Written by: Muhammad Hamza
Posted on: June 10, 2025 | 
Site of Destruction
It’s as if two artworks were smashed together, facing each other, and formed a painting of their own. Dagmar Rauwald created an entire exhibition of such moving artworks, which was shown at the National Gallery of Islamabad. One of these works is "Lamia I" by Amy E. Elly. Created with acrylic on polyester about two years ago, this piece explores the mixing of cultures and different artistic traditions in a fascinating way. The show has been curated by Farrah Mahmood Rana.
Lama Island
The artist statement for "Lamia I" reveals a thoughtful engagement with the concept of cultural hybridity. Amy E. Elly uses transparent surfaces to create what she describes as a "translucent medium," allowing for a literal and metaphorical layering of ideas. This technique seems to mirror her stated goal of exploring "the convention of paintings as created on transparent surfaces," which she sees as a way to view the "material world in a work of art as kind of overlapping." The choice of polyester as a medium is particularly fitting here—its inherent sheen and translucency likely enhance the visual effect of overlapping cultural elements, creating a dialogue between Western and Eastern artistic traditions.
The artwork "Site of Destruction" (2025) by Untitled Nude uses acrylic on polyester, a medium that risks adhesion issues over time due to polyester's nonabsorbent nature.
World in the First Days of May 2025
Site of Destruction seems to embody this philosophy visually and conceptually. The chaotic composition, with its overlapping, aggressive brushstrokes, feels like a battleground—a “site” where destruction has taken place. Yet, out of this chaos emerges a new creation: the painting itself. The vibrant colors and dynamic energy suggest that destruction here is not an end but a beginning, a necessary upheaval to spark creativity. This aligns with broader philosophical ideas of creative destruction, a term often attributed to economist Joseph Schumpeter but also applied in artistic contexts to describe the process of innovation through disruption.
The artwork "Togetherness XIII"—its abstract style, featuring biomorphic shapes and dynamic colors, aligns with mid-20th-century Abstract Expressionism, similar to Ida Kohlmeyer’s works highlighted in Ideelart’s online exhibitions, which blend geometric and organic forms to evoke emotional depth and subconscious resonance.
Togetherness XIII
The artwork features a chaotic yet harmonious blend of biomorphic shapes, fluid lines, and vibrant colors. The description provided highlights swirling forms in shades of pink, teal, black and white, with gestural brushstrokes and drips that suggest movement and energy. These elements create a sense of dynamism, as if the shapes are interacting with one another, perhaps reflecting the "togetherness" in the title. The emotional tone of the piece feels complex. The vibrant colors and dynamic composition evoke a sense of energy and vitality, but the darker hues and chaotic overlapping might also hint at tension or struggle within this "togetherness."
The artwork "Inner Growth XI," an acrylic on polyester piece, features a peace symbol reimagined with abstract, vibrant colors and textures, possibly symbolizing emotional healing, as the peace sign historically represents tranquility and harmony.
Inner Growth
It’s a powerful example of how abstract art can bridge the personal and the universal. By reimagining the peace symbol through vibrant, expressive colors and textures, the artist creates a visual metaphor for the journey toward inner peace, a journey that is both chaotic and harmonious, individual and collective. The use of acrylic on polyester underscores the tension between the organic and the synthetic, while the large scale and gestural technique amplify the emotional intensity of the piece. For viewers, the artwork offers a space for reflection and emotional processing, embodying the therapeutic potential of abstract art.
Untitled Family
The artist has delved into the deeper realms of exploring the structure and form of abstraction, where emotions and actions have been expressed in a certain intensity of strokes. Crafting a movement out of the application only tells about the artist that they have brought out an emotional experience for the viewers to go along with it all and trace their feelings with each stroke and color.
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