It is not just William Wordsworth who was taken in by nature and composed many a poem on the subject. Throughout the history of mankind, if there is one thing which has consistently inspired artists and the general public with great intensity, it is nature. Poets and artists only consolidated, in some cases augmented, the value of nature so that, among other reasons, the transience of life can be effectively dealt with. This means that the beautiful permanence of nature in its unspoiled form attracts artists, writers and poets. It is in this context that an exhibition of landscapes and nature-based paintings titled ‘The golden collection’ by famous and emerging artists at Karachi’s Unicorn Gallery attracted a great many art lovers.

The artists who took part in the exhibition included, among others, A-listers like Iqbal Husain, Mansoor Rahi and Tasadduq Sohail. As usual their work was of top-notch quality and left the viewer marvelling at their talent. Not many know that the eminent artist Rahi is a wonderful landscapist as well. Two of his paintings on display were markedly different from the other artworks primarily because of the firmness of the scenery and solidity of lines and strokes. The black prominent outlines imparted a distinct touch to the terrain that he had drawn.

Sohail is a master, without a shadow of doubt. However, it came as a pleasant surprise to see his miniaturist landscape portfolio, which one of the gallery’s officials believes, was done at a time when he was visiting the United Kingdom. It was simply splendid.

The kind of ambience that he’s able to conjure through subtle imageries is delightful and at the same time worth mulling over in the philosophical sense of the phrase.

Husain’s work was not noticeably different from what he usually does. His take on nature reflected the kind of atmosphere he grew up in, something which by now is known to all his fans.

Then there Zulfiqar Zulfi’s lovely depiction of Punjab’s countryside. Looking at his work the viewer could feel the sedateness and purity of a rustic environment. The colours that he used were not very bold, yet conveyed what he was trying to aim for in a pretty convincing manner.

The other participating artists were: Ghulam Rasool, Ijazul Hasan, Jam Deper, Jamil Ahmed, Khalid Iqbal, Laila Shahbaz, M Arshad, Masood A Khan, Mugheez Riaz, Naveed Wazir, Raja Changez, Shamsa Hasan, Wajid Yaqoot and Zarah David.