ART FACTS: reflecting moods

Through their multidisciplinary practices artists in a group exhibition at Sanat Gallery, Karachi showcased trends and direction of the thought processes of younger generation. Sharing their personal experiences and individual concerns the show titled "June" reflected the moods of each artist clearly.
Showing great interest and curiosity the artists' artworks revealed their dealing with the theme of their works. They seemed to exploring the various emotions, moods and relationships in their lives. The complex characters and situations were portrayed in detail.
The colourful paintings of Ahmer Farooq were an amalgam of various Urdu language letters which resembled geometrical shapes and sometimes looked like stones in an abstract style. He created a human figure standing behind bars in his painting titled "Behind Bars" surrounded by stones of green colour in various hues. While the red and purple figure seemed to be in great distress and wanted to break the bars by hand. Thus he created forms from shapes.
The figure was so much so blended that one has to view the painting for a certain time to understand its meaning and composition. Other paintings in beautiful hues of green, orange, yellow, red and grey titled "Missing Lover" and "Silent Emotions" reflected the mood of paintings as well the composition of his work revealed the theme better. He tried to address the subjects that are taboo in our society through vague forms that together revealed a meaningful story.
The wavy and curly lines in Noshad Ali Khan's work portrayed a road that go through mountain area having many twists and turns. The painting titled "Blood and Blues" having red and blue lines merged into each other like two snakes wanted to find a way out of a box and in searching the way out they left marks behind them just like vehicles that left their tire marks on roads.
For Noshad line means distance, journey and direction as he listens to stories in his childhood from his father who was a professional driver about the road and its journey. Hence overlapping lines portrayed road maps that he made in his mind while listening to his father's stories. His other untitled art pieces were in black, grey and white showing lines and circles just like veins and blood vessels in our body randomly spread through out the space.
Safeer Sandeelo's art pieces comprised of bold colours dots. He created different forms and shapes from these dots. A work titled "Landscape" in beautiful colour scheme showed many forms of trees, clouds, a water pond, flowers and plants only using colourful dots that denote the specific form with its specific colour dots thus created a pleasant landscape.
The other two untitled pieces were look alike but having different colour hues full of dots in many different colours thus an abstract work. He tried to make portraits and landscapes by repetition of a single dot and produce detail of his subject through this practice.
Salman Khan's untitled artworks were splashes of wide brush strokes in different directions as if he wanted to know his own direction through his strokes. The strong stokes were like gestures. He translated his sentiments and experiences in them. His works were also a narrative on socio-political scenarios prevalent today.
He described his deep emotions regarding chaos, pain and burden of everyday life. By painting he released his negative thinking and ill feelings towards the society and find solace and tranquillity. The art practice was to counter to the aggression and sense of violence. The blue, black and grey brush strokes with a hint of red depicted the uncertain condition of our society with a glimpse of hope. (The writer can be reached at [email protected])