‘Country’s first’: Two noted artists paint with the same brush

‘Inimitable Consilience’ features joint pieces of artists Tassaduq Sohail and Riaz Rafi.

ISLAMABAD: An art exhibition featuring the collaborative artworks of two renowned artists opened at Gallery6 on Friday.

Dr Arjumand Faisel, the gallery’s curator, said with the exhibition, a new record is being created in art history of the country. “There are few examples of collaborative artworks by artists of different genres in the past. But in our country and region, this happens to be the first-ever ‘joint-solo’ exhibition by two established artists,” he added.

“Inimitable Consilience” features joint art pieces of Karachi-based artists Tassaduq Sohail, 85, and Riaz Rafi, 52. They have collaborated to make 24 paintings for the exhibition which also includes some paintings by each artist to enable the audience to discern their individual styles and the combination.

Sohail and Rafi have been close friends for over three decades. The idea of working together came when Sohail once doodled on a catalogue of Rafi’s exhibition with a black permanent marker. Showing it to a common friend, he joked, “Look, I’ve defaced Rafi’s paintings!”

When Rafi got the message, he rushed to see the ‘massacre’ of his work but he was stunned when he saw the result. The outcome was an artwork that was unique yet retained the qualities for both the painters. This not only surprised Rafi, but also led to a new conviction that he and Sohail should initiate a venture of painting on same canvases together.

Rafi said when they began working they did not realise how difficult it was going to be. “We discussed each painting multiple times and debated its evolution and completion. But since, we had a great understanding of each other’s approach, we were able to make a total of 24 paintings over a period of 16 months,” he added.

There was a formula to their work. First, Rafi would complete a painting in his abstract style and then hand it over to Sohail, who would observe it for days. He would then begin to identify the hidden images in the abstract and unveil them by paints and outline.

The finished artwork would be a unified agreed work, having mostly the vibrant palette of Rafi and symbols and figures of Sohail.

Elaborating on the idea, Sohail said every artist aspires to create unique art, adding that this creative urge supersedes all other thoughts especially if you are a well-known artist as then one is in a constant search for presenting something unique. This exhibition is the outcome of that search for inimitability, he added.

Art critic and teacher Asim Akhtar said there have been artists who have almost always worked together as a couple or a pair or as simply partners, such as Gilbert and George, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Komar and Melamid, Bernd and Hilla Becher.

“Artists forming the group labelled as Cobra in 1948, have worked in collaboration since. In more recent times, Drew Beattie and Daniel Davidson have painted in collaboration through the 1990s,” he added



Faisel cited that the most commonly quoted example of collaborative paintings is of American painters Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1980s.

After reviewing the images of this exhibition, Balraj Khanna, an art critic from UK, wrote “Ever indefatigable, Sohail continues to surprise and delight. Although he has been at the forefront of Pakistani art for the past two decades, this exhibition surely establishes him as the foremost painters of the subcontinent itself.” He expressed confidence that Sohail’s association with Rafi has led to creation of some masterpieces.

The exhibition will continue daily from 11am to 7pm till February 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2015.