Faces speak unspoken words

KARACHI: Pakistani artist Ali Azmat has shed light on the meditative nature of the process of creating his hyper-realistic large scale charcoal portraits in a solo exhibition titled “Larger than Life” at Canvas Gallery, Karachi.Through the women portraits he has discussed both mystic realities and socio-cultural norms the women face in their daily life.Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Punjab, Azmat graduated with a gold medal in Masters in Fine Arts from the same university. He is the recipient of the ‘National Excellence Award’ by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in 2003. Moreover, in 2003 and 2012 he was given ‘Award of Excellence’ by the Artist’s Association of the Pakistan.His untitled artworks in charcoal on Fabriano academia paper portray women only. His masterpieces reflect medium charcoal that has helped in creating texture and balance in composition and the theme. The shades of black and grey have facilitated in bringing out the sufferings at the hands of other human beings. The use of line and form intelligently to produce his desired images, Azmat wants viewers to interpret forms, lines and expressions in to dialogue. The body of work shows his observation and concept that help him in developing and creating current series. Azmat has managed to express his feelings through this medium by producing images that reflect the expressions of the characters and serve as a means to narrate their stories of suffering, distress and mental torment.Other than women the images of girls show hope, happiness and pleasure. He has recorded his interpretation of feelings and emotions through lines, marks, tone, texture and spaces. A few portraits show calm expressions of women while most women seem to be in a thoughtful state. It looks like something is bothering them that they have been unable to express or share and as time passed by this emotional disturbance started to appear on their faces.Azmat has drawn inspiration from direct observations of the society and therefore invited a mood of pure contemplation in a viewer. The paintings explored the journey of woman's life based on the conditions and factors of the society. 

from The News International - Arts http://bit.ly/2SZjvfI