Karachi based artist, Salman Farooqi opened his contemporary cubic art exhibition on Thursday at the Tanzara Gallery. Capitalising on his talent for linear work brought alive through luminous colours, he worked in ‘oil on canvas’ form.
Farooqi’s 26 large size paintings depict a sense of joy and relief, which is a stark contrast to the country’s current situation.
His rendering of subject matter is stylised and the forms are simplified in various geometrical configurations that are created with both skill and spontaneity.
Quickly drawn lines in his work traverse the canvases, creating a variety of forms where both bold shapes and delicate details intersperse and overlap with ease. While the lines tend to be delicate, the colours are bold. However, they do not negate the impact of the lines because the artist applies the paint in thin layers and maintains the clarity of the brilliant hues.
Cubic forms, which are immediately striking have symbolic significance in his work. In some paintings, complete forms of various objects like houses, pole and electricity wires, buildings and the setting sun are clearly portrayed while others are in abstract form.
All the paintings are done on acrylic. In one of the paintings Farooqi has portrayed the downtown residential areas of a city. The sun is visible behind the buildings while electric wires and poles also occupy an important space in the painting. Though the city isn’t known, one can relate to the scene, as it is quite common in all the major cities of Pakistan.
Born in Karachi, he graduated with distinctions from the Karachi School of Art and has been an artist for over a decade. He studied under the guidance of Eqbal Mehdi and has also worked with Sam Abbas as an artist.
He has participated in various group exhibitions and has also held solo shows in various Karachi galleries. Farooqi has worked on several murals for private collectors and has done commission work for Pakistani and Irish clients.
Although he is known to experiment with realism and modernism, his current work of landscapes focuses on impressionism and it is this that has garnered him further acclaim and recognition in Pakistan.
The artist himself was not present at the exhibition, as he could not make it to Islamabad due to some personal reasons, however, talking to Pakistan Today, the Tanzara Gallery owner Noshi Qadir said Farooqi’s work had a strong identity and his paintings exuded a refreshing energy. Qadir added that Salman’s paintings were well balanced and their energy captivated the eye. The rich color palette and bold compositions help create brilliant effects making the painting aesthetically pleasing.
Anum Ijaz, an art lover, while commenting on the work said: “Salman Farooqi’s work was appealing due to its skilful handling of colours and objects and the abstract work was innovatively done.”
The exhibition will remain open at the Tanzara Gallery till January 27.
