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    Art Review: Raja Changez Sultan at Tanzara Gallery

    Written by: Varda Nisar
    Posted on: January 19, 2018 | | 中文

    From the series 'Birds of Paradise'

    A beautiful, technically sound painting on a canvas, oozing with vivid colors and a story that can connect with each and every one of its viewers, is a rare sight now. The very fact that one can see forty-two such works in a single space is refreshing. “Recent works by Raja Changez Sultan” which opened on the 18th of January at Islamabad’s Tanzara Gallery, is just that!

    From the series 'Divided Self'

    From the series 'Divided Self'

    Before you even enter the gallery, you are introduced to the poetic side of the artist, whose works wait on the other side of the door. “I Burn my Flesh” welcomes you to the show, setting the tone for the viewer, as both somber and inquisitive. The brochure handed to you, puts you face to face with the poet, and it becomes quite clear that the relationship between the works and the words is a constant theme.

    As soon as you enter the gallery, you are surrounded by faces of beautiful women, looking out at you from their respective canvases. These women are part of the series titled, “Divided Self”, one of the four series on display. The other three are titled “Birds of Paradise”, “Himalayan Odyssey” and “Wood Nymphs”, of which the latter is the latest series.

    From the series 'Divided Self'

    From the series 'Divided Self'

    The women seem to be a constant feature of Sultan’s work, though the ones on display in this show are more non-descript. The works either focus on the faces or on the whole figure, where the subject is either featured alone or in a group. The faces themselves don’t really stand out, their features indistinguishable from each other. But what does stay with you, is the feeling that you get when looking at the works. These figures contain within them an element of sadness, and a look of disappointment. In the works featuring multiple figures, it remains unclear whether you are looking at the same person or not, or maybe it is just one person and one self, divided into multitudes of moods and personalities.

    The second series, “Birds of Paradise,” depicts groups of birds, behind a hazy mist, making their characteristics hard to distinguish, very much like the first series. The murkiness gives the birds a sense of being mystical creatures, their features hidden.

    Both “The Himalayan Odyssey” and “The Wood Nymph” showcase mesmerizing landscapes and settings. While in The Himalayas, the focus remains on nature and the light that is reflected off water bodies and mountains around them, in Wood Nymphs, it shifts to nymphs within these environments.

    From the series 'The Himalayan Odyssey'

    From the series 'The Himalayan Odyssey'

    With the continued exploration of the various works, one has to conclude that there is an overlap of the subject matter in these four series. You have the women and the birds with their indistinguishable features, and then you have landscapes followed by women; a surreal quality courtesy of the hazy blur is common to these works.

    From the series 'The Wood Nymph'

    From the series 'The Wood Nymph'

    The show has been curated beautifully in terms of finding the right balance between the various color sets, enabling the viewer to compare and contrast the variety that the artist’s palette has to offer. The numbers of hues and tones that one witnesses in the show are extraordinary – so much so that one is shocked at the variety of oranges or whites used in these paintings. The works undoubtedly have been created through a painstaking process of applying thin layers of paint on the canvas.

    The show offers the nostalgia of the yesteryears, where art was synonymous with paintings on canvases. While conceptual art may be the rave today, works like that of Raja Changez Sultan, continue to hold their own in the rapidly changing art world.

    The show continues till 1st February 2017.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021