KARACHI: Visiting group shows often prove a delightful experience due to the variety of ideas and techniques that art lovers get to see at a single event. This, however, can sometimes be distracting, because if a particular artist’s effort towers above the rest, a show loses its lustre. An exhibition of six artists’ work that opened at the Grandeur Art Gallery on Thursday does not fall into that category. All the participating painters have done a decent job and demand equal attention of the viewer.

Kiran Saeed puts together two ostensibly different worlds in a simple setting. The girl in her oil-on-canvas artwork clearly comes from a conservative background, but the way she’s looking at the teddy bear in one painting indicates the duality of her personality that she has to suppress.

Ghazala Shah, too, juxtaposes the theme of aridness with fertility by showing a boat from which a shrivelled tree has sprouted. The boat obviously belongs to a realm (water) symbolising fertility. Here it is the barrenness that has come along with it, making the situation ironic.

Saba Latif draws a brilliant image of a building surrounded by birds. Actually what exists is the framework of the structure and not the substantial body of the work of construction. The artist has intelligently brought forth the treatment meted out to buildings by modern-day city dwellers which affects their soul.

Asma Hussain Syed uses water colours to create a familiar image of a shabby (backyard) setting and reminds the viewer of the inalienable aesthetic aspect of the scenery.

Saira Bano and Ufaq Altaf opt for a different path and get a bit abstract lending extra flavor to the show.

The exhibition will continue till Nov 28.