INTERNATIONAL
THENEWS Monday
Exploring the epitome of womanhood
April 23, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Satrang Gallery Director Asma Khan looking at a painting. — Hanif Khattak Schezee Zaidi isiairtz-1 Exploring the epitome of womanhood through a diverse portrayal of creative expressions, a group exhibition of paintings and sculpture titled 'Women: 4 Holding up Half the Sky' is on at Satrang Gallery. Showcasing the work of lqbal Hussain, Ahsen Asif, Amna Ilyas, lsma Hussain, Amra Khan,
Amna Tariq, Faten Anjum Suleman, Anmal Fatima Uppal, Sehar Hashmi and Annem Zaidi, the exhibition, curated by Zahra Khan, will continue till May 10. The works put on display celebrate the quintessence of women in a diverse contemporary syntax of mode and medium chosen by the group of 10 to express their individual aesthetic philosophy. Eminent painter lqbal Hus-
sain from Lahore presents his signature paintings that belong to Lahore's Old Walled City courtesans, dancing girls, and musicians. Through his vibrant strokes and splashes of bright colours on canvas, lqbal immortalises his subjects by juxtapositions images to reflect on the ground and harsh realities of life in a blinded, deeply retrogressive and intolerant society that chosen to write-off and ignore 0,0400,0.1.14, ,
the pain of those discriminated and neglected ones. Isma Hussain's sculpture work on display illustrates her own creative emotion about how women are often treated differently based on their exterior persona rather than her inner self. Isma's white sculpture covered with a sheet and a dark braid sticking out, legs of a woman or even a sculpture, shows her sensitivity regarding the societal
acceptance or rejection dealing with physical appearance and body condition only. Ahsen Asif's work on display showcases portrait in dark colours contrasted with vibrant reds and blues. Asif's women carry the enigma and aura of life with flowers in their hair and expression of serenity. Expressing his individual feelings and experience, Asif has captured the faces of women in a more dreamlike trance, almost acquiescent with a faraway look. Amra Khan, however, walks down the darker side of the alley of life, selecting the murkier story of femininity. Her diverse presentations are a strange yet symbolic blend of emotive expressions. Inspired by Kafka's metamorphosis, Faten Suleman on the other hand portrays his works to capture the transformations a woman's body in different phases of her life. Among other artists, Amna Tariq with her work of women caught in cycle of destruction and Annem Zaidi's idea of seduction in shadow figures done in contemporary mode and medium gives an entirely new meaning to her unknown figures. Sahar Hashmi uses thick medium and bold colours to make her creative statement. Amna Ilyas goes on to travel down the contours of a woman's body through her complex pieces to elaborate shapes and silhouettes of a woman very elegantly. The exhibition will continue at Satrang Gallery (Serena Hotel) till May 10.
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