Painter Jamil Naqsh remembered

Lahore Arts Council organises a talk in remembrance of legendary painter

The Lahore Arts Council organised a talk in remembrance of legendary painter Jamil Naqsh, whose career in the field of art spans over six decades. He passed away on May 16.

Prominent artists, art educators and art critics, including Mian Ijazul Hassan, Saeed Akhtar, Salima Hashmi, Samina Iqbal and Quddus Mirza talked about Jamil’s life as an artist and a painter.

Jamil Naqsh: A giant among paintbrush masters

Speaking on the occasion, Hashmi said that death is the age shelf that clarifies the painter’s work. “Naqsh had a hunger to learn. His work is ultimate, exquisite, weaving the canvas into the canvas filled with nostalgia. He did a fine craft of mark making, line and colour which he laid to be feed for viewers.”

Art critic Quddus Mirza said that in Jamil’s paintings, the repeated use of pigeon served as a metaphor for freedom, meaning there are no barriers, no national identity, no boundaries and no security checks. “We are chained in conventions and customs. Through his paintings, he reminds us to reside and made us feel that there is a world beyond barriers. He provided us a mirror to make us realise the essence of reality.”

Jamil Naqsh: Monarch of the skies

A large number of people from the field of visual arts attended the event and learned about the remarkable works of Naqsh and about the transition and progression in his artworks. Lahore Art Council Executive Director Ather Ali Khan and Director Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi also attended the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2019.