Ussman aur Mein opens at Koel Art Gallery

Last year artist Ussman Ghouri’s untimely death from a heart attack, when he was barely in his early 40s, shocked artists and art lovers in Pakistan. He was a respected painter, sculptor and printmaker who had just begun to fulfil his potential. He would work on many projects simultaneously with the result that a lot of his artworks remained unfinished when he passed away. An exhibition titled ‘Ussman aur Mein’ commenced at the Koel Art Gallery on Thursday. The show contains works of 67 artists who either worked alongside Ussman Ghouri or knew him or had befriended him. They have in their own distinct styles, according to the gallery’s introduction to the exhibition, ‘added collaborative interpretations’ to the artist’s ‘precious beginnings’. The aim of the show is to ‘document and reinvent Ussman’s legacy’.

Participating Artists:

Aakif Suri, Aasim Akhtar, Abdul Jabbar Gull, Abdul Malik Channa, Adeel uz Zafar, Fahim Rao, Afshar Malik, Ahmed Ali Manganhar, Akber Moeen, Ali Azmat, Alia Bilgrami, Aliya Yousuf, Amean J., Amir Raza, Amra Khan, Ahsan Jamal, Anwar Saeed, Ageel Solangi, Arshad Faruqui, Asad HusSain, Mohammad Nomaan Siddiqui, Ather Jamal, Atif Khan, Faisal Asghar, FarrukhShahab, G. N. Qazi, Hajra Haider Karar, Imran Qureshi, irfan Gul Dahri, Irfan Hassan, Laila Rahman, Madiha Sikander, Maria Khan, Masood A. Khan, Meher Afroz, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mohan Das, Mugeez Riaz, Munawar Ali Syed, Mussarat Mirza, Mutaib Shah, Muzammil Ruheel, Nabahat Lotia, Nadeem Bashir, Nahid Raza, Naveed Sadiq, Nazia Gul, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Nurayah Sheikh Nabi, R. M. Naeen, Rabeya Jalil, Raania Azam Durrani, Rabia Tehmina Shoaib, Riffat Alvi, Saba Khan, Saba lqbal, Mohammad Ali, Sadaf Naeem, Salima Hashmi, Salman Hassan, Sana Arjumand, Shahana Munawar, Syed Ammad Tahir, Syed Faraz Ali, Waheeda Mansoor and Waseem Ahmed.
Artist Ahsan Jamal plays with the age-old idea of a tree (gadrung and screen print on paper) but encircles it to indicate nature’s remarkable ability to retell stories. Alia Bilgrami, too, goes for similar symbols; tree and fish (watercolour and multiple screen prints and text on handmade paper) with the difference that she brings in the element of fertility or the lack of it into her artwork. The fish can be construed in many other ways as well, because it appears in quite a few exhibits on display. It signifies creativity, wisdom and goodwill.

Fish 1 by Abdul Jabbar Gul | Photo by White Star

Amra Khan reddens the backdrop of the tree (oil paint and screen print on canvas and board) imparting variety to the subject, whereas Abdul Malik uses floating imageries with clouds and water (acrylic on canvas pasted on hardboard) touching on the bearable lightness of being.

Eternal Verses by Noorjehan Bilgrami | Photo by White Star

Noorjehan Bilgrami pays her homage to the artist by putting (perhaps they were already there) the perennial questions ‘kyon, kahan’ (why, where) in an artwork titled Eternal Verses and paints a picture that creates a haunting scene. A few interpretations spring to mind: departure, the unseen world, the dark side of the creative realm.

Abdul Malik Channa’s piece | Photo by White Star

Riffat Alvi dilutes the gravity of the subject by not using loud colours giving a floral feel to her work while Salman Hassan adds a lot of elements to his homage to Ussman Ghouri, including letters from the Persian language and some dotted lines.

Alia Bilgrami’s artwork | Photo by White Star

All of this goes to show that Ussman Ghouri’s colleagues and friends remember him for his creativity, depth of knowledge and kind-heartedness that in this day and age is a rare combination. And yes, for his traditional values too, as painted by Mohan Daas.

The exhibition will continue till Dec 22.

(Dawn)

Ussman aur Mein at Koel Gallery

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