Imran Ahmad plays ‘truth or dare’ with seasons of life

KARACHI: Reflecting his personality, his past experiences and his fond memories, Imran Ahmad’s initial fascination with time and space finally combines the varied character traits in his work, according to the artist, as quoted by the Koel Gallery, where his latest solo exhibition titled ‘2+2=5’ is running until December 16.

“Dots, lines and tones vigorously scratch the metal to construct images from the conscious and the subconscious, and the pleasure of mark-making, with oozing strength and energy, leaves me with abstraction narrating long stories with only a stroke. At the same time, a small word illustrated with thousands of lines.”

Ahmad says that his new body of work is based on exploring techniques such as dry-point and line-etching while depicting his daily life experiences from his surroundings. “These images are my feelings, comments and catharsis while playing ‘truth or dare’ with the seasons of life.”

The artist got his Masters in Art Administration in 2014 from the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and his Bachelors in Fine Arts in 2001 from the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore.

Ahmad has been an associate professor at the NCA and a curator at the college’s Zahoorul Akhlaq Gallery (ZAG) since 2015, and was an associate professor at the Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design in Lahore from 2015 to 2017.

He was a gallery supervisor at the UNSW Galleries in Australia from 2013 to 2015, and an administrative assistant at the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair in 2013.

He was a lecturer at the Beaconhouse National University in Lahore from 2004 to 2008, and a lecturer at the Oriental College of Arts in Lahore from 2002 to 2005.

His curatorial ventures include ‘Preview’ by Adam Robert Hartnell at the ZAG this year, and ‘Scape’ by NCA alumni, ‘Memories’ by Salim Ansari and ‘Preserving Legacy: A Collection of Portraits of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Spanning 50 Years’ by Prof Saeed Akhtar at the ZAG last year.

Before his current art show at the Koel Gallery, Ahmad’s work has been displayed at a 2008 solo exhibition titled ‘Dots to Lines’ at the Rohtas II in Lahore.

He has also been a part of two-person shows with Fatima Saeed: ‘The Conquest of Space’ in 2008 at the Khaas Gallery in Islamabad, ‘Print Makers X2’ in 2003 at the Rohtas II, and the same year at the Galerie Bittner & Dembinski in Kassel, Germany.

Ahmad’s group exhibitions include ‘Chashm-e-Baddur’ at the Art Chowk Gallery this year, ‘Saeed’s Clan’ at the Saeed Akhtar Studio (SAS) in Lahore in 2016, ‘Sydney to Lahore: Print Exhibition of Australian and Pakistani Artists’ at the SAS in 2014, and the Karachi Print Biennial the same year.

He was a part of ‘IMMI’ at the Greens Gallery in Sydney in 2013, and ‘Alive’ at the Tap Gallery in Sydney and ‘Navsar 2009’ at the Shridharni Gallery in New Delhi in 2009.

In 2008 he was a part of ‘Art Under 50’ at the Stainless Gallery in New Delhi and the ‘Greynoise Launch Show’ at the Alhamra Art Gallery (AAG) in Lahore.

In 2007 he was a part of ‘IS: Contemporary Pakistani Artists Group Show’ at the Cork Street Gallery in London, and ‘We Were Here: A Site-Specific Installation by Imran Ahmad, Umer Butt and Fatima Saeed’ in Lahore.

He was a part of ‘Contemporary Pakistani Printmakers’ at the Swansea Print Workshop in Swansea, Wales in 2006, and the Pakistan Development Forum’s ‘Voices: Exhibition of Young Artists’ at the Jinnah Convention Centre and the World Bank’s Pakistan Office in Islamabad in 2005.

In 2003 he was a part of ‘Prints Exhibition’ at the KhushRang School of Arts & Crafts in Lahore, ‘8th National Exhibition of Visual Arts’ at the AAG, a group exhibition at the Druck Gallerien in Kassel, ‘Rundgang: 2003’ at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, ‘Was Nothing Beyond That’ at the Rohtas II, ‘Grafinnova 2002’ in Vaasa, Finland, and ‘Exhibition of Prints’ at the Alliance Francaise de Lahore.

In 2002 he was a part of ‘Group Exhibition of Honours and Distinction Holder Students’ at the ZAG, and in 2001 he participated in ‘1+1=11’ at the NCA, ‘Group Show of Upcoming Artists’ at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore, and a photography exhibition at the San Antonio University in Texas, USA.