KARACHI: We usually associate the word ‘finesse’ with the art of miniature painting. It is obvious: the genre requires a great deal of skill and composure for an artist to do justice to it. This is, arguably, the reason that with miniature, it’s the technical aspect of the form that is concentrated on more than the subject matter — not that subject matter is unimportant.

A group exhibition titled Reinventing the Genre curated by Aasim Akhtar, which is currently underway at Da Bano Art Gallery, homes in on both form and content in a manner that they become mutually reinforcing.

There are two dozen artworks made by 10 artists on display in the show. While the stories that they are trying to tell are as varied as the pain of unsaid words and the magic of stonemasonry, the noteworthy skills of all the participating creative men and women come through in ways that the viewer can’t help but appreciate it. And that’s where the ‘reinventing’ takes place to a great degree of success.

Reading a particular part of the curatorial note may further help us understand the objective that’s behind putting together the display. “The strength of these works is not only held in what is shown, but also in what is missing. Here, we frequently see what seems to be an uncropped and ironic view of the personal, though we can never ignore the context it derives from and how it can be relevant. The artworks in question satisfy one as much in their silent perfection [or imperfection] as in their strident challenge to the values passed down to us.”

The artists who have taken part in the exhibition are: Fahad Tariq, Subtain Ghazi, Maheen Khan, Mohsin-ur-Rehman, Zahra Zaidi, Talia Noor, Bareera Sajid, Shehrbano Hussain, Faizan Afzal and Muntazir Mehdi.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2026