The Revivers Galleria in Gulberg unveiled Diverse Artistic Expressions, an exhibition of paintings, by renowned artists AQ Arif, Tariq Javed, and Moazzam Ali on Wednesday. The works will be on display till June 1.
Sara Anjum, curator of the exhibit, explains that she chose the three artists because each is well-known and respected in the field. “They all excel in what they choose to paint,” Anjum says. Throughout her career, Anjum has curated over 25 exhibits in Pakistan and abroad.
The selected works by Javed and Ali display women, highlighting traditional dresses and jewellery. In his acrylic paintings, Javed portrays close-up images of women’s faces against backdrops of bold colours. In an interview with The Express Tribune last year, Javed explained that he painted women to “raise issues of violence against them in a male dominated society.”
Ali, a Karachi-based watercolourist, explains on his website that he is drawn to painting the women of Thar because the ancient Indus civilisation is a “unique heritage.” He says watercolour is his preferred medium because it is “very flexible,” allowing him to “mould [his] paintings as he wishes.”
The exhibition includes several striking oil paintings of city skylines, mosques, and other buildings by Arif. Trained at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and the Karachi School of Arts, Arif chooses to depict different types of architecture in many of his paintings.
The gallery, which Anjum has now run for over four years, displays five to six exhibits per year.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2013.