Written by: Jovita Alvares
Posted on: March 01, 2019 | 
| 中文
(L-R) Untitled 2014 and The Enigma of a Familiar Place 2010-12
Chawkandi Art Gallery concluded the month of February with ‘Fictional Homelands,’ a solo exhibition of works by artist Aqeel Solangi. The show displays several pieces from the past ten years (2008-2018) of the artist’s career, and is curated by Aasim Akhtar. Along with the display, a monograph on Solangi was also presented, which covered his decade long journey in detail, and was written by the curator.
Solangi was born in Ranipur, Sindh where he started his artistic endeavours, by working as a sign and cinema board painter at Mehboob Painters in Khairpur. Later, he also attended art courses at renowned artist Mussarat Mirza’s studio in Sukkur. In 2003, he graduated from the prestigious National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, followed by his first Master’s degree in Visual Arts, in 2005. He later went on to receive a Masters in Fine Art from the Bath School of Art and Design, Bath Spa University, UK in 2016. In the past, the artist was the recipient of Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust Visiting Artist Fellowship for the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, London in 2006. Since then, he has been teaching at NCA, Rawalpindi as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fine Arts. Solangi’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. He currently lives and works in Rawalpindi, where he also conducts drawing and painting classes at Studio Aqeel Solangi.
To date, this exhibition appears to be the most in depth exploration of the artist’s oeuvre and exploring the gallery, one notices the similarities and evolution in the artist’s work overtime. Solangi has managed to maintain and develop his own unique style that was evident throughout the gallery. Alongside, an interesting colour scheme also seems to emerge; Solangi’s colour palette was also enhanced by the refreshing choice of repainted walls of the gallery, which went from a bland white to rich reds and blues.
Solangi’s work is affected by circumstance. Be it the people surrounding him, or the objects, the artist manages to capture their tales with depth and intensity in each painting. Flowers seem to be a sort of lifeline for the artist, as he explains, and therefore have continued to be explored over the years. Solangi also adds other elements to his body of work such as clouds and stones; forms which have helped in its development.
His pieces are sublimely surrealistic. Though rooted in some way in the real world, Solangi manages to take the viewer on a journey of fantasy and intrigue, all with the help of dexterous strokes on a two dimensional surface. Much of his recent imagery comes from found images and photographs, but by mystifying his visuals with his own impressive style and thought process, the artist creates a space that the viewer may believe to be true but in actuality, it is nothing more than a fictional painting.
Other themes and symbols have also reappeared in his work over the years. South Asian Literature seems to affect his works at various stages, and this can clearly be seen in the narrative quality of each of his paintings. Solangi secures himself in the art world as a visual story teller; one who is adept with the world and its phenomena, and uses his knowledge to present a new world, full of intrigue and illusion for his audience.
The exhibition continues daily until Tuesday, 12th March, 2019.
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