Next @sanat_initiative “Inseam / Line” by @bazilhabib & @ihamzaqazi opens on 9 July 2024
Bazil Habib (b. 1997, Lahore) majored in painting from the NCA Lahore in 2021. He is the recipient of Arjumand Painting Award 2023 and his work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at Huntenkunst 2024 The Netherlands and Galerie Lee in Paris. Bazil’s work explores the interplay of light and space. These spaces are reinterpretations of places that he has experienced. Light plays a pivotal role in shaping the mood and atmosphere of these reimagined spaces. He deconstructs familiar settings to create surreal environments, employing a minimalistic approach to decision-making in his paintings. The repetition of elements such as windows, steps, and light holds spiritual significance in his artistic philosophy, serving as symbolic motifs. Windows offer a glimpse into desired views, while steps represent the dual paths of growth towards light or descent into darkness.
Hamza Qazi (b. 1995, Lahore) completed his formal education in visual arts from NCA Lahore in 2021. Hamza’s works have been featured in 14 group shows within Pakistan and also selected for the Hunkensten International Art Fest 2024 in The Netherlands. Hamza holds the distinction of being the first artist in Pakistan to exhibit an NFT in a public art gallery, a feat that earned him recognition within significant art marketplaces. In 2024, Hamza was awarded Nigaah Art Award for best emerging artist. Hamza inquires the heightened forms of visual realism, while what is depicted as his pictorial realisation is motivated by an inner authenticity. Interested in representation of figures as arrays, his paintings have a strong existentialist characters that represent fragments of a mosaic of human life and the experiences that he painterly transforms into mysterious banality.
