There is something terrifying as well as romantic about the sight of wild horses galloping across a sea of grass. For the Cossack the steed was a symbol of power and speed as it thundered down the Central Asian Steppes. For the Gaucho it was an extension of himself as it herded cattle on the wide open Pampas. And for the Samurai it was a friend and companion that propelled him to victory and glory.

Wild horses have fascinated filmmakers and artists for as long as one can remember. The Frenchman Albert Lamorisse, an exceptionally gifted documentary filmmaker who was chiefly remembered for The Red Balloon, produced in 1953 Crin Blanc Le chevel sauvage. This black and white classic was shot in the marshes of Camargue in southern France, and is arguably the finest film ever produced on wild horses.

Around this time prints of the horses of the celebrated Chinese artist Zu Beihong sold by the hundreds in London. What made these wild steeds so special was that they exuded a rare visceral power. Aware of the fact that each generation loses the experience of the previous one, and that television is a medium which suffers congenital amnesia, the Chinese 30 years later nevertheless exhumed and resuscitated for the idiot box the works of Zu — and a legend was temporarily kept alive.

Other Chinese artists, who also excelled in drawing and painting wild horses, are Zhu Zheng Hui, Wu Fong, Ching Ming and Wu Zhang Yen. Their canvases have been greatly in demand both at home and abroad. Another realist painter whose work is of the first rank is the Indonesian Basoeki Abdullah (1915-1993) who served as a painter for the royal family of Thailand. His 'My fair lady' which depicts a group of wild horses in full gallop in a misty, soft focus, dream-like setting with a wisp of a slender woman in the background is an awe-inspiring work and brings out the raw power of the horse's musculature and speed.

Not many Pakistani artists have tried their hand at capturing the spectacle of a mare in full gallop. One artist who did attempt to do so and that too fairly recently, is 35-year old Hussain Chandio, domiciled in Dadu and now settled in Hyderabad. He holds a master's degree in fine arts and is currently a lecturer in arts and design in Jamshoro.

Last month he exhibited 24 works done in acrylic on canvas at Karachi's Majmua Gallery. This was Chandio's second solo exhibition (the first took place in Thatta in 2003) ; and in the interregnum he participated in two presentations - the Mehran Colours Group Show in Hyderabad in 2006, and an international soiree in Jamshoro in 2008.

Chandio has been influenced by the teachings and work of Dr Mohammed Ali Bhatti, a respected artist and director of the Institute of Art and Design at the University of Sindh.

It is not easy to assess Chandio's work which has the effect of a picture postcard blown up to full size after using a 60 per cent screen. This technique, where images are fashioned out of closely cobbled coloured dots is not original. But it can at times be quite effective. All his visuals are cheerful, light, airy and colourful in a rustic manner. Among his exhibits are horses and women. The two, however, are presented separately and never appear together. The horses appear to be striving to assert an independent, free spirit. And the three women draped in dark yellow, green and maroon are retiring, anonymous and aloof, as if somehow to express the artist's longing for permanence, stasis and perpetuity.

While Chandio held forth on developments in Sindhi art, Majmua's owner Mehreen Illahi paid a week-long visit to Beijing to attend the Cige International Exhibition in which art works from 22 countries were presented. She was the only participant from Pakistan and carried the paintings of Mashkoor Raza, Zahid Hasan, Nahid Raza, Hashim, Shahzad Zar, Akbar,Tabinda Chinoy and Rehan Khan.

The committee whose task it was to choose one painting from each gallery owner for inclusion in their catalogue selected Zahid Hasan's oil on wood featured here. There are two noteworthy things about this artist which makes him somewhat unique. The first is that he paints with his nails and fingers and does not employ the traditional instruments that artists normally use. And the second is, though he paints women, invariably in shades of red and white, he never shows their faces, adding an element of mystery.