River (Ravi Series)
Oil on canvas
24×24 inches
2014
Unavailable
Inspired by Claude Monet’s execution of sunset; purple to lilac, peach to pink, white to yellow hues encapsulate the sunset sky scape by Mugheez Riaz. He has been creating aesthetically beautiful works mused by his surroundings in particular the river Ravi that runs through the heart of Punjab flowing within itself the history of its region. Its surroundings of shafts of grass, slow-motioned buffaloes grazing on the wet grasslands with wild crows and dogs playing around these heavy creatures bring life to the landscape. The massive black animals are smoothly inducted in his panoramas, peaceful solid animals that introduce a comforting sense of continuity.
The artist has deeply studied the surroundings under diverse conditions of light and atmosphere. At times the surface of the sky takes up more than half the canvas with the sun peeping through pink-mauve tinged rustic skies, wrapping up the day into mellow hues or in other he changes the rhythm by predominating the reflections of the sky in the calm waters of Ravi reinterpreting a natural phenomenon to delight the observer.
In his new works, Riaz is exploring another classic genre of introducing nudes and pots in his works surrounded by flat environments. His fascination for the smooth circular ceramic pot found in various sizes and has been a major component of his study.
Nature for him has been very abstract. Dawns to sunsets, water changing colors, the vast spread of the sky, the beginning and ending of a day with the light changing into night and then morning amazes the artists. He sees new hopes and new aspirations in every moment.
Riaz did his Masters in Fine Arts from the Punjab University and is currently teaching there. He lives and works from his Lahore studio.
Image Courtesy | Mughees Riaz