KARACHI: Every year in August, the artist community of Pakistan contributes its bit to the country’s Independence Day celebrations. This year is no different: an exhibition of artworks put up by more than two dozen artists under way at the Grandeur Gallery brings together an eclectic mix of styles signifying the abundance of talent that we have in art.

Being a super realist (and the word super is being used as an adjective, not as part of a phrase defining an ism), Akram Spaul stays the closest to the subject matter of the show. His observational skills are pretty unique. The way he does tiny, simple things with aesthetic precision — a semi-drawn curtain, a string of small flags, the floral design on a towel etc — has become something that his admirers can’t seem to get enough of. The other thing that is readily noticeable about his creative pursuits is his keen awareness of the middle-class segment of society, which forms the bulk of the country’s population. His understanding of their lifestyle is noteworthy.

Kashif Khan uses architecture as his main motif, not explicitly, though.

The fuzzy look to his painting lends it an interesting flavour, and the different shades of green allow the viewer to know that he hasn’t veered away from the exhibition’s theme.

Anwer Ali captures Karachi. The artist does so by making the background more prominent than the foreground. And what’s in the background? Answer: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum. There is a lingering hint of symbolism here, with the globe in the middle of the frame, suggesting what matters, after all, is Mr Jinnah’s efforts.

To move away from the familiar track, Omar Farid delights the viewer with his remarkable instinctual works. The shapes, figures and lines doused in vibrant colours that he creates can only be a figment of a fecund imagination — imagination that owes a great deal to a complex thought process.

The exhibition concludes on Aug 25.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2017