A four-person show that opened recently at Lahore’s Ejaz Gallery brought forth a group of talented young artists, each particularly adept at representing the human form.

Indeed, in this show, titled Figure it Out, one could witness not only the human form but also the human condition with all its paradoxical presentations. The strengths and weaknesses, moments of joy as well as the dark travails of life, all come forth in the exhibition’s narrative.

Faiz Supro, Ghazi Sikander, Faiqa Upal and Arsalan Naqvi have been exhibiting their work for the past few years and their prolific output has been rewarded with appreciation both at home and abroad.

Supro’s hallmark is his black and grey pen and ink sketches, selectively enhanced by water colours. This Sindh-based artist focuses on the local populace and his portraits, both individual and in group settings, are done with admirable sensitivity.

The way, he emphasises certain features and design elements by balancing line, pattern and colour, and omits others, represents aesthetic finesse and a keen sense of observation. He adds variety to his mostly upbeat narratives, by adding symbols and patterns which may have caught his fantasy at a given moment.

Sikander’s current body of work is exclusively in blue pen on paper and focuses on large groups of people as they go about their individual and collective activities. The power of a “mass of people” is the subject matter of his discourse, be it within the hustle and bustle of a common market place, or within a charged group of devotees in a religious event.

Four artists in a group show focus on perfecting techniques and on the connection they have with humanity at large

There is an element of spontaneity in his sketches, though minute details of the individuals and their surroundings are also adeptly rendered to give an aura of authenticity to the imagery.

Upal’s watercolour paintings have a distinctly feminine aura, with an emphasis on beauty and the play of bright colours. The portraits of various women are done with the quintessential watercolour technique that is done with quick, spontaneous, as well as carefully measured brushstrokes.

The artist selectively emphasises certain areas and leaves out others, and seems to revel in the play of multiple colours and how they flow and merge into each other. However, in a few works, an overzealous use of water tends to warp the paper a bit more than is aesthetically agreeable, and this is one minor detail that may need more attention in future works.

Naqvi’s body of work is perhaps the boldest, both in terms of medium and colours used. His acrylic on canvas paintings feature people, particularly young individuals, who are forced to eke out a living on the streets. Other paintings feature crows, singularly or in groups, and his choice of this bird has to do with his observation that this particular specie is the most uncared for and even detested one. The corollary here is that poor children begging on the streets have a similar life predicament.

The artist’s choice of colours revolves around an attention-seeking palette; bright red or orange combined with black and white, and one can also see text incorporated through newspapers used as a layer on the canvas in some of the works.

This mainly self-taught artist from Hyderabad has a special talent for rendering faces, and his subjects are picked up from common experiences in his day-to-day life.

The common thread in Figure it Out is the artists’ focus, not only on perfecting observation and techniques, but also their seeming connection with the common people and humanity at large. In a rather grim era of ‘social distancing’ and human inequalities, the discourse is both heartwarming and aesthetically engaging.

“Figure It Out” was held at Ejaz Gallery in Lahore from January 15 till January 23, 2021

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 7th, 2021