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KARACHI: One does not generally associate the feel-good factor of life with art. It is not an oxymoronic relationship either. After all, in the history of art, painters and sculptors have also celebrated existence in their distinct styles. It has to be said, though, it’s always the pensiveness of a subject or the broodiness of a motif that makes art, somehow, more meaningful.
But then, what is experimentation? What are the different phases in an artist’s life?
It is against this backdrop that the opening day of an exhibition titled Band, Baaja, Baaraat presented by Canvas Gallery at the Indus Valley School on Wednesday proved to be an interesting event. The show features works by no fewer than 40 known artists who worked in pairs on a theme meant to celebrate life.
Most art-lovers rushed to see a ‘Love Marriage’ performance put up by Amin Gulgee and Saba Iqbal. However, what waited for them in the gallery, in the eyes of this reviewer, was far more intriguing.
A remarkable piece by Sadaf Naseem titled Pardah (acrylic on canvas) amply exemplifies the power of creativity. The artist, while celebrating life, manages to symbolically suggest the veil that sometimes does not allow a person to see beyond a certain point — the point which can border on rebellion.
No less notable is The lotus pond (oil on canvas) by Shakil Saigol. In the painting the lotus is not used as a symbol but as a character that supplements the human characters which are trying to come to grips with the pangs of love.
Salman Toor’s Liberty porcelain (oil on linen) is an exhibit that can amaze any viewer with its imaginativeness. Toor has tried to construe the concept of liberty and at the same time has made it look knottier by throwing in different characters.
Ahmed Ali Manganhar’s depiction of Band Baaja (acrylic on canvas) perhaps complies with the exhibition’s theme in the most apt manner. The filmi grayness of the exhibit is a delight to look at.
Nahid Raza and Nabahat Lotia’s collaboration on a glazed ceramic piece Beautiful people justifies the two artists’ strong credentials. It’s the form that overshadows the content in their work. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
The exhibition will continue till April 28.
