Masud’s current exhibition is a culmination of various factors that have influenced her throughout her artistic career, which prompts an analysis of her artistic production. Even artworks which proclaim aesthetic autonomy are not entirely autonomous from experiences an artist has acquired over a passage of time, and Masud’s work is no exception to this assumption. In the late 1980s, she painted female figures in a representational manner, just like her peers in Lahore. Her initial encounter with non-representational art came in early 1990s after her stay in England. Consequently, she experimented with this style for a couple of years and a few artworks from this period are mostly abstract with some allusion to reality. Masud acknowledges the influence of modern artists such as Ben Nicholson to the change of direction in her work.

In 1995, a road accident forced a change of medium and she had to use pastels rather than her preferred oils so as to limit physical strain on her body during the rehabilitation process. It was during this period that she also explored the genre of landscape. Her stay in England introduced her to avant-garde artworks and prompted her to incorporate elements from her own culture and history. Subsequently, characteristics such as use of gold leaf, decorative borders from Persian and Mughal miniatures, Islamic architectural motifs and the subject of Sufism began to appear in her work.

So how is all this borrowing and adaptation of foreign as well as indigenous culture and history relevant to her present work? Firstly, she has continued to produce both realistic and abstract artworks. Secondly, although Masud has resumed work in oils since 2000, she has not abandoned the medium of pastels. In fact, it has become a frequent feature of her artistic production. Thirdly, even though the female figure is once again her main subject, elements from landscapes still mark a presence in her works. The female form has remained her focus since she considers it the most powerful means to convey her artistic intentions, and so her thoughts and feelings are channelled through the female body into a pictorial language. Finally, visual devices such as gold leaf, border designs of Persian and Mughal miniatures and Islamic architectural patterns, particularly designs of decorative ceramic tiles add embellishment. She has however, made formal modifications so that the synthesis results in a textured minimalism. As in Islamic architecture, patterns in Masud’s work, whether in repetitive form of borders or architectural motifs, symbolize the infinity of Allah. Patterns transform into a visual prayer wherein their recurrence signifies prayer through counting of beads. Moreover, her interest in Sufi culture has led her to study its literature and visit shrines in Pakistan and India and the 50-second video installation, Annihilation (2009) is an outcome of this particular endeavor. The video shifts back and forth from color and non-color, from depictions of intoxicated devotees dancing at shrines like moths swirling around a light source. The theme of Sufism is also prevalent in several paintings on display, such as Introspection (2007).

Masud’s current body of work not only shows a fusion of elements from her prior work, but also some marked deviations. Colors have become more saturated, a sense of design is more pronounced and the background has an increased level of abstraction as evident in Self-Portrait: Lifting of the Veil (2008). Masud´s non-representational works seem to imbue with a spiritual character as seen in Square I (2008). The square symbolizes the Kaaba, and swirls of color surrounding this shape represent circumambulation by the faithful.

This blend of past and present is also seen in the iconography used by Masud and the interpretation of these symbols is linked to their context, for example, in Bliss I (2009) fruits and foliage symbolize a longing for human intimacy, while in Aye Arz-e-Watan (2009) they deal with the theme of patriotism. Similarly, symbols of the moth and lamp signify the pursuit of human love and one’s annihilation in this process, as evident in Bliss I (2009), whereas in Introspection (2007) they symbolize such aspects of divine love. In contrast, some emblems such as the sun, or open locks and cages are about transformation and self-awareness. Masud bases her selection of iconography on two factors, indigenous origins and aesthetic potential. Although, her work has an external tranquility, there is however a disturbing undercurrent and a connection can be made with the recent spate of bombing at shrines in Pakistan.

Now that the parallels albeit with some apparent deviations, have been drawn, the intense disparities need to be hammered out as well. Multiple view points are integral to Cubism; still Rahi chooses to disregard this paramount feature. For example, a simultaneous depiction of two horses with different views is seen in one of his pieces from the Wild Horse Series, but this varies from the essential cubist method of concurrently depicting several view points of a single subject. Moreover, Picasso and Braque left clues for viewers so that an intellectual engagement would be required to decipher it.

In Rahi’s work the subject is easily perceived, therefore the intellectual process begins after its recognition, unless his intention is based on a purely visual aesthetic in which case the cerebral is rejected in favor of the physical. Additionally, Cubism discards traditional perspective in an effort to avoid any imitation of nature and yet Rahi’s Grey Genesis Series is a testament to the pivotal role it commands within this particular body of work. Modeling was done away with for the same reason; still we come across it in Rahi’s drawings. Cubism portrays the presence of light in a distinctive manner as it seems to be radiating from within the planes. In contrast, the Wild Horse Series shows how Rahi uses the visual imagery of Rayonism to stress the presence of light and thus departs from the cubist convention of creating subdued light.

Rahi’s peripheral encounter with Cubism can be traced back to his academic period in works such as Portrait Study (1959). Blocks of color that constitute the face are rendered in an unambiguous manner which led his teacher Kibria to wonder whether he would later become a proponent of Cubism. Quite an accurate hypothesis, considering 50 years have gone by and the same blocks are still integral to his work. At this time he was studying at the Govt. College of Art and Craft, Dhaka. Earlier, he had completed his matriculation from Raj Shahi School, also in Dhaka. In 1964, he moved to Karachi and stayed there for 18 years. This initial phase of his career shows the impact of Zainul Abedin. One example is the impression Abedin’s impulsive drawings made upon Rahi. Moreover, Zainul Abedin was motivated by social and political events and this early period in Rahi’s career demonstrates a greater focus on thematic content such that social and political issues also became a major concern for him. His series like World Food Crisis, Soul in Hell and Struggle for Achievement are fall into this category. According to Rahi, these early years of his profession were marked by struggle which also appears in his works from that period. So, his representational as well as non-representational abstract works manifest an imitation of his life. Another characteristic that strikes a similar chord between his work and that of his teacher Zainul Abedin, is the presence of a bold and clear outline.

The later phase of Rahi’s career began in 1983 when he changed his residence from Karachi to Islamabad. He describes this period as rather peaceful and therefore his art shifts from a portrayal of struggle to one of peace as mountains, beauty and romance began to be depicted in his work.

Rahi’s paintings and drawings depict abstraction yet the visual imagery remains representational, which marks another difference between his early work in Karachi and his later work in Islamabad. Such dissimilarities are amalgamated through an essence of Cubism that runs through his entire body of work, creating interplay of opposites.