Staff Reporter
COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) is hosting a unique travelling art exhibition “All Is Pretty” at the COMSATS Art Gallery based in its Islamabad Campus. The exhibit was jointly conceived by the CUI Department of Art and Design, Institute of Art and Culture (IAC), Lahore and Witte Modern, Netherlands. The Exhibition is titled “All is Pretty” and is in part a literal reference to its meaning as well as a saying by the artist himself. The exhibit displays artworks by a famous pop art artist along with works from the outsider art movement highlighting the idea that all art is equal.
Wouter Plomp, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Pakistan, inaugurated the exhibition and highlighted the significance of technological, economic and cultural cooperation among countries. The exhibition was possible due to the cooperation of Dutch and Pakistani entrepreneurs, otherwise jointly working on an economic project related to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Prof. Sajida Haider Vandal, Vice-Chancellor, Institute of Art and Culture (IAC), Lahore, while speaking at the inaugural, paid rich tribute to the artists in shaping contemporary and modern art. She said that preserving and sharing art with the masses was now only possible through the efforts of private art collectors and entrepreneurs.
Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar, Rector COMSATS University in his remarks highlighted the importance of liberal arts towards building a modern and progressive society. He stressed that art was the common heritage of humankind and is an expression of the love of natural beauty. Tracing the history of art to early population migrations from Africa to Indonesia and later Australia, Prof. Raheel said that it was stimulating to see an amalgamation of art with scientific knowledge and population migration derived from archeological sources.
Prof. Raheel Qamar, lauded the artistic works of Andy Warhol and said that he was undoubtedly a modern renaissance man. The art works on the exhibition will be available for display for local school and university students in Islamabad, in order to share the artistic legacy with future generations, he added.
The aim of this traveling exhibition is to discover the extensive collection of Iconic Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) posters, limited edition Spanish newspaper lithographs and number of water colors by a postwar Dutch artist Trudi Van Zomeren (1945-2011).
