Art is an expression of imagination through paint, brush and colours. Doing art is not as easy as it sounds, because giving any imagination a pattern is as difficult as catching a pleasant breeze or an aroma. Artists have to go through that pattern through an exercise called ‘Methods of Creative Imagination’.
An exhibition detailing these methods opened at the Cure8 Art Gallery in Muscat on Wednesday under the auspices of Her Highness Sayyida Aliya bint Thuwaini al Said. The exhibition showcased paintings of 10 women artists, who learnt the art (methods) of Creative Imagination from Dr Nasser Palangi, a renowned artist, art teacher, author and many other things that relate to Art.
The second group exhibition on ‘Methods of Creative Imagination’ will run from October 10 to 29, allowing artists and art students to interact with a range of artists and learn from each other’s experiences.
Going through the displayed paintings at the exhibition made the visitors believe that Dr Palangi is successful in inculcating a ‘pattern’ among his students through the lessons on ‘Methods of Creative Imagination.” He has also written a book on the subject.
Most of the common visitors were awestruck with the artists’ experiments of paint, brush and colours, while those who had any background in art and painting, were in full appreciation of Dr Nasser Palangi, who guides the art students in how to develop ‘Creative Imagination’.
An Associate Professor at the Scientific College of Design in Muscat, Dr Palangi has been teaching Art for more than 40 years. In pursuit of art teaching, he travelled around the world which allowed him to deal with students from different cultural backgrounds.
He is happy to see the birth of “a new artwork” during his interaction with the art students and gets excited over the limitless imagination of people. “No need to control those imaginations but to give them a pattern through the art of creative imagination,” he says.
Farideh Zariv is an Iranian-Australian artist and Art Curator at the Cure8 Art Gallery. Her works can be found in private and public collections around the world. She participated in more than 30 group exhibitions in China, Seattle, Mexico City, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Toronto and more.
She believes that Art is the greatest and most effective way to influence deep human emotions because it is a tangible language and in today’s world, the most challenging thing is to find a platform that hosts and gives opportunities to highly creative artists who can show their culture to the world in a contemporary way.
Through her collaboration with Cure8 Art Gallery, she aims to provide the chance and offer a creative space for local and international professional artists. “This space will turn the spotlight on outstanding works of contemporary Omani artists from all creative fields like painting, printing, sculpture, ceramics and unique handicrafts.”
Another important participant at the expo is Sarah Ahmed Farid Al Aulaqi, Founder and Director of the Cure8 Art Gallery. Events excite her and she feels connected if the event has anything to do with art.
For her “time is a concept that fascinates. The extent of this fixation on artistic sensibilities becomes clear when I get life’s truest joys by sitting in my father’s office, surrounded by his most precious belongings, books and little finds along the way —old-world charms that are from another place, another time.”
No wonder artists become philosophers! It reflects in Sarah’s walks and talks. She is full of ideas, which according to her “need some Methods of Creative Imagination.” She is a keen learner, planner and executor. Work is work for her... she is yet to find the definition of ‘hard work’.
Muna Rithie, co-founder of Omani Heritage Gallery, finds the Cure8 Art Gallery’s vision is similar to Omani Heritage Gallery, as both support talented artists in their own way.
“The Creative Imagination Group Exhibition proves that the Omani youth only need the right tools and support to compete at the highest levels and give their art a rightful place on both the Omani art scene as well as the international stage creators and provide them with a showcase that allows them to represent Omani heritage to the world,” she says.
Among the artists whose paintings are on display at the exhibition are: Afra Talal al Said, Aneesha Basheer Shailza, Aisha Muammar Mohamed, Iman al Maskari, Masha’el Ritchie, Janab Sayyida Mithal al Said, Nusaiba Shukry al Sulaimani, Soni Budhia, Pragya Bhatnagar and Zohreh Sadegh.
Interesting to see the displayed paintings. Seeing is believing for those who have love for art.
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