KARACHI: An exhibition of works of 78 artists from Sindh organised by the fine arts committee of the Arts Council of Pakistan opened at the council’s Ahmed Pervez gallery on Tuesday evening.

There are 138 exhibits on display, which means there’s a wide range of artworks on view and art lovers have to spend a considerable time to appreciate them. But the range also allows the organisers to present for perusal a variety of techniques and subjects, signifying how the artist community of the province is dealing with both modernity and tradition.

Let’s discuss certain contemporary trends first. Ahmer Tariq strikes an intriguing balance between form and content by virtue of his sculptures made of wires (one of which moves as well). The two are called ‘Fighter Bull’ and ‘Whirling Darwesh’. Now, the use of wire is interesting because that kind of material usually pushes the subject matter to a back seat because form takes precedence over content. But in his case, the message never loses its significance. Good stuff.

Fasih Qureshi tries to send his message across through colours and geometrical shapes in an artwork called ‘My Love’ (oil on canvas). It is not easy to know how the title commensurate with the painting, for there’s a great deal of symbolism involved in it. The one give-away, however, is the colour red (read: passion).

In terms of the traditional approach to art, what could be better than making and seeing landscapes? Here Saiful Islam’s watercolour paintings take care of that segment in the show. Not only does he draw landscapes with all their serene glory but the overpowering greenness in his paintings hint at the fecundity of the world that he wants to see or live in.

The exhibition will run till Friday.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2016