A solo show by Tahir Bilal Ummi at Artciti gallery showcased his most recent body of work where he explores landscaped through layered texture and nuanced colour creating contemplative spaces. Tahir is a contemporary Pakistani painter whose practice is shaped by an instinctive relationship with colour, mood and lived experience. His paintings reveal a nuanced attentiveness to place, informed by both the natural landscape and the cultural contexts that surround him. Balancing careful observation with emotional depth, Bilal’s work invites viewers into moments of stillness and contemplation, privileging quiet presence over visual excess.

Bilal has cultivated a distinctive visual language characterised by richly layered textures, resonant colour relationships, and a reflective engagement with landscape. His paintings frequently evoke the quiet poetry of everyday scenes; fields, water bodies, pathways and skies, reimagined through a process of careful and attentive observation.

The artist shares, “my paintings emerge from a close relationship with my surroundings. I am interested in the emotions carried by colour, light and silence. Each brushstroke reflects not only what I observe, but what I experience – moments of stillness, memory and connection. Through my work, I seek harmony between nature, feeling and expression.”

Dr Arjumand Faisal elaborates, “Bilal captures the immediacy of visual experience with remarkable sensitivity, using colour and texture to evoke a palpable sense of place. His paintings radiate the quiet joy of lush green landscapes, where light and atmosphere unfold naturally across the surface. With careful observation, he renders the shifting interplay of light and shadow at different times of the day, enhancing the subtle allure of his scenes having fields, rivers, ponds and lakes.”

Bilal’s paintings demonstrate a confident command of colour, atmosphere and surface, revealing the artists sensitivity to the emotional register of the landscape rather than its literal description. Bilal prioritises sensation and mood over precise presentation, allowing the viewer to experience the landscape as felt rather than simply seen.

One of his pieces that stands out is characterised by a dense, layered canopy where light filters through the foliage in shifting tones of green and blue and gold. The interwoven brushstrokes create a sense of depth and enclosure, evoking a quiet immersive space. The treatment of light feels particulate, as though the scene is suspended in a moment of stillness. The loosely articulated tree forms anchor the composition while allowing the surrounding colour to remain fluid and expressive.

An equally stunning piece shows the painting opening into an outward broader field, animated by vibrant reds, orange and greens. The foreground is richly textured, with energetic marks suggesting wild growth and movement, while the background dissolves into softer, atmospheric forms.

Bilal’s work displays a contemplative approach to landscape. His layered application and nuanced colour harmonies transform familiar natural elements into poetic meditations on place, presence and perception.

CAPTION
24 x 36 Inch, Oil on canvas
24 x 36 Inch, Oil on canvas
12 x 16 Inch, Oil on canvas
24 x 30 Inch, Oil on canvas
36 x 36 Inch, Oil on canvas
40 x 60 Inch, Oil on canvas