Faridi's handling of colour and delicate line work acts as a statement that basically refers to colours within a defined area. The balancing of vertical and horizontal patterns is rendered in a reflective style that engages the observer in a thoughtful dialogue on numerous levels.
Chairman Senate, Mohammadmian Soomro, chief guest on the occasion, appreciated Faridi's paintings, in the vibrant surfaces, rich textures and excitement induced by variation of colours.
"We should encourage and do something for our artists, as they are a part of our heritage. Moreover, they have elements of creativity and patriotism", Soomro said.
Hammad Nasar, a curator and writer based in London, was deeply appreciative of the collection of paintings. His said: "A series of three large works on paper, collectively titled Currents, present a pithy and powerful insight into Samiah Faridi's artistic project. Expressive and bold strokes of colour swish over thinly applied and misty colours; they could be a large fish cuts through water, flashes of light glimpsed in the murky depths of the sea or mere action painting style abstractions, light and colour - that have been guiding this London-based artist's work for the majority of the last decade".
"Faridi has chosen the water, and more specifically, the movement of light and bodies under water, as her principal arena for exploration. Her method is similar to the photobased Atlas project of Germany's leading artist, Gerhard Richter. Both Richter and Faridi's photographs range from journalistic records to blurry exercises in abstraction. But where Richter is interested in capturing the stillness of his subjects - be they animate or inanimate - Faridi is enthralled by moment".
Faridi works with a visual archive of images selected from countless photographs shot in her daily life. She does it, through a variety of media and technique, to explore multiple aspects of whatever captures her interest. Most of the works in this show are oil paintings inspired by a sequence of underwater photographs shot in the London Aquarium.
A few paintings are developed from photographs which substitute dancing figures in a wedding for the shimmering movement of marine life.
And recent photographs of the beatings of a pigeon's wings reveal the possibilities of where this approach may take the next stage.
Faridi's facility with oil can hide her strong background in design. She has been trained in both interior and textile design from Chelsea College of Art and Design and Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London, and has designed interiors for Mulbery and Harvey Nichols - both international icons of high-end fashion.
In a series of small textured pieces, she blends her two halves. Using muslin, texture paste and oil on small pieces of rolling canvas and board, Faridi has shaped works that echo with the sounds of the sea.
She combined etching with oil paint and gold leaf and two separate pieces of tea-stained paper made one through embroidery. The effect is not unlike the minimal aesthetics of a Japanese print.
The remarkable exhibition of her work presented at the Momart was well attended. Artists, students and enthusiasts gathered to view the latest canvases of undoubtedly one of the country's leading artists.