Written by: Muhammad Hamza
Posted on: May 29, 2025 | 
| 中文
Neel Ka Safar by Fatima Maqbool
Every year, there’s a whole storm of brewing artists emerging from different art colleges across Pakistan, each bringing in new mediums and ideas in their final-year thesis works. Then comes a whole swarm of fresh graduates from art schools, all driven by the instinct to stand out and present outstanding ideas worthy of curation somewhere.
That’s where Gallery 6 in Islamabad comes in, hosting a handful of young, upcoming artists with works and skills that have made the cut and earned praise from the art world.
Maula Jatt by Zain Zahid
Trends in the art world evolve every year, and new forms emerge from every institution. These fresh minds from the National College of Arts have presented a unique showcase of creativity, working with various materials and mediums to create an engaging experience. These explorations will soon be refined further, delving into intricate details and deeper narratives.
Aaila Zahra has a tremendous impressionistic stroke, crafting hues of greenery and plants alongside architectural forms in her miniature-style paintings. Her work reflects a focus on personal space, a theme rooted in her experience of growing up in a broken family, as noted in her contemporary art profile. Zahra incorporates miniature terracotta bricks into her broader practice, blending painting with sculptural elements to explore architecture and self-discovery.
A World Within by Aaila Zahra
Bakhtawar Naqvi has created a gouache and watercolor piece on wasli, a traditional Indian medium, drawing from the Safavid-influenced miniature painting style. Her work emphasizes poetic, detailed portrayals of human figures, often seen in Mughal and Pahari schools. The contemplative female subject may reflect the influence of the Bhakti movement on Indian art, which historically fostered emotive, votive representations blending secular and spiritual themes, an evolution well-documented in the history of Indian miniature painting.
Untitled by Bakhtawar Naqvi
Fatima Maqbool presents a red-hued miniature-style work containing symbolic elements that speak to a deeper understanding of human longing: home, plants and a scenic view, all describing the natural habitat of a peculiar landscape that reminisces a life once fully lived. The painting’s circular composition, with birds, a tree and a surreal backdrop, symbolizes emotional yearning, a common theme in contemporary Asian art. Fatima often uses nature and personal narratives to express inner desires and memories.
Hijab Rizwan offers a striking charcoal-on-paper artwork titled Sunlight on the Kitchen Plates. It’s a captivating narrative, immersing the viewer in the quiet emotion of cultural transition into adulthood. That precise moment of realization is captured through the expressive positioning in the work, focusing on everyday life and domestic spaces. The artist uses light and shadow to evoke emotional resonance, drawing from narratives of home and identity.
Sunlight on the Kitchen Plates by Hijab Rizwan
Mehreen Fatima presents surreal collages composed of figures and abstract forms that evoke life's cyclical nature. Her works radiate a particular energy, one that resonates with viewers who’ve experienced these fragmented moments themselves. The juxtaposition of textures like brick, asphalt and mossy green surfaces suggests a tension between urban development and nature. Despite being made of disparate parts, the human figure in her work remains cohesive, reflecting how people adapt to their surroundings.
Rafay Talpur has worked in drypoint, producing a piece titled Unseasonal Rain, a distinguished work exploring deep character and emotion. The stormy landscape, rendered in dark, textured lines, represents rain or clouds over a horizon. The piece may carry metaphorical weight, symbolizing emotional upheaval, societal instability or life’s unpredictability. Drypoint’s soft, velvety lines, achieved by scratching into the plate and leaving burrs, are well-suited for expressing the chaotic energy of a storm.
Unseasonal Rain by Rafay Talpur
Swarim Abid uses a technique that instantly draws attention. The artwork features a vintage palette, naturally formed through the oxidation of silver leaf, casting a nostalgic hue that evokes memory and the quiet ache of being remembered. The figure, abstract yet profound, appears maladaptive and possibly illustrates themes of burnout or exhaustion in the modern age. Lying on a bed, the figure's contemplative posture suggests fatigue or reflection. The nearby drawer may symbolize personal or hidden aspects of the self, such as memories or burdens that weigh down the psyche.
Blind to the Sun by Swarim Abid
Throughout the exhibition, the artists have explored new techniques and creative methods to express social realities while resonating with their personal experiences. Many others have worked along similar lines but with their own interpretations of the circumstances that shape us, each offering a distinct context and narrative.
With every passing year, a new wave of contemporary art rises, and we can only hope for even more powerful expressions in the years to come. This batch of emerging artists has created a compelling impression, a fresh kind of visual energy. Their work offers a sense of purpose to society and provides deeper insight into nostalgia, memory and the self, as we drift through time in an often unconscious state of mind.
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