight holds the moment, and time stands still.

Anyone who has spent a winter in Lahore, can relate to ‘Bagh-i-Jinnah’ when the expansive patch of greens in the middle is a foggy haze surrounding the trees — a phenomenon that stays etched in mind even if you have witnessed it only once. The foreground is a delicate tingling of colour, in flowers that grow close to the earth, and the frosted orange foliage of a small tree that is warm and yet blooms in the wintry cold.

‘Punjab University Old Campus’ is an in-depth study of the colonial architecture of the red-brick building, right up the towers and focusing on the clock to indicate the time gone by or the youth and student days that never fade from memory. This one is a personal and an inspired statement. ‘Off New Campus’ is another canvas. This in all honesty is a eulogy to the shades of green in rural Punjab; it is succulent, virgin-green and a festival of youth — all brought together in the wild growth from the soil. The branches are scantily clad, and the artist uses his strokes to make it into a happening.

Iqbal travels to the mountains to paint a few landscapes too. ‘Kalam’, painted in ‘94, has all the ingredients of a paradise on earth. But, because he wants to ‘tarry a while’, he stops. The placid river with water somersaulting flows besides the winding road dotted with tiny hamlets; and then the mountains that rise up to touch the sky. This work finds the artist engrossed more in the linear intricacies, though the three-dimensional effect is not neglected.

‘The Railway Track’ could be anybody’s favourite. Having romantic overtures in their composition, the subject matter and the colours from a lit-up candle. A receding sky, painted in orange gold, takes much of the canvas, and then the parallel lines of a train track sweep across in a gentle curve; a lone plant sprouts yellow flowers, balancing the gold in the sky.

Among the portraits, ‘The Painter’s Son’ is a picture of a young child. This naturally has an element of honesty, but the deep-rooted parental anxiety does not interfere. The artist is able to make a statement without a bias, enabling the viewer to make a clear evaluation of this particular work.

‘Shah di Khooi’ is a landscape that is simplistic. Displaying frugality in the use of colour, the brush strokes seem to admire the Kikar tree, and yet the bluish haze of wooden fires, probably dry branches from the same tree, rises up. In comparison, ‘Khaghan’ releases the artist from rural bondage to express himself in fresh colours that come alive instantly. Here, the sky is a bright promise, the trees stand upright and touch infinity.

Iqbal Ahmed has made a niche for himself in the realm of realistic painting, concentrating single-mindedly on the area he has chosen to work in. However, some aspects of administrative matters make him uncomfortable so he registers his protest. He chooses a painting depicting the PU fine arts department and inscribes in descending order the changes in status it has undergone.

The brochure too voices a protest against the indignities, the red tape and the pressure tactics used by art galleries to intimidate the artist. Success has not come easy to him, he confirms his preferences and no matter how difficult it gets, he promises not to be deterred from being a fine realist.