Spring comes to Royaat Gallery

LAHORE
The advent of spring season is in the air and budding flowers are heralding its arrival at the Royaat Gallery, where a solo show of landscape painter Munawar Mohiuddin under the title of ‘Colours of Spring’ is being held on Thursday on February 26 at 3pm to 7pm at 21-Z Block, DHA.
Mohiuddin is stranger in the world of art and to the art galleries of the country, since he has already achieved a pedestal of such an landscape painter, who knows the language of mother nature and has been living close to her in a serene environment almost all of his life.
Mohhiuddin has an impressive background of landscape paintings which brings him to the ranks of a highly skilled landscape artist. Humble by nature and aggressive in the lingo of colors, Mohiuddin’s palate is oozing with vibrant, warm and rejuvenating colors. His paintings are a mesmerizing interpretation of mother-nature’s spellbinding beauty.
He received his master’s in Fine Arts with distinction from the University of Punjab. He has put together a vibrant show, an homage to the richness of nature in the spring.
Mohiuddin recounts that his fascination with the intricacies of nature arises partly from the fact that he grew up in the rather austere desert landscape of Dera Ghazi Khan. For his inspiration, Mohiuddin turned to the botanical diversity of Lawrence Garden in Lahore, which also serves as the study for many of his canvases.
The beauty of his paintings arises both from the simplicity of his thematic work as well as the complexity of his palette. Mohiuddin’s paintings take the commonplace-a pot of dahlias-and through his use of light and contrast renders it as sublime. His fascination with nature’s composition comes through to the viewer through his playful strokes and use of extravagant colors.
Mohiuddin brilliantly captures the blooms ablaze in the mid-morning light. He also renders the blooms with darker contrast allowing us to appreciate the distinctive individual patterns within nature.
Mohiuddin’s masterful strokes capture both the essence of the blooms as well as their delicate construction. He uses bold colours, which imbue his canvases with dazzling energy, underscoring the amazing transition from winter’s greys to the colors of the spring.
His use of colour make the petals almost dance across the canvas. At the same time, he employs finer strokes that bring into focus the springy grass that the flowers are nestled in, the curvature of the leaf, and the fine trellis of the vine.
Faryal Haris, Director of Royaat Gallery notes that “while Mohiuddin’s previous works would draw you into a complete landscape, this show highlights the beauty of the hidden nooks in the garden-the flower pot bursting with color, the dappled sun on a blade of grass, the last bloom of a zinnia.” The show will be on display until March 5, 2015 at Royaat’s new home at 21-Z Block, DHA.