Ashkal

Shaista is a self-taught artist who believes that an artist draws inspiration from beauty in human form and from expressions. Her canvases encapsulate women, nature’s most beautiful and complete creation and encaptures their great strength in tolerating pain with a smile. The pigeons or musical instruments such as a flute or sitar in her painting are symbolic of freedom of speech and a woman’s desire to be free. The jewelry on the women while giving the deception of beauty are actually symbolic of chains and restrains, which restrict them from being free.

Abdullah Ali was born, brought up and continues to live in Punjab, Pakistan. He is a naturally gifted self taught artist who has proved that lack of formal education and art training is secondary to talent. He adapts traditional elements to contemporary tastes seamlessly paying careful attention to detail.

S.M. Naqvi acquired his diploma in graphic designing from the Mashkoor Art School and was awarded the Quaid e Azam award. He has also studied art under the renowned Pakistani artist Iqbal Mehdi. Naqvi’s artworks demonstrate intensity of colors and bold strokes in abstract form. The artist aims to stir the inner soul and connects the viewer not just to the beauty of human experience in its existence but also what lies beyond the vision. In his artworks, he alters colors and forms to achieve total abstraction that bears no relation to anything recognizable. The outcome is an explosion of technique and color.

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.