Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: October 05, 2022 | 
| 中文
First row: (L to R) Shahla Rafi, Wardah Shabbir, Sana Arjumand; Second row: (L to R) Fiza Khatri, Mobina Zuberi, Hamra Abbas
The resilience and determination with which Pakistani female artists continue their practice in today’s post-pandemic world is a testament to their passion as creators of contemporary art. Their ability to navigate complex social intersections between traditional and modern, language and culture while remaining authentic and sincere to their craft has become an inspiration for the aspiring young artists of the country.
Mobina Zuberi’s paintings continue to expand the boundaries of figurative and abstract techniques. She studied painting at the Art Students League in New York in 1968 and after travelling for several years returned to settle in Pakistan. Her extensive work in curation started with her own art gallery in Islamabad, after which she continued to promote art, tourism and culture on various platforms and through collaborative art projects spread across the country. Her career has played a fundamental role in shaping today’s curatorial management and modern painting. Highlighting the tactile and textural nature of colour and form, the artist created a body of work that investigates the female figure and her environment as one organism. Her protagonists transcend the limitations of realism in their luminescent rendering surrounded by muted tones, allowing them to be the focus of her paintings. Her abstract paintings carry a mysterious alchemy as the painting surface transforms into copper, silver, gold, and brass paired with architectural motifs that reframe geometric shapes.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mobinazuberi
Untitled by Mobina Zuberi
Shahla Rafi’s landscapes are a hallmark in the tradition of plein air painting, as the Potohar region became her anchor and inspiration during her life. The artist had mastered the techniques of realism painting, choosing to direct herself to be fully immersed in her environment and capturing the emotional resonance of nature. Deliberately removing figurative elements from the scene to reveal an atmosphere that captures the inner state of the artist in communication with the landscape. The plethora of feelings nestled in the fine details of the paintings are transportive, allowing the viewer to enter into these environments. Rafi can communicate the sensory notations of silence, stillness, and calm through her landscape paintings as they are a pivotal characteristic of her work.
Website: https://shahlarafiart.com/
Emergent Mistrees by Shahla Rafi
Hamra Abbas showcased her monumental mosaic installation at the Expo 2020 Dubai, receiving critical acclaim for her work. During her formative years, she attended the National College of Arts, Lahore in 1999 and 2002 continuing her higher education pursuits at the Universitaet der Kuenste in Berlin in 2004. Her work fearlessly traverses between iconographies taken from miniature, religion and history as she investigates the origins of identity through her personal experiences. Using marble as a painterly medium, the artist endeavours to reclaim traditional techniques of carving, inlay and polishing to create a sculptural installation that is interactive for the viewer. These walkway courtyards depict scenery, landscape and foliage, a result of deep associations with miniature art that have been an integral part of Abbas’s art practice for decades.
Website: http://www.hamraabbas.info
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hamra_abbas/
Garden by Hamra Abbas
Sana Arjumand’s paintings are inhabited by strong protagonists engulfed by their environments. Her paintings capture the enigma of design and motifs, recollecting our history with textiles and the tactile nature of tapestries. The storytelling is an amalgam of illustrative and naturalistic rendering that brings to the surface the emotive quality of the colour and form. Arjumand graduated from the National College of Arts in 2005, and since then her interests in painting have been closely tied to the formation of consciousness and its ability to control our worldly perceptions. The optical colour illusions embedded into her work, allow the viewer to explore the multiple realities faced by her protagonists. The artist paints these observations interweaving them with modern interpretations of heritage, culture, tradition, and religion.
Website: www.sanaarjumand.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sanaarjumand/
Isolation by Sana Arjumand
Wardha Shabbir graduated from the National College of Arts in 2011 and since then has been participating in international programs, projects, and art fairs. Her accomplishments include being nominated twice for the Sovereign Art Prize, finalist in the Jameel Art Prize 5 of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and has extensively exhibited on international platforms across the globe. She recently displayed a solo presentation titled “The Water You Seek” at the Grosvenor Gallery in London. Her mesmerizing paintings carry an otherworldly environment, rendered in classical miniature intersecting with minimalist geometry and design. These visualisations of colourful wild forests populated with whimsical species are paired with a crisp background of solid colour, blurring the perception of depth for the viewer.
Website: http://wardhashabbir.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/wardhashabbir/
Everyone's Experiences by Wardha Shabbir
Fiza Khatri's academic career in art started in the USA, graduating with a BA in Art Studio from Mount Holyoke College in 2015. After returning to Pakistan, she spent time curating exhibitions in Karachi and Lahore. Khatri’s expansive understanding of contemporary art and nuanced writing became part of her contributions to shaping contemporary art discourse. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Painting & Printmaking at the Yale School of Art. Khatri’s documentations of her environment, include personal experiences of public spaces and relationships taken directly from her life. Her paintings carry an unapologetic authenticity captured through a series of moments happening daily. Her painterly strokes in oils have a gentility, as she layers the canvas offering the viewer a plethora of subtle details and metaphors open to interpretation.
Website: https://www.fizakhatri.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fklmnop/
Shining by Fiza Khatri
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