Commercial art market of Lahore is warming up with the emergence of a number of private galleries. Hamail Art Gallery, situated in the heart of DHA Lahore, is among the few purpose built art spaces with a commodious well-lit interior and pleasant ambience. It provides periodic exhibitions of new work by upcoming and senior artists to the public and has a reserve collection of miscellaneous work for year round viewing and purchase. Lately Hamail’s range has extended beyond exhibitions of local artists towards shows of artists from other countries also. Among their most recent foreign exhibition was a group show of paintings by nine artists from Bangladesh. Stalwart Mansoor Rahi while going through the show remarked, “The trend towards modern elements are vividly present in these painters of Bangladesh. Their work is mostly an abstract synthesis with a transformed structure of the classical school. Vibrant, elementary colours are delicately applied, integrating them in a modern form, which not only enriches ornamental quality of any painting but also creates a frenzied excitement while managing to stay completely sophisticated.”

Artist Abdus Shakoor, one of the participants in the group is known for his tapestries, fabric works, fibre hangings and drawings. His miniature sized paintings, especially his designs for postage stamps have also been well received. He explores elements of Bangla folk art and has picked up images of the peacock, the snake, tiger and cat from such pictorial traditions as Gajir Pat (pictures by Gazi) and Shital Pati (cane mats). Stitches in the embroidered blanket (nakshi kanta) are incorporated as marks and dots in his paintings in a rustic, pointillist technique and watercolour compositions on handmade paper are influenced by the Mughal or Kangra miniatures. His color palette is also bright and basic.

Shakoor’s latest series of paintings in the exhibition at Hamail makes effective use of text and calligraphy of the Gitika, a collection of folk ballads of Mymensingh. His contemporary adaptations of folk art and craft highlight the decorative rustic charm of Bangladeshi culture and traditional elements while still upholding academic requirements of modern aesthetics.

Abdul Wahab, born and educated in Sudan has been working for UNICEF in the same country for several years. He has exhibited frequently in Khartoum, Damascus, Amman and London as well as the Emirates of UAE. Wahab paints figurative compositions of shrouded Sudanese nationals in a stylized modern mannerism. His technique relies on thick opulent brushwork, strong contrasting hues and folk motifs and design to create decorative, visually appealing effects. Artist Eva Hossain’s work is equally high on surface treatment and decoration. Her paintings at Hamail were floral feasts rendered in an abstract format of reds, blues and yellows. Artworks by Fokhrul Islam on the other hand were monochromatic, cosmic landscapes, roughly textured and stark in nature. Impromptu watercolours by Fareeda Zaman were as much about cats as they were about fish and fishermen. Her paintings were oblique remarks on the socioeconomic plight of the ordinary fisherfolk of Bangladesh. Technically she made good use of the dry brush and coloured inks.

Semi abstract figurative works by Jahangir Hossain are well known to Karachiites as the artist has exhibited here frequently. He is still painting Cubic inspired compositions, centered on man and nature. Vibrant sunlight filtering through the dense green foliage, tropical monsoon laden clouds, wildflowers and ordinary village folk in traditional attire are still his favoured subjects.

Strong confident knife and brush work with bold coloration defined the highly abstract work of Qazi Salahuddin. He derives inspiration from dilapidated buildings, irregular constructions and expansive spaces often seen from above. His spatial distribution is geometric as he divides his composition into different planes of empty spaces and crowded areas. A colour palette of deep red, yellows and blues applied in thick overlapping layers defines his painterly technique. Qazi is a deconstructionist, hence the fragmentation of form, but his strength is his colour palatte and its application.

Noor ul Amin’s work stood out as he is perhaps the only traditional painter in this group. Working in the Bengal school wash technique, his work is also faintly reminiscent of Chughtai of the thirties. He paints demure country maidens in traditional dress against a backdrop of heritage architecture and oriental exotica like peacocks, ornamental elements, etc. Fine lined and delicate, the paintings are suffused with soft gradations of colour, so peculiar to the wash effect.

Artist Ranjeet Dass’s work is perked by a wild colour fantasy superimposed on figure compositions. Vigorous colour splashes, dots, sqiggles, linear marks and multiple hues give a kaleidoscopic effect to his work. This lightens the grimness of his underlying sociocultural stance focusing on the plight of women and children in the third world nations.

Exhibitions of art from around this region not only foster closer ties among people of different countries but also provide the art community an opportunity to engage with works other than their own. This in itself is a learning experience in many ways. The Hamail exhibition from Bangladesh was a mix of various styles, it made pleasant viewing but sprang no surprises. The concepts and techniques conformed very much to our subcontinental, overall Asian milieu.