Inspiring story of the first exhibition of an abstract artist

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia – Through her abstract art, painter Sumrien Ali depicts pain of migration and the hard life of an immigrant. Using the story of her late father Syed Samar Ali, Sumrien has expressed pain and hope with the colors of the brush.

Ali’s father, like millions of others, migrated to Pakistan as a child after the partition of British India in 1947. He too loved painting.

Sumrien has turned to abstract art to carry on his legacy. Her first exhibition was held recently at the prestigious Canal Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia.

Ali describes the first painting, depicting the partition of the Indian subcontinent, not as dark and bloody, but with a hopeful and layered perspective.

Each stripe represents movement and diversity, reflecting the birth of a nation and the birth of its father.

“The piece is meant to show movement within each striation and diversity in each pocket of color, the palette knife stroke represents the time of partition and division,” she said. 

The second work depicts her father growing up in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

Surrounded by the warm greens and blues of nature and the ocean, it underscores his determination to lift his family out of poverty through education.

The third painting depicts his move from Karachi to the bustling metropolis of Toronto, Canada.

Due to immigration laws, Samar could only stay for four years and worked tirelessly to support his family back home.

He was the oldest of eight siblings.

After Toronto, Syed settled in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he married and raised his three children for the next 25 years.

The final work in the series, titled “Legacy,” commemorates the children and grandchildren for whom he worked so hard.

By day, Ali works as an architect and designer, sketching structures. But at night, she unleashes her creativity with acrylic paints and a palette knife.

She finds her freedom in abstract art, where there are no rules that allow her to rebel and express herself.

Ali draws inspiration from famous artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko.

She enjoys the challenge of depicting movement through abstract techniques to create visually arresting works.