KARACHI: Internationally known artist Dr Mohsen Keiany has a consuming passion for art and tradition. There is, as T.S. Eliot has espoused in one of his remarkable essays, a commonality between art and tradition: ‘historical sense or timelessness’. Both are a great source of creative energy for any society and Dr Keiany is familiar with this idea like no one. An exhibition of the artist’s recent works titled ‘Peer-e-Meikadeh’ opened at the Art Scene Gallery on Tuesday. It is a worthy tribute to Persian poetry, tradition and society. Yes, the oil-on-canvas artworks are inspired by Hafiz Shirazi’s poems, but there’s more to their content than what the viewer sees on surface.

It is quite amazing how Dr Keiany crams the canvas with images and yet the viewer yearns for more. The reason for it is that each image that he paints is readily identifiable, each telling a story that is well known, each drawing an conclusion that is foregone. ‘Spring Arousing’ is a representative painting in that regard. It is a grand work of art. The bearded men holding musical instruments with eyes shut as if in deep reverie, the women in the middle, pensive and beautiful, the balmy lightness of the colour blue and the geometric pattern (circles, squares, etc) that distinguishes, not divides, the artwork are an extraordinary sight. The circle of life is among the many things hinted at here by the artist. Dr Keiany complements part of this image with the equestrian theme and a bit of architectural glory in pieces like ‘Pak-Dinan’, and turns his world green. The shift of colours is deliberate to get the requisite effect of a special scene signifying a particular aspect of tradition.

The equestrian theme is intensified, just as horses run at full gallop in the battlefield, in an untitled exhibit where colours disappear and greyness takes over. It is a stupendous picture, both because of its technical achievement and for capturing a fleeting moment in the eternal web of art.

The exhibition will be open till April 24.