he Sensuality of the Figure
By Simone Cappa
Light by Twilight, acrylic on canvas … size 12” x 14” date May 2003.
Once again, a wave of self-taught artists are making the efforts to get themselves known throughout the United States, England, Italy and other major countries throughout the world. While formal education enhances one’s resume, being self-taught, combined with an unrelenting drive, brings an unusual quality to the forum. One of these artists, an unlikely import from Pakistan, Moin H. Shah, stands out from the multitude of names. His natural talent and imagination make his paintings exceptional.
While the body of his work ranges from still-life to landscape, it is his figurative pieces that capture the essence of his style. Shah’s intuitive approach reflects the expressionistic final product. There are no sketches or studies; he simply sits in front of his canvas and lets his inner-feelings and paint take charge. The artist’s paintings are a result of spontaneous inspiration that bluntly reflects the thoughts, ideas and dreams behind them.
Being a self-taught artist in Pakistan is undoubtedly very different from being self-taught in the USA. Thankfully, the rapid bloom of the technology now has allowed all those with Internet access to observe and even participate in the global expansion of their art. Shah recognized the benefit of the web and built a web gallery of his paintings at http://www.art-moin.com.
The virtual tour of Shah ‘s website is a good reflection of the artist’s career. Paintings like Women with Bangles echo with subconscious references to Shakir Ali, a well-known Pakistani expressionist painter. Instead of Shakir Ali’s brooding references of solitude, however, Shah communicates fresh and unbound sensuality through his fleshy, abstracted figures. His palette is mainly composed of primary colors, a choice that works well with the subject-matter and style. Cool-toned Light by Twilight combines bold and thick brushstrokes with contrasting high and low lights, resulting in one of his strongest compositions. His figures are never lonely and even when they stand alone, they are comfortably bolstered by the composition.
Shah’s work stands strong among today’s contemporary art and its physical distance to the capitals of the Western world isn’t necessarily a disadvantage but a point worth noting. Perhaps sometime in the near future the galleries and collectors will recognize the tremendous potential in art from countries beyond US and Europe.
