‘There is no margin for error when you are creating art like this’

Ghazi's solo show, Grace Versus Strength: The Elements of Ornaments, draws from his love of miniature paintings, the hypnotic value of geometric patterns and ancient prints, and contemporised design

- Karishma Nandkeolyar

From left: Artist Shahzad Hassan Ghazi with Yaqoob Ali and Pakistan's Ambassador to the UAE, Faisal Niaz Tirmizi

To an artist, self-expression is a basic need. And Pakistani creator Shahzad Hassan Ghazi finds he leans towards the abstract to explore perception, to filter meaning from a scene, to ground him in the present.

The artist's work has been showing in Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai's AlSerkal Avenue, where it will run until September 30. For his solo show, titled Grace Versus Strength: The Elements of Ornaments, Ghazi drew from his love of miniature paintings, the hypnotic value of geometric patterns and ancient prints, and contemporised design using a new palette and canvas to showcase creativity.

In an interview, he explains that while people like the idea of finding meaning in form and colour, which is “a universal language”, abstract art is an expression of feeling; “there really are no rules”.