Writing the verses of the Holy Qur'an is indeed a holy task. Every alphabet has an individual aura and aroma. It is the very reason that the Qur'anic calligraphy considered as holy, virtuous and soul inspiring renderings - a feast for the eyes and soul.
Ahmed Anver's colourful Qur'anic calligraphy exhibition titled 'A Celebration of Eternal Message' at Citi Art Gallery, Karachi is well-versed in Kufi style. He loves squared and foliated Kufi with rich architectural motifs. He prefers dark colours in the background that enhance the words and make them appealing and attractive to the viewers. The effect of such calligraphy is eye catching, graceful and dignified.
His current work in calligraphy appears in geomatric shapes, highlighted by bright red, orange, blue, cloudy white and other festive colours. Everything appears balanced, harmonious and a joy to behold. His confident strokes and fine linear textures add to the beauty of his work.
He paints universal feelings and concepts, rather than objects that go beyond representational images. Every painting is done in search for truth and beauty through the use of colour, form and holy words. Kufi was the dominant priestly script in early times. It was created after the establishment of the two Muslim cities of Basrah and Kufah in the second decade of the Islamic era. The script has specific proportional measurements, along with pronounced angularity and squareness. It became known as al-Khat al-Kufi (Kufi script).
Kufi script reached perfection during the centuries and had a profound effect on all Islamic calligraphy. The script is considerably wider than it is high. This gives it a certain dynamic momentum. Ahmed has used Kufi as a major expression and uses Muslim architectural motifs to decorate his paintings. He loves and tries to portray the Muslim culture and its fundamental values with noble sincerity. With its glorious geometrical construction, Kufi could be adapted to any space and material. A fundamental point about Kufi script is that it was not subjected to strict rules, and so it gave the artist virtually a free hand in the conception and execution of its ornamental forms.
Calligraphy has now become increasingly decorative and ornate. And Ahmed also uses images of flowers and plants, geometric and mathematical designs inserted and interwoven with the words of the Holy Qur'an.
The calligraphers and painters of the modern era give more attention towards painterly calligraphy rather traditional one. They draw and paint the words freely and creatively without strictly following the traditional styles but Ahmed has combined the traditional calligraphy and modern calligraphy in his artworks resulting in an artistic tradition of extraordinary beauty. It invites the viewers for a closer look and also urges to learn more, to go beyond the obvious surface beauty to discover the rich historical and cultural traditions.
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