A solo painting exhibition “Tales of the Heart” by the prominent artist Atif Khan at Tanzara Art Gallery continues to attract the art enthusiasts through his unique portrayal of socio-political and cultural narratives.
The exhibition was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor, the National College of Arts, Professor Dr. Murtaza Jafri, and will continue till November 9.
Noshi Qadir, curator of Tanzara Art Gallery said as a contemporary image-maker, Khan pushes his artistic limits through varied artistic thoughts and visual explorations of social-political and cultural issues.
The work of the noted artist Atif Khan interweaves Islamic miniature painting with modern geometric design and popular culture which successfully creates mysterious narratives through his juxtapositions of Mughal era figures within mandala-like landscapes, she said and added that through his unique artwork, Atif Khan had built a unique visual vocabulary of interweaving storytelling that addresses itself through a soul searching process.
Noshi Qadir said that Atif Khan’s work had been widely exhibited at home and abroad and was part of private and public collections worldwide. He is a recipient of numerous prestigious international awards and has participated in workshops and residencies locally and globally, she added.
Atif Khan’s work has been part of collections namely at the Bradford Museum, UK, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada, Sharjah Art Museum UAE, and the Islamic Museum of Australia Melbourne, Australia.
He has several solo shows to his credit in Pakistan, UK, Jordan, Switzerland and India as well as participated in numerous group shows. In 2015, he won the Lahore Biennale foundations Open Call competition and developed the monumental sites-specific installation ‘City within a City’ at the Chowk Istanbul in Lahore, Pakistan.
Along with his artistic practice, Khan is a faculty member at the prestigious National College of Art in Lahore, Pakistan since 2005 and serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Fine Arts.—APP
