Dawn Images

The work of Ahmed Habib has been featured in an online solo exhibition by the Nomad Gallery on Sunday.

In an online exhibition, paintings are posted on the social media pages of the gallery.

The exhibition, titled Saqafati Sure (Cultural Note), features 20 acrylic paintings depicting old Rawalpindi’s architecture that were all completed while the artist was confined to his home during the coronavirus lockdown.

Nomad’s director and curator Nageen Hyat said: “Cultural Notes is an illusionary binary of the West and the East, tradition, and modernity representing the multiplicity of the contribution of Ahmad Habib, a writer, poet and artist.”

She said that the artist’s imagery and bold strokes create a vibrant, cultural and peaceful space while the oeuvre of the work is rich and contemporary in strokes and reflection.

Ms Hyat said a portion of the sales from the paintings will go to charity, to help families and particularly women and girls affected by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

In his work, Mr Habib has taken a holistic approach using minimalistic tones - black and white in a circuit of creativity encompassing imagination with a reference to architecture.

He has skillfully portrayed on canvas the global phenomenon which has disrupted social and economic life and emerged as today’s reality.

For Mr Habib, his art revolves around his own orbit, space and objects. He paints crumbling walls and buildings with tree vegetation growing on their walls, electricity wires and birds, balconies, flying kites and other such subjects. The changing seasons and colours of land are also a major subject of his work.

Mr Habib is also a poet and author, and has written plays and series for the theatre and television and has acted in both mediums as well.

His last play, Wafa Ke Putlay, was performed at the Pakistan National Council of Arts last year.

Originality published in Dawn, May 4th, 2020