ARTS FACTS: Reflections of divine words

A calligraphy group exhibition at Ahmed Pervez Art Gallery of Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi added colours to the spiritual, aesthetic ambience of the holy month of Ramazan. The visitors were overwhelmed by the feeling of calmness and stillness which prevails the environment of the gallery as the calligraphic works at the show were like reflections of divine words.
The exhibition provided opportunity to young and master calligraphists to showcase their fresh works. There were about seventy calligraphic works of forty senior and junior artists adorning the walls of the gallery showing the most attractive vivid and stylised letters and words in various calligraphic artpieces highlighting Quranic verses and Islamic themes. The calligraphies are characterized by striking clarity, distinctness and true to words when perceived either by the eyes or the mind.
The objective of the exhibition was to revive the diminishing art of calligraphy and to introduce the prominent calligraphic works of the artists and encouraging the young calligraphers to keep alive this unique and ancient visual form of art in the era of information technology.
Such exhibitions encourage the calligraphy artists and also help in promotion of this genre of art. Also these exhibitions reinvigorate this unique form of art and motivate the young calligrapher to achieve excellence in their work. Therefore such exhibitions will provide a platform for the young and professional calligraphers to display their artistic skills and motivate them to further achieve excellence in this noble art.
Calligraphy is an ancient form of art and has its roots in Sub-continent's Islamic traditions. Young artists learn the art of calligraphy with passion as it creates a spiritual connection between the artists and their work.
One of the characteristic of Islamic art is a preference for covering and decorating surfaces with patterns composed of geometric or vegetal elements. But at the recent exhibition the use of multi-colours and vivid colours in calligraphic works was seen in abundance. Almost each of the calligraphic work was full of colours like a rainbow. But using different colours with skills and balance was the art practiced by the artists keeping the aesthetic value of the works intact.
The visitors at the recent exhibition lauded artists for not only keeping the art of Islamic calligraphy alive but also for giving it impetus. Overall the exhibition is a delight for Islamic art lovers who can enjoy the works by various artists with different artistic leanings and varied skills.
The exhibition included calligraphic works of artists Alina Hussain, Ameena Ahmed Patel, Ayesha Desai, Col.Ghazali, Farid Durrani, Mashkoor Raza, Masood Akhtar, Saim Hussain, Shakir Ali, Zaheer Zubair, Zohaib Rind, Shah Nawaz, Quraul Ain, Mahnoor Khan, Fazalullah Qureshi, Liaquat Kiyani, Amjad Minhas, Saiful Islam, Atif Ali Chitra Pritam, Aftab Zafar, M A Bukhari, Fareed Durrani, Akram Spaul, Shakil Ismail, Tamjeed Anjum, Uzma Umar, Tariq Tonki, Faiza Khalid, Haya Ameer, Ayesha Ahmed, Munir Shah, Waqar Afzal, Abdullah Shah and S Qamar.
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])