Shifting, Turning, Changing - Hassan Niyaz's debut solo exhibition @ Art Gallery Male' (8th - 28th Oct 2023)

 THE GALLERY AND CROSSROADS

This was my first time visiting the gallery after they cut it in half and made it the Crossroads counter/ferry point.

I used to enjoy the entry of Art Gallery Male'. Specifically the little corridor way, leading into the main area with the glass panels. The only place within the gallery I did not feel like I was painting put on display. 

So I walked in and was immediately disappointed - the corridor was now the Crossroads counter. 

There was no one at the counter and I awkwardly tried to manoeuvre the space and moved into the gallery area. I initially did a round to see what the new space was like and was sad to see that the tiny space got even tinier. There was what.. 8 paintings? - sparingly displayed.

I was unsure if this was all there was for the debut collection or if the artist had to compromise given the limited space. 

I tried to shrug it all off and came back to the entry of the space again.

THE PAINTINGS

I read the text. Something about enjoying the mundane things of life. The beauty of seeing the paint peel off the walls. I was thrilled. There was so much of it - especially in Male'. 

The painting next to the text, "Shifting" and the accompanying pieces "Turning" and "Changing", hung periodically in the gallery. I couldn't really see what was mundane, but the colours did feel like those that peel off in old buildings in Male'. 

"Bappa" - I think was called. The painting of his father was absolutely gorgeous.

I was mesmerised. The dry brush technique had perfect forms and important details. On what seems like a plank of wood? The way it was painted and what it was painted on made sense. It felt complete. It was raw.

I couldn't help but think about this father, the type of father he was. What it meant to him to paint his father and if he was even alive to come see his son put this painting up for everyone to see. I couldn't help but think of being in similar shoes.

The painting moved me. It was not for sale. Rightly so.

The painting of the young woman smiling, showcased next to portrait of the artist father, was also not for sale, and rightly so. If nothing else the emotion in the smile was so beautifully captured, I thought about the women I have had a crush on.

The flat impressionist strokes and the predominantly green palette used on the woman felt stark next to the father's portrait. I couldn't help but feel a little confused. Exhibition text and the first three paintings in - the narration had me feeling a little lost. 

I moved on to the side of the gallery that made the most sense. The terns in a storm and iterations of it. The hues of teal, with contrasting and complimentary reds, were lovely -  maybe mundane even. Great forms, entertaining composition and bright highlights of what I felt were the important details. I could feel the birds shudder. 

"Blood moon" - looked like a Bob Ross painting. I tried coming back to it later and I couldn't unsee it. The striking blues tones colours had nothing to do with the rest of the exhibition. The style made things confusing. But it was one painting in the exhibition that sure did look like and oil painting, and there is nothing wrong with Bob Ross.

I think there was two or three of the Bird paintings. But it felt like the majority of the exhibition. It made sense but I kept having to see if they were oil paintings.. The finesse felt like acrylic/mixed media. Maybe it was my uneducated eyes, I was unsure. 

Some great paintings. Some preplexing paintings. The text made the whole exhibition confusing.