Zarah
David is an artist based in Lahore, whose first solo exhibition
was held recently in Karachi, at the Canvas gallery. Though
working in a contemporary style, she appears to explore and
question the notions of landscape genre as established through
European traditions. In the collection of painting displayed,
one discovered a subtle mood of timeless calm and unexpected
interpretations of space, a personal, private interpretation
that is unconcerned with the representation of the observed
world.
Zarah is the daughter of Anna Molka Ahmed and Sheikh Ahmed,
two eminent artists whose robust differences on art are documented,
and were surely absorbed by their intuitive daughter. Professor
Anna Molka Ahmed was a spontaneous painter of nature, using
paint squeezed directly from the tube onto a surface, in her
desire to paint the colours reflected by the rays of the sun
outdoors. Sheikh Ahmed was a painter who detailed his work with
meticulous care.
As a student of the Punjab University, Fine Arts department,
Zarah showed considerable promise. When she graduated in 1964
with distinction and as gold medalist, Professor Anna Molka
Ahmed had high hopes that she would proceed abroad for further
art study and make a career of art. Zarah, who had studied music
from childhood, was also highly qualified in that field, and
choosing to marry, to her mother’s great disappointment
she made a career in music. Zarah continued to express her feelings
in paint without thought of exhibitions, and in this she was
following in her mother’s footsteps. Zarah met a number
of artists from Karachi for the first time and was heartened
by the warm reception to her work. The work displayed, rendered
in oil on canvas with disciplined simplicity, was well received
and the artist received and accepted offers of further exhibitions.
So, one may look forward to seeing more of Zarah David’s
enigmatic, very appealing work in times to come. |
