KARACHI: Art collectors are a special lot. While they collect artworks first and foremost for aesthetic delight, something good for society at large happens on an imperceptible level: preservation of art. But an exhibition at the Canvas art gallery titled The Summer Show — Works from the Collection of Rehana and Shakil Saigol — goes a step ahead. It intends to “light up other homes and be a source of pleasure to other collectors.”
A note from Rehana Saigol highlights the intent behind the show: “The most pleasurable aspect of collecting art and objects you admire is to surround and immerse yourself in displaying, arranging, rearranging your treasures.” By putting some of the paintings on sale, the collectors and gallery are enabling others to experience the same pleasure, and what a pleasure it is, because on view are works by some of the finest artists that the country has ever produced.
It all begins with Zulqarnain Haider’s two acrylic-on-board exhibits, ‘Laburnum’ and ‘Landscape’ (1988). It, in a manner of speaking, nicely sets the tone for the show because the soft hues that the artist imparts to the serene atmosphere gel well with the whole image in the frame, so much so that it makes the viewer yearn for more.
And why not more? Next up is Imran Qureshi’s ‘Maharaja with Flower’ (gouache and tea stained wash on wasli, 1997) which lends a historicity to the exhibition that richly adds to the initial idyllic feel. Qureshi is these days one of Pakistan’s most internationally recognised and celebrated artists, and rightly so.
Then comes the one and only Jamil Naqsh with his trademark ‘Pigeons’ (gouache on paper, 1990). It is one striking piece of creativity with an overhead shot of two birds placing them in a setting where their backs are marked by the kind earthiness that lends human attributes to them.
And who can pass by, just like that, Anna Molka Ahmed’s remarkable portraits (pastel on paper, 1973)? The viewer can’t help but marvel at the artworks for a longish time to absorb the art, craft and the untold story that caused the paintings to come into existence.
The rest of the artists whose works are on display: Waqas Khan, Khadim Ali, Khalid Iqbal, Sumaya Durrani, R.M. Naeem, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Ustad Allah Bux, Quddus Mirza, Mohammad Ali, Tasadduq Sohail, Naiza Khan, Anwar Saeed, Moeen Faruqi, Jamal Shah, Mian Ijaz ul Hassan and Naheed Raza.
The exhibition concludes on June 27.
Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2019
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