Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Collection of art history legends to go on display

By Ahtesham Azhar

KARACHI: VM Art Gallery is hosting ‘Significant Contribution’ featuring a collection of art history legends; Ahmed Parvez, Wahab Jaffer, Lubna Agha, Laila Shahzada and Barbara Hepworth.
With 46 pieces on display, the exhibition pays homage to the legendaries and provides an opportunity of learning and witnessing the artwork to the current generation.
The opening pieces are by the late artist Ahmed Parvez, who brought to life whatever subject he had in mind with his vibrant colours. One of the paintings by Parvez is an abstract bunch of bright flowers, painted with mixed medium on paper.
The vase was one of Parvez’s favourite subjects and had a deep resonance in his life. This work, probably done in New York, uses bold free lines and leans towards realism then his other works - an early transition period into the artist’s later style.
Another work by Parvez is stylised red, orange, green mug holding mass interlocking multicoloured shapes, which form a square composition. The background is a graffito effect. A rougher more angry version of Parvez’s vase-symbol of home, perhaps reflecting his emotions during the times he was a struggling artist and destitute.
The art by Wahab Jaffer is also quite admirable and eye-catching. One of his art pieces, an acrylic on canvas, is a portrayal of three female figures, wearing yellow decorative necklaces and large accentuated eyes.
This is an older work probably done around the time when Parvez was staying with him. This work makes reference to the late artist’s colour palette and Bashir Mirza’s rendering of faces.
The inspiration does not stop there and another painting, made with oil on canvas is a colourful vase, heavily inspired by Parvez’s favourite subject - the ‘vase’. It is a composition in earth tones with triangular shapes, working upwards in a growth form. The thick impasto like finish on the work is something Jaffer had been experimenting with since the 70’s. Another set of paintings on display is by Lubna Agha, an artist of Pakistani origin, who, though lived abroad, was consumed with the predicaments of Pakistan.
She has been a well-known name among art enthusiasts since the seventies for her abstract work. She started working on figurative art during the 80s. Allegorical currents remain the core of her recent works, which are based on poetry, music and daily life. A portray of an artist from the series of Laila Shahzada and a work of Barbara Hepworth are also on display. The exhibition will continue till September 30.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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