Abdul Hameed

Hailing from Karachi, Pakistan, Behzad is on the forefront of the younger generation of Pakistani artists. He transforms colors on the canvas into mesmerizing stances. The starkness of the red and black colors of his artworks command attention. He is the recipient of a gold medal in Fine Arts from the Arts Council of Pakistan in 2022.

Noreen’s artworks are inspired by the Arabic Language. Her “Alif” series artworks highlight the importance of Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, concept of oneness, the first existence, the beginning of all things and is symbolic of God’s absolute oneness. The shape of Alif resembles the numeral 1 reinforcing the concept of God’s unity and the concept of ‘the one’. Noreen uses letters from the Arabic alphabet in abstract form and each of her series isolates and highlights one particular alphabet.

The late Mohammad Kazim was a renowned painter, printmaker and calligrapher. Kazim gained popularity for his Indus Valley and Mohenjo-Daro series of artworks and his depictions of women from that era. He would mold the figures with his hands using mulmul cloth and handmade paper and vegetable dyes. The figures would almost protrude in a 3D effect while the colors would be textured in soft hues.

Wahab Jaffer is one of Pakistan’s most renowned abstract artists who explores the female form with a contemporary approach using bold, striking color palate and cubist depiction. He trained under the renowned Ali Imam in 1970s and established for himself a worldwide recognition for his style. Feminine faces, birds and vases dominate his style. A closer inspection of his works reveal how the artist uses a cubist approach to simplify the female figure that encaptures the viewer’s attention. His bold style draws attention to the forms in his artworks with stark detailed headwear, hair accessories and birds.