Dawood

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.

Wajid Ali is an artist hailing from Sukkur, Sind. A self taught artist, he has won acclaim for his Divided Soul series where he explores the tension between the two personas within us, one which is our authentic self and a false one which we portray to the outside world.

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.

Maqbool Ahmed is a graduate of the National College of Arts in Lahore. The artist is passionate in addressing women’s suppression and lack of expression in Asian society. His artworks depict voluptuous forms with unpainted facial features, which leaves the viewer to create his own visage for the figure thus leaving the viewer to unfold the hidden story depicted in the artwork. Maqbool’s artworks have been part of exhibitions in Malaysia, Canada and Dubai. His artistic philosophy is concisely expressed in his own words: “A painting cannot be translated into the words of any language”.