Favourites from PAF’s Stars of Tomorrow 2023

Over the last weekend, we visited the Pakistan Art Forum gallery for their annual show ‘Stars  of Tomorrow 2023’ to celebrate their one-year anniversary. The show is the gallery’s  emerging artist show and each year showcases works by young talented artists from all  across Pakistan. On display this year were 22 artists, that put up a vibrant and eclectic  collection of works. The following artists were our favourite from the bunch: 

Amerzish Khalid: Amerzish’s dynamic work caught our eye immediately. Focusing on in person interaction between people, Amerzish’s use of colour to paint fabric is striking. You  can tell the artist is skilful by the way the viewer is able to read the subject in the artworks  without having painted their faces. 

Danyal Awan: Danyal’s nocturnal paintings with shades of red are eye-catching. They exude  a certain sense of calmness and capture people in a state of ‘waiting’, signified by their lack  of expressive emotions. 

Fatima Asim: Fatima’s striking large scale monochromatic nudes explore the role of gender  bias in our social structure and the strain it puts on individuals. She displays two different  techniques in her works; one is acrylics on canvas and the other is the use of cement on  canvas. 

Hira Noor: Hira uses the tea wash technique on paper, occasionally using pigments to  maintain a sepia tone in her work. Creating haunting shadows to depict her relationship with  pain – Hira’s work is riveting. 

Imran Baloch: Imran’s work is about language recognition, specifically about the loss of Urdu  language from our common usage. He displays remarkable techniques of works; gouache on  wasli, fine calligraphy and Urdu words made out of clay and strung together. 

Nabeel Majeed Sheikh: Nabeel is a sculptor from NCA that carves out marble books. His  ingenious sculptures make for beautiful table top sculptures. 

Qasim Ali Hussain: Qasim Ali Hussain uses text to make recurring patterns and colour  gradients. His work celebrates Pakistan’s pop culture icons Nazia Hassan & Noor Jahan, using  the lyrics of their hit tracks ‘Aag Le Le’ & ‘Mundiya’ to create eye-catching canvases. 

Zaid Baloch: Zaid’s surreal works remind you of Salvador Dali’s work. Painting dreamscapes  with vibrant hues and ambiguous forms, he depicts an alternate realm that constantly  challenges the structure of how order is formulated.