Nature, when regarded with reverence, can indeed unleash divine probabilities of visual experience. With the enormous diversity of the evolving forms and colors in this heavenly domain, there are those who persistently observe and capture these remarkable transformations. One such devotee to nature’s benevolence is Mona Naqsh, who never seems to desist from indulging into the delightful flora with an impulsive penchant. Be it chrysanthemums, dahlias, carnations, nigellas or lilies, Naqsh plunges into the deeper forms to dauntlessly reveal the divine secrets of these Godly creations. Having honed her discernment for these botanical wonders for more than two decades, she has carved an inimitable niche for herself in this rare genre of nature painting. 

Naqsh gathers strength for her paintings from the persistent sketching that she undertakes during her after hours, almost akin to a compulsive ritual.  The medium of graphite that she chooses for drawing, gives her the necessary latitude to impeccably reproduce what she visualizes. Gracefully waltzing between the real and the imaginary, Naqsh manages to realize shapes and forms that produce wonderful visual arrangements. Her belief in nature’s precise mathematical reckoning behind every creation, helps her to navigate into the obscure nuances of objects. She passionately expresses her subjects utilizing every ounce of the lead medium’s flexible features. Consequently, in an obsessive continuance to her love’s labor invested so devotedly to sketching, she embarks upon the sacred expedition to reincarnate her drawing experiences and personal insight on the canvas. The choreography of lilting flowers, the pristine reflections through crystal vases, the playful division of space and the ornate ground that seems to bring it all together, are the focal ingredients for Naqsh’s distinctive recipe.

Her choice of the medium of oil, whether on canvas, board or paper, is purely based on its ease of handling, the numerous possibilities of unique textures and the richly layered body that the medium produces. Albeit, the exceptional command over the medium is solely attributable to the contemplative application and bold initiatives that the artist has endured over the years. 

Mona Naqsh is the prodigious progeny of the national painter Jamil Naqsh whose work is acclaimed worldwide. Her work reflects the soft regimental training she received from her father during her early years who nurtured her with paternal affection and motivational counsel. Today she has blossomed into a professional painter with a distinctive style which has been widely acknowledged in country and abroad. Relationships, Naqsh considers, are the living core of her paintings. Compositions that depict trivial articles, exude a certain sense of nostalgia based on the relationship that was fostered. Artworks that Naqsh produces, according to her, are a reflection of the soul that will live on forever, with eternal freshness that thrives in the sanctuary of frozen moments. 

Amongst the various characteristics of Naqsh’s paintings, there are features which give the audience an opportunity to construe the artist’s work for enhanced visual pleasure. Although Naqsh depicts an endless interplay of light with color to create exquisite tonal gradations, nevertheless, she yearns to focus on the exploration of line and space - while ensuring that the repetitive objects manifest diversity every time they are painted! The deliberate yet controlled fragmentation of objects, the spontaneous progression of fractal patterns and the evolvement of stimulus deploying color and its diaphanous properties, are a hallmark of the artist. It is the meaningful culmination of these hybrid concepts which instils the artist’s unique identity into the paintings. Resultantly, art aficionados find this exclusive mode of expression conducive to their ardent and agile observation.  

Creating a sensuous atmosphere in the painting, with the given subjects, remains to be an exclusive domain of Naqsh. Still life has never been so dynamic and moving owing to the extraordinary representation of moisturous ambience, misty environment, sparkling reflections and meticulous ornamentation! It is the artist’s seamless spiritual communication with nature that moves her brush in relevant directions, chasing logical forms, congenial colors and most of all voicing her soul to make her paintings ooze with empathy!


M Saeed Kureshi
Sitara-e-Imtiaz
Art Critic, Author
www.tinyurl.com/mskureshi