The Crescent Art Gallery hosted a grand display of paintings by distinguished Pakistani artists at Governor House on Saturday.

The setting was the verdant, well-mowed lawns of the venue, which was a bit unusual because one is used to seeing artworks at art galleries. But with munificence of nature all around, the creative effort of the artists became a doubly delightful sight to behold.

The first set of paintings could be seen in the main area flanking the stage which had been set up for video presentations and speeches. The second set was to the right of the stage, in a concentric circle. So it was aesthetically pleasing on multiple levels.

The real deal, however, were the paintings themselves. And why not? If you have works of masters such as Tasaduq Sohail, Iqbal Husain, Mashkoor Raza, M.A. Bukhari and Chitra Pritam, among many others, right in front of your eyes, you’re spoilt for choice. It becomes difficult to decide which canvas or scene to stay with and for how long.

For example, seeing an Iqbal Husain painting is always an extraordinary experience. The way he manages to capture the tranquil exterior of the women that he paints, beneath which myriads of stories are waiting to be told, is nothing less than special. His depiction of scenes of the street where he grew up is also startling.

Apart from the display, the event had a couple of other components. It started with a couple of video presentations. The first was about the life and work of Tasaduq Sohail. In the second video the organisers of the show, one of whom was Nasir Javed, explained to the audience the reason for putting up the exhibition. He also talked about an exhibition that they recently organised in London. He thanked the government of Pakistan for extending its support to the event.

Eminent speakers from the world of art, too, addressed the audience.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2021