An exhibition
of calligraphic paintings by Azeem Iqbal, an artist who has been
associated with Islamic art for the last 15 years and whose present
collection has brought ‘Ehd-e-Nabvi’ on canvas, opens at the Nomad Art
Gallery today (Tuesday).
“Azeem is pursuing new ideas and dimensions, and aspires to share a special narrative relating to ‘calligraphy and peace,’ fused with a fine level of skill and creativity,” the gallery’s director, Nageen Hyat, said while analysing his work at a press preview.
Titled ‘Calligraphic Perspective on Peace,’ the collection is akin to Dostoevsky’s works for its profundity of thought, Japanese Noh Theatre’s soul-searching for a concrete epiphany of the divine, and a uniqueness in style that is reminiscent of Pablo Picasso.
The panels dare even the most casual onlooker to skip over. The moment one glances at the pieces of crafty art, one is bewitched by the succession of grandly conceived and masterly executed calligraphic lines. The sculptural innovations are beautifully intertwined, while antiquity is symbolised by charred wood and sanctity imbued with ‘Aab-e-Zam Zam.’
Rather than being a stylistic exercise divorced from feeling, the paintings portray the artist’s vision. The intensity of his feelings about a given Quranic verse is not satiated with simple linear description; it erupts in different modes to present a holistic view for interpretation of the artist’s own emotive response.
Azeem’s art is not calligraphic pieces in its puritan sense; it is his own creation in which the written word is used to express feelings, thoughts, desires and commands. The artist has used numerous traditional arts to embellish his work. These decorative arts have not only been used to beautify the work but also to capture the spirit of the written word. He has used limestone and lapis lazuli, gold, copper and lead, and period coins and seals on handmade paper prepared from the pulp of date trees, leather from animal skin and hand-woven silk. The written verses have been decorated with floral and geometrical patterns in the oriental tradition. The technique of collage is used in the broader sense to complete a panel.
The exhibition will continue till October 9.
“Azeem is pursuing new ideas and dimensions, and aspires to share a special narrative relating to ‘calligraphy and peace,’ fused with a fine level of skill and creativity,” the gallery’s director, Nageen Hyat, said while analysing his work at a press preview.
Titled ‘Calligraphic Perspective on Peace,’ the collection is akin to Dostoevsky’s works for its profundity of thought, Japanese Noh Theatre’s soul-searching for a concrete epiphany of the divine, and a uniqueness in style that is reminiscent of Pablo Picasso.
The panels dare even the most casual onlooker to skip over. The moment one glances at the pieces of crafty art, one is bewitched by the succession of grandly conceived and masterly executed calligraphic lines. The sculptural innovations are beautifully intertwined, while antiquity is symbolised by charred wood and sanctity imbued with ‘Aab-e-Zam Zam.’
Rather than being a stylistic exercise divorced from feeling, the paintings portray the artist’s vision. The intensity of his feelings about a given Quranic verse is not satiated with simple linear description; it erupts in different modes to present a holistic view for interpretation of the artist’s own emotive response.
Azeem’s art is not calligraphic pieces in its puritan sense; it is his own creation in which the written word is used to express feelings, thoughts, desires and commands. The artist has used numerous traditional arts to embellish his work. These decorative arts have not only been used to beautify the work but also to capture the spirit of the written word. He has used limestone and lapis lazuli, gold, copper and lead, and period coins and seals on handmade paper prepared from the pulp of date trees, leather from animal skin and hand-woven silk. The written verses have been decorated with floral and geometrical patterns in the oriental tradition. The technique of collage is used in the broader sense to complete a panel.
The exhibition will continue till October 9.
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