KARACHI: In the last few decades, an astounding array of painters and sculptors from the province of Sindh have emerged, taking art practitioners, critics and art lovers by a pleasant surprise. It is very thoughtful of the Arts Council of Pakistan, in that context, to put together as part of its ongoing World Culture Festival a show titled Sindh Artists’ Exhibition curated by distinguished painter Tanweer Farooqi.

The show opened at the council’s Ahmed Pervez Gallery on Saturday.

Talking to Dawn about the theme of the event, Mr Farooqi said, “The theme is Sindh and the culture of Sindh because the artists whose works are on view belong to the province. This means there are no artists from other parts of the country. Most of the works that we have included in the show are of those who are from the interior part of the province because those who live in Karachi often get to exhibit their artworks.”

Mr Farooqi said more than 80 painters and sculptors are participating in the exhibition. In total, 83 works of art are on display depicting the culture of the region. They are done in a variety of styles, from modernist to traditionalist.

The curator added, “There are paintings, sculptures, drawing and photographs in the exhibition.”

Looking at the artworks at the Ahmed Pervez Gallery, one clearly gets the idea that it’s a nice blend of creative outputs of experienced and not-so-experienced souls. If on the one hand, renowned names such as Akram Spaul, Masood A Khan and Mashkoor Raza are there with their signature styles and subject matter, on the other hand Hafsa Shaikh, Shakir Ali and Shahzad Baloch also make their presence felt with their vivid and fertile imagination. And this means, from realism to landscape to abstraction, all can be seen by the viewer with reference to Sindh.

The exhibition will conclude in a week.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2024