Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: June 06, 2022 | 
| 中文
Muzakra by Ramsha Haider
Khaas Art Gallery is nestled at the heart of the capital welcoming visitors this week to attend a group show curated by Aasim Akhtar. “Contemporaneous” showcases works by Subtain Ghazi, Hamza Bin Faisal, Muzna Mahmood, Manohar Lal Kirtani, Muhammad Sulaiman and Ramsha Haider. Each artist's visual foundation originates from their choice of medium, which is predominately gouache on wasli paper. The stoic and precise traditions of miniature painting can be traced in their work along with a deliberate departure from classical motifs moving toward introspective realism. These emerging artists are personalising the practice of miniature painting by constructing compositions that are open to interpretation and structured with multiple layers of meaning.
A group photo at the gallery
A walkthrough of the display invites the viewer to travel into the cathartic painting process of the artist, where the psychological world defines the parameters of reality. Symbolised through celestial floating portraits, Sulaman’s three-part painting creates a stage for a theatrical recital as each protagonist acts as an apparition in the foreground. Frozen in time, the movement in each “Ak Akhri hasrat” painting, has the whimsy of gravity balanced with familiar embroidered motifs. The shawl invites the viewer closer, but the gaze of each subject looks away creating an alienating distance. Engulfed by drapes of blue that resemble the waves of the wild sea, these heads start to resemble ships caught in a storm. The artist creates a bed of negative space above, using the crisp naked white of the wasli paper, forcing the viewer to remain transfixed by the heaviness of the drifting blue tapestry and sculptural portrait.
Ak Akhri hasrat II by Muhammad Sulaman
The illusionary mapping of objects and clothes in Mahmood’s radiographic paintings, vibrates with an ephemeral blue light emitting from the outline. In “Delusion”, the background and foreground are merged as an ornate chair, a ghostly seated figure, and goblets of broken glass appear to be interconnected but are recognisably separate entities. The artist creates these totems using figuration, abstraction and drapery to create her own folklore and mystery. These visualisations are often directly tied to the personal experiences of the artist. In Haider’s paintings we see the formation of stories using fragmented scenarios. The diptych, “Del bah del rah dard”, has a grid of birds lined upright on a black and reversed on the blue background, pushing the viewer to investigate the differences and similarities between the two images. In “Muzakra” and “Aina” we come face to face with another two-part scenario of black and blue pieces with conversational visual elements that begin to reveal a story. It is up to the viewer to decide if these are previews of a disjointed memory coming together, or perhaps a complex experience inspired by the life of the artist.
Delusion by Muzna Mahmood
The brightly coloured backgrounds are created using primary colours in “Life scratches”, “All Like heavens”, “Expedition” and “Flagrant Swings” in Ghazis’s silver & gouache on wasli paintings. They swing between worlds that are identifiable through their perfection contrasted with destruction or weathering, creating their own fragile pendulum. The infinite colour field is anchored by the weight of industrial beams and architectural figurines. We notice the duality woven into each piece as the subject is being pulled in two opposing directions. The cosmic and planetary spheres looming in “All Like Heavens”, carries a weight of dread and regret. The two-prong figure is echoed in the paintings like a manifestation of the grandfather clock.
All Like Heavens by Subtain Ghazi
The gentle draftsmanship in Faisal’s drawings showcases views of the neighborhood detailed with brick facades, balconies, electricity poles, doorways and windows. The architectural observations are not the primary focus of these compositions as they come together to highlight particular points that are significant to the artist. These intimate moments of clarity can be seen in the painstaking details given to a particular door, tree or apartment in the “Dar o Dewar'' series. The artist deliberately fossilized and fragments the composition using a background that is dyed to look aged without clean edges, transporting the viewer to a previous timeline.
Dar o Dewar VII by Hamza Bin Faisal
A homage to an inspiration can take many forms as seen in Kirtani’s mixed media works titled “Urta Parinda'' & “Guru Mata”, where the focus is on the monochrome graphite portrait at the center surrounded by colourful motifs similar to truck art compositions. These festive geometric patterns are used to create optical excitement around the portrait. In “Bahar Ka Phool”, the text placements resemble the heavily decorated trucks on the road. Commemorating the mentors and teachers in the artists life, these works present a manuscript layout replaced by the motifs of truck art. The playful treatment of colour, geometry and text feel both tactile and digital, as the artist moves between a traditional and modern visual language. The collage has a joyful energy that immediately catches the eye with its primary colours and inviting tapestry of traditional motifs.
Guru Mata by Manohar Lal Kirtani
The exhibition transports the viewer through imaginative renditions of portraiture, figuration, abstraction and collage. The line between the physical world and subconscious is blurred as each artist uses masterful control over drawing to ground their ephemeral interpretations of their environment. The mark making and brushwork in these pieces is minimal, creating seamless transitions of paint reflecting the years of training in miniature painting that surpass realism, entering into a surrealistic realm of modern painting.
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