Text | Aymen Ansari
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Visuals | Koel Gallery
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Issue 51
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For over a century, abstract art has become an integral aspect of modern art forms, so much so that it has successfully taken over the traditions of the past. Although the term ‘modern’ encompasses a number of unique styles, the underlying principles that define any modernist artwork are found in the spirit of innovation and experimentation, and the rejection of conservative depictions of reality. Ayessha Quraishi’s work is indicative of a similar notion, yet in its representation it is ordinarily idiosyncratic. 

Building on these late 19th century precedents, Ayessha Quraishi’s “Between Light” exhibited at Koel Gallery uses distinctive imagery, employing various techniques and a multitude of mediums to create wonderfully austere artworks that reflect the realities and hopes of the world around us. Curated by Zarmeene Shah, the exhibit showcased Quraishi’s journey as a self-taught artist, as she ventured into the unknown lands of abstract art. Situated in a postmodern Karachi, her work is scattered across three decades, dating from 1985 till 2020. At its very core, her art is an amalgamation of the old and the new, and functions as an appreciation of awareness of the ceremonious and colloquial. 

As a Karachi-based artist, Ayessha Quraishi received her initial training from the Nayyar Jamil. Since then she has dedicated her time to refine her practice and evolve as an artist. Her aim has always been the development of a personal visual language that will manifest her own signature style. Quraishi has worked hard to establish herself as a distinguished creative in the industry; her work has been exhibited far and wide, both locally and internationally. Among her recent achievements, Quraishi was one of the few artists who participated in the International Istanbul Biennial (2019) and Karachi.

Biennale (2019 and 2017) where her work was lauded by all. “Between Light” aims to materialize and create tangible visuals of her experiences, emotions, and memories. Every painting carries an intensity that is discernable in each brush stroke, more vivid and haunting than the next. Every line and speck of paint contains a resounding energy, a powerful expression that captures the very essence of ingenuity and identity. The creation of each form, gesture, and movement, leaves behind traces marked by urgency. It is, all at once, jarringly timeless yet ephemeral. As a curator, Zarmeene Shah brilliantly stitches together Quraishi’s sublime artworks.

to develop a deeply engrossing and insightful narrative into a journey – one that finds its voice in the temporalities of Quraishi’s mid-career introspections, for which she must be wholly recognized. Remarkably capturing the artist’s inward musings and the manifestation of the transient, in its very nature, it is deeply cathartic; wherein, each mark and line, stain or smear, displays a celebration of visual materiality. Quraishi’s work appears to be heavily inspired by the philosophies of Pollock, Rothko, and Mondrian. An earlier painting from 1989, ‘Sitting with Hands Crossed’ is an understated classic, wherein she has used a radiograph pen to depict a silhouette of a body, with just three swift strokes. There are also a number of diptychs and triptychs, along with a series of dot and line creations that draw attention to the exquisitely detailed patterns from everyday life. The series titled ‘Floors’ explores the different arrangement of lines, contiguous and meeting, in a compelling way. In the immersive video installation, titled ‘Sky Frames’ she brings to ‘light’ the massive structures we have all seen in Karachi; from barren windswept billboards to exposed and dilapidated buildings that infiltrate our skies and enclose it. Her approach borrows from a variety of prominent art movements that took place across mid-19th century, largely focusing on modern cubism and expressionism; using abstract techniques, she emphasizes and explores shapes, colours, forms, and gestural marks. In her attempt to visualize the intangible and incoherent, she presents a depiction of reality through an abstract lens, deploying her imagination to create more mature but effective and meaningful compositions in her later works.

The multitude of textures at play, between oil and ink, come together as a single unit in ‘A word of love in the form of burning awareness, I offer’ as the contrasting strokes and striking hues of ochre, orange, and black, leave the memory of this painting singed into my mind. The exploration of a diverse set of mediums layered and juxtaposed against one another results in a fascinating outcome. Quraishi’s penchant for innovation and experimentation with forms is truly evident in ‘Black Square’ inspired by the Kiev-born artist Kazemir Malevich’s original Black Square (1915) – it finds beauty in a square, using old X-ray films, laid between photo album pages to create a transcendental image. 

In another fascinating piece called ‘All that is, is held’, a circular shape crafted from oxidized aluminum foil is layered against distressed paper to visualize the metaphysical reality of the universe and all that it holds. The corrugated wrinkles of the foil composed along the contours of the paper, in grey and white are emblematic of tranquility and chaos. The same can also be said about ‘Stillness between two thoughts’ in its depiction of the abysmal black torrid silence between two white rectangular bands that appear on the fringes of the piece, as an evocative implication of madness and rationality. In this way, every artwork, irrespective of the medium, recognizes the conscious struggle with largely philosophical thoughts and the paradox of human existence, further motivating and guiding Ayessha Quraishi’s transformative journey.

Most of the artworks are driven by the force of these recurring themes that are present in every aspect of her spirit. As an authentication of temporality of life itself, Quraishi reinforces her ideas by using a mélange of mediums, subjects and surfaces, ranging from charcoal, tape, foil, repurposed X-ray films, as well as old photographs and albums alike.

In its entirety, the exhibition sought to examine the intrinsic nature of markmaking and its value in abstract works of art, spread across a wide spectrum of visual forms, the artist poignantly uses every streak, smudge, and splatter to declare her bare, ruminative delight. “Between Light” was at Koel Gallery in Karachi from January 21 to February 4, 2020.

About the author:
Aymen Ansari, is a final year Communication and Design major and a student researcher at Habib University. She is passionate about architecture and urban design, and has been involved in various projects situated amidst academia and art. Her interests include design research, art history and philosophy.