ART FACTS: Stately nostalgic

Well defined lines blended with realistic situations, balanced by light and shadows depict an overwhelming energy in the paintings of Ghulam Mustafa. After graduating in Fine Arts from National College of Arts, Lahore in 1974, Mustafa opted for landscape painting as his main subject to explore. His initial romance with landscape painting took him to the road, which leads him to become one of the distinguish landscape painters of his time.
His hard work and concentration help him in carving an identity in his genre and exhibit a distinct style. It took him long days and nights through several years to mature and gain recognition for himself among the flourishing landscape painters in Lahore. Punjab exhibition of paintings Graphic Arts, 1978 become the first step in recognising his talent where he was awarded a special prize for a landscape painting in oils. And now at present he is an Executive Director, Punjab Council of the Arts, Lahore.
Village landscape, old walled city of Lahore and beautiful lush green valleys of northern areas soothes the eyes of viewers in his recent exhibition at Artscene gallery, Karachi titled "Landscapes of Pakistan".
The scene in his paintings travel from darkness towards light revealing his intellect, he is a person who sees the bright side of things, thus delivering a message of struggling until dawn rises after the dark. The paintings shows thorough study and a lot of intricate details.
The stately nostalgic works offer glimpses of the rural life and the city dwellings through which the artist explores the realities while showing his concerns about time and reality.
His work is in a broad range of colours and tones. Various ranges of hues from ochre to creamy pale yellows, white and deep blues, reds and grey, blacks and greens are used in each painting to enhance and give it more significance and description.
Mustafa's paintbrush splashes colours on the canvas giving meaning to the surroundings; the landscape and old city buildings portray the life of people going on as years passing by without any change in their environment and lifestyle. The images he creates are both magical and cold.
He has a good control over his strokes displaying a definite theme, which reflects his command on his work. His themes are based on the facts of life, and his paintings have a strong socio-political context.
The colours express tranquillity and a perspicuous flow. Thus brings forth images with creative dimensions. His works portray densely knitted, well built, dwellings of Lahore.
His canvas mainly contains scattered traditional landscapes, buildings and architecture reflecting tones of evening and night with sunlight, shadows creeping into the dark making some times a dramatic situation.
The images he choose, such as luscious patterns, landscape, even figures like children, men, women, old and young, all assembled into a coherent manner with a touch of contemporary sensibility.
His work gives the sight of the place as well as an introduction to our heritage. The street scenes which were dominating his canvases have clusters of houses brimming with activities such as the roof tops, without plaster walls, a vender's cart full of small items and kites flying far off, pigeons flying high. These all added the beauty to the painting's ambience.
He is deeply attracted to the forces of nature, therefore his landscape paintings represent, such as foliage, flowers, water and soil knitted in a harmonious manner, showing both nostalgia and confidence.
He captures realist colours and textures expressing the themes behind his subject matter effectively. His artworks present the richness of the place as well as an introduction to our heritage. His work shows passion and affection.
He portrays each building with every possible feature that brings his paintings almost real giving a feeling of actually being there. The rusted balconies, the street scenes and activities on the roads and lanes all these renditions make his work appealing and attractive.
The detailed structures of buildings signify maturity he has gained over the years. He has achieved the sensibility of exposing the subject effectively which is a sign of a passionate painter.
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