–24 artworks of 19 artists put on display
–Group exhibition will remain open till April 26
LAHORE: An art exhibition titled “Body Language” with the artwork of 19 distinguished artists, painters and sculptors kicked off in Lahore on Thursday at Royaat Art Gallery. As many as 24 artworks were on display, including the work of legendary artists Mian Ijazul Hassan, Salima Hashmi and Colin David in which paintings, sculptures, drawings, digital prints and mixed media works were presented for the visitors in the group exhibition that would remain open till April 26 at Royaat Art Gallery.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Quddus Mirza, the curator of the exhibition, who himself was an artist and art critic, said that he had tried to that how artists perceived and presented the human body through their artwork and both males and females had been shown by using different schemes in the exhibition.
“The theme of human body has been shown in these artworks in which race, gender, fear and religion is depicted masterfully,” he said, and added that every artist had shown his own imagination about the human body through the exhibition. The theme of the body was treated with its political, social and cultural aspects in the works of legendary Ijazul Hassan (Pride of Performance), Nausheen Saeed, Jamil Baloch, Muhammad Zeeshan, Kiran Saleem and Saima Munawar.
Distinguished portrait painter and a recipient of Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Saeed Akhtar said that whatever man did in his routine life had been displayed through the paintings displayed. Pointing towards the sculpture made by artist Jamil Baloch, Akhtar said that according to him, it was the best work of the exhibition as his sculpture showed the helplessness of the Pakistani society in a very artistic way. Mian Ijazul Hassan presented the idea of aggression and violence through his powerful presentation of a male character that was appreciated by many visitors.
The artists used different mediums including ink on paper, fiber glass, oil on canvas, oil on wood, oil on slates and pastel on paper to showcase their masterpieces. A Sindhi artist named Ahmed Ali Manganhar who hailed from Tando Allah Yar used oil on slates to show film posters of the golden era of Pakistani film industry through his artwork and he made sketches on the slates using acrylic colors.
“My work usually revolves around the perseverance of our rich culture and this is why I presented film posters through my work as I always try to connect our past with the future,” Manganhar said.
The exhibition was a highly important landmark in the art sector of Pakistan because it brought the works of different generations, genders, backgrounds and experiences together to witness how the body was still a relative, remarkable and revered subject for artists of Pakistan. Faryal Haris, the director of Royaat Art Gallery said that the exhibition was a blend of work from both the young and old masters of the country and the way they had interpreted the body was remarkable.
The Royaat Art Gallery –an independent body– had been promoting artwork both in Pakistan and abroad by holding such exhibitions since 2001.
