Untitled

Altaf’s works in pure abstraction, such as this Untitled gouache and ink on paper, are such a delight that it is a surprise he did not pursue this genre with single-minded devotion later on in his career. This is a brilliant composition as a study in colour and could be an example of an individuated colour field work. Reading meaning into it would be futile as the artist has evidently built up the blue in different shades in different corners of the canvas to reveal its tonalities, its texture and its characteristics in different nebulous circles. The dollop of muddy pink at the bottom adds perspective to the study of blue.