Note: the following is part of Glasstire’s series of short videos, Five-Minute Tours, for which commercial galleries, museums, nonprofits and artist-run spaces across the state of Texas send us video walk-throughs of their current exhibitions. This will continue while the coronavirus situation hinders public access to exhibitions. Let’s get your show in front of an audience.
See other Five-Minute Tours here.
Mohammad Ali Bhatti: Roots to Revolution at Archway Gallery, Houston. Dates: August 1 – September 3, 2020.
Exhibition featured online at https://www.archwaygallery.com/ or by appointment by emailing [email protected].
Via Archway Gallery: “‘Painting for me is like composing a symphony,’ says Mohammad Ali Bhatti. ‘Color, textures, forms and shapes are my instruments of creativity.’ Mohammad’s latest series of paintings is deeply inspired by mysticism and the connections between divinity and mankind in the modern world. He draws on the energy around him in creating his paintings, making intuitive responses to the variable sounds, melodies, rhythms, and textures in the classical music he listens to while painting.”
“This series of paintings reveals an inseparable connection between shapes and colors, guiding the viewer around each whole painting. Contrasting layers are applied with a bold brush creating multiple forms and vague references (ambiguous symbols, calligraphic forms, numbers) suggesting contemporary conflict, confusion, and the chaotic condition of the world. Complexity of design occurs spontaneously and intuitively in the painting process; layering, overlapping, and juxtaposing forms, signs, and symbols into an interplay of movement and energy. ‘My ultimate goal,’ Mohammad concludes, ‘is to offer the viewer a creation that captures the attention and expands the imagination.’ In addition to his recent works, Mohammad will also be displaying some of his portraits, watercolors, and Southwestern paintings.”
“Dr. Mohammad Ali Bhatti is an accomplished contemporary expressionist painter, who concentrates on themes that are inspired by the mysticism, people, and current social issues around him. Born and raised in Pakistan, he attended local art institutions in his native country at an early age; subsequently, he travelled to the United States and earned an MFA from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts from Ohio University, Athens, in 1998. In his early career, he was inclined toward figurative art and became a competent portrait artist. Gradually, his fascination with contemporary abstract expressionism led to inspiration by mysticism, fantasy, and current socio-political conditions. For the last 30 years, he has painted and exhibited around the world with 35 solo exhibitions. His work is unique and is collected world-wide.”
