Spellbinding works on old Lahore, Punjab landscape

LAHORE:Zulfi is a man of many parts. A working artist managing a gallery should lend a new dimension to the role of a gallery as opposed to most of them thriving in the city that are essentially commercial entities.

The latest exhibition of Zulfi's spellbinding work (predominantly on old Lahore and Punjab's landscape) not only speaks volumes about his artistic skills but also of his rich artistic caliber. He loves his rich cultural heritage and his paintings are a living testimony to his pride over his cultural heritage sprawled all around the country and particularly in Punjab.

He is a multifaceted person: amiable, amusing and agreeable. As an artist he is creative and bold. His works demonstrate considerable skill in rendering rural prospects and expressing changing moods of nature.

His canvas reveals a keen interest in old structures with their calloused walls, brickwork patterns, and facades embellished with carved windows and balconies. In his more recent paintings he dilates upon streets scenes. In a series of later paintings the city is immersed in silver and grey winter mist, where subtle effects are achieved by cautiously defining essential forms.

The overall mood of the works is rather pensive: opposed to contrasts of bright and deep shadows that bring into dramatic relief forms and surface textures. Zulf’s streets scenes are sedate, inviting the viewer eye to rest as opposed to being stimulated to react. There are of course many other ways of addressing the Lahore city. Zulfi’s canvas introduces a fresh manner of tackling the urban environment, his landscape recurrently employing sunlight, which romantically traces horizon.