A reception hosted by the Australian High Commissioner Tim George at his residence here on Sunday to pay homage to the legendary artist and writer Sadequain. Over 20 high quality prints of Sadequain’s works were on display. A book, titled “Mystic Expressions by Sadequain”, containing a collection of illustrative paintings and two large murals based on his poetry were launched on the occasion. The book has been published by the Sadequain Foundation, established by his nephew Salman Ahmed.
(Read: Collector’s item - Sadequain’s mystic expression in print)
“Sadequain displayed a commendable talent in all three distinctive traits of arts and literature. He mastered multiple disciplines as a painter, calligrapher and poet, which is a unique combination,” said the Australian high commissioner.
Sadequain was an artist of the quality that could not simply remain hidden from the world. The self-taught artist was called “a reminiscent of Picasso” by the French newspaper Le Monde; in The New York Times’ “There is a New Personality in Art” and in the Christian Science Monitor, USA as “Pakistan’s pride Upside Down Artist Sadequain”.
A mere glimpse at any of his paintings or calligraphy pieces is enough to know that Sadequain gathered this praise not for nothing. Even an ordinary person lacking artistic appreciation is driven to Sadequain’s work, that is reflective of his humility and sincerity with art.
“He was a superhuman, a saint. He created 175-feet long mural in 70 days, during which time he hardly slept,” said Arjumand Faisal, the curator of Gallery 6 in Islamabad. Faisal is one of the admirers of Sadequain, who had the opportunity to spend some considerable time with the legendary artist.
The reception was attended by diplomats, including the US Ambassador Cameron Munter and his wife. The reception was hosted in association with Gallery 6 and Sadequain Foundation.
The Australian high commissioner said Sadequain was a huge talent and it was delighted to host a reception in his honour. “Through such events, which reflect out mutual strong historical interests in arts, we aim to build stronger relationships between our peoples. Australia has a long-standing friendship with Pakistan which continues to grow,” he said.
Particularly remembered for his huge murals and sketches of men and women with modern themes, Sadequain was a master in the fields of writing and painting. His appreciation of classical poetry is apparent in his illustrations and interpretations of the poetry of Ghalib, Iqbal and Faiz.
“An artist paints what he feels, not what he seeks,” said Ahmed quoting Sadequain, his uncle. Ahmed said he left a lucrative business in America to establish Sadequain Foundation and his mission is to locate and cataloguing Sadequain’s work and share it with the world.
The foundation has so far published eight books based on Sadequain’s work. More than 3,000 copies had been sold in just two years, said Ahmed.
He said Sadequain gave his everything to Pakistan but the nation has been a little unfair to him. Two galleries established in his lifetime, in Islamabad and Karachi, were disassembled after his death. Some two hundred paintings were unaccounted for and 40 calligraphic panels on marble slabs measuring 6 ft x 5 ft each disappeared.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ