A n exhibition and sale of modern and contemporary artworks by artists from thirteen Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, is scheduled by Bonhams of Bond Street, London, to be held in June. Among the exhibits originating in Pakistan are the works of its art icons such as A.R.Chughtai, Sadequain, Jamil Naqsh and Tassaduc Sohail. Today's scene is touched with Adeela Suleman's third dimensional constructions of sieves, nuts and bolts, and paintings by Unvar Shafi Khan.

Events such as these offer serious collectors the rare opportunity to acquire the extraordinary work of years gone by, and judging by the art viewed, looking as fresh as if they were painted yesterday.

The painting of A.R.Chughtai was presented to the Iranian Head of the joint Chief of Staff on his visit to Pakistan in 1969; it is a finer work than any of the artist's paintings seen in the national collection.

Bashir Mirza's work is from an abstract series he painted in the sixties, expressing his horror of war and violence, predominantly using the colours red, black and blue.

Though BM changed his style through the years, his hatred of violence remained etched in his psyche. --MH

Art activities in Karachi and Lahore remained on the normal track. The summer-heat didn't dampen the spirit of art lovers to keep visiting art galleries to experience the changing art environment where younger artists are showing interesting canvases redefining issues and perceptual interpretations.

Tribute to Aziz Azmi

It is seldom that we hear of an art gallery paying tribute to someone who has served art and literature and then, one day, decided to say goodbye. Aziz Azmi, writer, art critic, journalist, media person and friend of friends passed away quietly leaving a bereaved family not knowing which way to turn to.

The City Gallery owner, Saleem, felt deeply the loss of a friend and thus, organised an art exhibition, inviting artist friends to donate one painting of theirs to be sold at the gallery to provide strength and support, now and later, to the young daughters of Aziz Azmi. The proceeds from the sale of the paintings will be deposited in a fixed-deposit scheme of one of the banks for their future needs. This should be taken as a noble gesture worthy of appreciation from artists, art lovers, friends and family members of Aziz Azmi.

There are some senior and renowned artists, artists of name and fame who have come forward and contributed for the cause reflecting a sense of 'concern' to such cases. This is a fine and highly appreciable gesture indeed. There are some 37 artists, all cannot be named here due to space but to name a few, to give an idea of people who have come forward, Tassaduq Sohail, Nahid Raza, Mashkoor Raza, Abrar Ahmed, Hanif Shehzad and so on.

Emerging talents

As in the past, this time too, VM Art Gallery has come up with emerging talents, showing the works of recently qualified artists who have already shown that they have the acumen to stand on their own grounds as an emerging artist and claim recognition. Year-in and year-out, this gallery provides an opportunity to young artists to let their work get a wider exposure and create a possibility for these artists to be appreciated by the art community public at large.

In this exhibition, the participating institutes have come from all major art centres. From Karachi, Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Karachi School of Arts, Karachi University, and Central Institute of Arts & Crafts, from Balochistan, University of Balochistan, from Lahore, National College of Arts and University of Punjab, from Bahawalpur, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, from Multan, Multan College of Arts, from Islamabad, Hunerkada and from Peshawar, University of Peshawar.

The paintings that are being exhibited reflect some highly talented work showing understanding, technical approach and perceptual interpretation in a fine manner. At this point, it will be difficult to discuss each and every individual but the talents on show are interesting and promising both and defines well the future of art in Pakistan.

The reflection

At Shakil Ismail Art Gallery, Shaukat is showing his beautiful work of street scenes and bazaars reflecting an environment. His canvases are interesting in the sense that colours are chosen to reflect some sort of movement that goes well with space and composition.

"Babylonian dreams"

In Karachi, Majmua Art Gallery has put up a show of Shahid's canvases, titled, Babylonian Dreams. What is the significance of this "ancient city" and whatever the dreams, what the canvases are exhibiting is a matter for debate but on the whole, the female faces, to some extent distorted, are somewhat trapped in monotony and repetition devoid of movements.