Solo exhibition depicts Punjab's rural landscape.

Byline: Farman Ali

ISLAMABAD -- A solo exhibition of landscape paintings by Salim Ansari, a Lahore-based artist, depicting the rural life of Punjab opened at the Nomad Gallery on Saturday.

The show, titled Meri Mitti, Mera Sona (My Land, My Gold) meticulously depicted the rich landscape of Shekhupura and Muridke on the outskirts of Lahore.

More than 20 works were displayed at the exhibition. In oil on canvas, they featured picturesque green fields, trees, ponds, mud house and buffaloes in a variety of styles blending into the many moods of the sky in the background.

The paintings depict a command over technique, with the colours filling in fluid compositions and changing effects of light. But green with shades of blue and shades of brown in the background depicting twilight are dominant in the paintings.

Mr Ansari uses different mediums. His current body of work is done in oil on canvas and shows the ambiance on the peripheries of Lahore, taking the viewer on a tour of rural life.

'He has used the rich palette of colours and textures building up the vast scene focusing on one central object i.e. tree which always fascinates me,' commented Simon Waley, a lawyer working at the British High Commission.

'It reminds us of our native countryside town in Yorkshire' commented Laura Waley.

Swedish Ambassador Ingrid Johansson said: 'The artists has skilfully depicted the real life and landscape of Punjab. The paintings are done so realistically that they seem photographs.'

Mr Ansari's paintings focus on the colourful, exquisite landscape of Punjab. His strong...