KARACHI: It is heartening to see emerging artists working shoulder to shoulder with the seasoned painters and sculptors of Pakistan. A strong evidence of it can be seen at the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi where a show titled ‘Sindh Artists Exhibition’, which concludes on Wednesday, showcases works of more than 70 artists.

The exhibition is divided into two sections: Vision 1 and Vision 2. The former comprises works of 27 senior artists and the latter has on display paintings of 48 young creative souls. And it’s a nice little combination.

Let’s take a look at the first section which has on view works of artists with proven credentials such as Rabia Zuberi, Naheed Raza and Qudsia Nisar. This is what makes it difficult to write about any particular work because it’s an embarrassment of riches. It would be, however, unjust not to discuss Omer Farid and Akram Spaul’s artworks. These artists over the years have impressed art lovers with the quality of their craft and the fertility of their imagination.

Farid is an under-discussed artist. His acrylic-and-ink-on-paper work in the show is a layered one. There’s so much happening in a single frame that the viewer tends to see it like a motion picture. It is not. Farid creates illusions within illusions, and these illusions seem to primarily fill his mind, resulting in the creation of striking images with interesting characters. The thing is: the ambience that he creates is not dream-like, but it is dream-inducing.

Spaul, on the other hand, keeps redefining realism. There was a time when one thought he dabbled in hyper-realism. This is something else. His ‘Still Life’ (oil on canvas) blurs the line between reality and the perception of reality. Yes, he is trying to tackle the issue of perception, because after all what we perceive is what we deem real. In his case, the shadow of a subject’s shadow can also be treated like a tangible thing if we so perceive it.

In the Vision 2 section Mediha Noman impresses with her etchings. She has named her three pieces ‘Plates’ — yellow, blue and red — a trilogy of sorts. At the heart of her work is a delectable rawness that indicated the artist’s free-flowing spirit. She has a bright future.  

Maryam Tahir works with the same spirit but on an entirely different plane. The young girl has flair.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2017