Invisible dimensions

It was a sunny day, December 23rd, as the red brick grandeur of the University Faculty of Art and Design building basked in the pleasant sunshine. An atmosphere full of romance and adoration invited all who could feel a movement in their hearts in this immaculate gaze that the sun cast.

UCAD faculty members hung around with the best of their wardrobes waiting for the vice chancellor who would be the main guest to inaugurate a unique show titled ‘Dimensions’ that showcases the creative lust of the painters who turned out to be UCAD masters as well.

Artists need space to display their creations, while all galleries provide adequate walls for the paintings to be hung. The Ana Molka Gallery of the Faculty of Art and Design of the University did the same with a variety of works made exclusively, not by anyone else, but by the members of the faculty of this prestigious institution.

It is always considered a great opportunity when the young group of any tradition is given the possibility of being together with the older one. This was an exclusive feature of that show where mature hands had to have the style of young women.

Entering the Ana Molka Gallery has always been a source of pride for me since my time as a student in the corridors of UCAD, which has now turned into nostalgic intoxication after having given myself the pleasure of earning my bread and butter. But when I walked through the door, a loud whisper of deja vu was more than noticeable. It was certainly a carefully curated display with all display requirements prioritized, but what could be immediately smelled was the presence of frames against the milky Gallery walls, which had also graced some other walls from different Galleries. And ironically, especially by mature and renowned artists, an attitude that could be a false rope to hold on to for the younger, neophyte generation of artists.

But nonetheless, the work on display somehow had something to talk about.

The snowy roofs painted in a highly designed composition by Zafar Ullah, who happened to be the director of the UCAD, were synchronized with the freezing temperature of Lahore. Although this frame was not new to viewers even then, the geometrically conceived and consistently painted canvas, mainly in zinc white and rusty browns, forced everyone to think that why the painter behind that icy atmosphere could not put his new canvases on fire when all the fire is inside the little master?

While the surface of a Kehkeshan Jafery canvas titled ‘Simmering Woods’ was ruthlessly resplendent with fiery reds and yellows; a typical Kehkeshan painting with a warm and deep feeling, around and within the central part of the painting. There were streaks of blues and greens on some patches of the canvas, but they were identical to the blue and green part of a flame.

These flames get wild in ‘Heaven of Another God’ by Maliha Azmi Agha who, for the last three or four years, has been obsessed with pure blues, reds, and yellows which by overlapping each other, seem to create secondary tones of green and Orange. The energy and direction of the strokes gave the impression that the painter was trying to break all the shackles and canons that had been put into practice by academic or institutional demands. But the composition and style of the applied paintings were successfully balanced with earlier works by the vigorous painter.

Alongside all these fiery and fiery frames hung the soft, subtle, supple delicacy of Rahat Naveed’s pastels. If Renoir is known for the pink skins of his nudes, Rahat is known for the pink skins of his portraits. Although we have come across Rahat’s new and abstract style in recent exhibitions in the city, but with the glowing skin of the female face in a frame deliberately composed of a red rose and with the glow of a male face, depicted on paper made By hand, in another setting it was something serene and peaceful, reminiscent of the classical principle of tranquility, especially in the Western world.

It was a soft tone as far as the painters as a whole are concerned with regard to their exhibited work. Anila Zulfiqar with her impressionistic landscape recalled the times of the late 19th century when French painters tried to capture the changing light. Anila with its juxtaposed brushstrokes and misty atmosphere tried to create the mist through which the typical Lahore Bazaar stretched to the maximum depth.

Anila’s memory regarding cityscapes is snowed under the narrow streets, jharokas, and sharp curtains, and when she puts these elements into her unique style, especially when the December mist covers them warmly, the canvas gains depth in its central part. ; a trait that the young painter has recently developed.

But Sumera Jawad, contrary to the flexible and weak fashion of the painters, came up with her typical images of women traveling in time. Sumera takes his feminine images from mythology and relates them to contemporary women. In his exposed painting, he arranged some mythical elements in front of goddesses while the hidden and non-hidden eyes in the background looked at the viewer. As always, she put a modern image of a contemporary woman at the front of the composition, which looked more like a film actress of musical tunes from the sixties.

Miniatures are what Khalid Saeed Butt has mastered in and in this show; emerged with a very lyrical woman in the center of the frame with tree branches around it. The softness of the curves of the twigs of a leafless tree was orchestrated with the curvature of the female figure, which in its interpretation was more like the figures of the ‘Pahari’ school. Khalid crafted the rare part of the figure with such precision that the beholder’s eye seemed absorbed in the dark area, while traveling along the crescent of the pelvic arch was an obvious display of the keen vigilance with which the artist was blessed. The apple in the left hand of the female figure suggested the familiar biblical theme.

Tanvir Murshad is a renowned designer who loves to paint. In this show he showed his vertical canvas with crossed acrylic paints. The energy and dynamism he produced from blue to yellow were symptomatic of his control over compositional requirements, which he obtained through geometric vision.

But Amjad Pervez used all his mastery regarding geometry and balance within his watercolor cityscape. The typical ‘Darwaza’ of old Lahore was very well crafted. But the inert feeling was obvious, apart from the skill that concealed the void that a professional painter can always fill.

The youngest group was marked with Ali Azmat, Mughees Riaz, Tasadduq Amin, and Shehzad Majeed. Ali with her typical male nude looked repetitive. Mughees featured his favorite Ravi scene with a boat, while Tasadduq’s landscape with a gargantuan close-up was inspired by the Zulqarnain Haider landscape school. Shehzad Majeed’s experiment on ‘vasli’ with a meticulous pencil drawing was inspiring where possible. The composition and hues were exploited with precision.

Without a doubt, it was an excellent effort from UCAD. Only frequent shows of this nature can solve the problems, seen between the lines. There is hope and expectation that this show is just the beginning of a healthy and hearty tradition.