Curated by Maryam Irfan, Gerd Hamayi, its title drawn from the Persian word for “gathering”, is an evocative reunion of the National College of Arts’ Miniature Painting Class of 2003. The exhibition, presented as part of Chawkandi Art Gallery’s 40-year celebrations, brings together the largest cohort of its kind, inviting viewers to witness over two decades of artistic evolution as the institution marks its 150th anniversary.
The works on display traverse the delicate terrain between tradition and contemporary practice, memory and transformation. Shoaib Mahmood’s exploration of language and metaphysics situates the exhibition in a philosophical frame, where binaries like black and white collapse into interdependent, relational fields, and meaning itself is rendered provisional, always deferred, never absolute. Mahmood’s writing resonates with Derridean différance, emphasizing the relational and the contingent, echoing the uncertainty and multiplicity that underpins much of the exhibition.
Murad Khan Mumtaz’s paintings stand out as intimate meditations on cultural memory, invoking traces of local histories that risk vanishing amidst globalized contemporary life. Grounded in the visual language of South Asian painting, his contemplative landscapes and depictions of saints and ascetics serve as quiet acts of remembrance, while his ongoing abstract works explore sacred Indic iconography, revealing a continuous dialogue between past and present.
Other contributors, including Ahsan Jamal, Attiya Shaukat, Ayesha Durrani, Farheen Maqsood, Habiba Zaman Khan, Hajrah Khan, Khadim Ali, Mahreen Zuberi, Mahwish Chishty, and Maryam Irfan, offer diverse perspectives, each negotiating the interplay of personal and collective histories. Across the exhibition, works are united by a spirit of gathering, reflection, and relational becoming, capturing the fluidity of identity, authority, and memory.
Gerd Hamayi is an invitation to pause and reflect on how artistic practice unfolds across time, showing that even as techniques and perspectives evolve, the shared histories and communal bonds of creative life remain enduring. The exhibition remains on view at Chawkandi Art Gallery through 31 December.