Art that speaks for itself
Exhibition featuring some of Sadequain's most well-known pieces, books to run until Dec 6, at Islamabad's Gallery 6.
ISLAMABAD:
The anecdote to the celebrity is like spare change to cash; pennies being pounds, the odd yarn towards a woven whole. It may be spurious, it may be verity but these traditions come part-and-parcel with the baggage of celebrity and are especially magnified when they recount the tales of the dearly departed.
In an evening arranged by Islamabad’s Gallery6 and the Sadequain Foundation, the hosts, all associates of the former artist, narrated story after story regaling some, while being elliptical to others. Of course one does not wish to sound captious; tales are almost always specific to the person they have happened too but when dealing with such a clearly emphatic personality it is best to let their work speak instead.
Preeminent in his discipline and voluminously prolific, mere adjectives cannot describe the talent and the man that was Sadequain. From his almost Sisyphean mural projects; marathon long runs painting them, like the Mangla Dam mural to interpretive lithographs of the works of Camus, Ghalib and his own poetic works, Sadequain issued through the brush, existing in art.
For a man who died relatively recently (1987) and for an artist who was almost manically productive, his works and indeed his legacy are criminally absent from his country, either disappearing after his death or hoarded by collectors; his paintings and works are heard of but rarely seen. In a very commendable effort on the part of Dr Salman Ahmad, founder and president of the Sadequain Foundation based in the States, the foundation has undertaken the task of preserving the artist’s works and promoting him to an art world that remains largely unaware of him. Launching two collections of Sadequain’s works, the foundation has compiled a collection of calligraphies and illustrations into two books, The Legend of Sadequain and Mystic Expressions, a limited number of the books are up for sale at the gallery.
In addition to these collections, the gallery has also put on an exhibition of the artist’s work, putting on display some of his most well-known pieces. In a truly complimentarily move, the foundation is also selling a number of pieces as high quality prints, on offer for the first time in Pakistan. Among many of the artists chef-d’oeuvre’s on exhibit, a particularly inspired piece that you will find upon entering the gallery is the portrait titled ‘Marie’s’ from the Camus Series.
At times channelling the pop art of Lichtenstein and at others the self portraits of Frida, the piece is wondrous, Sadequiain’s strong lines stamped upon the work, a beauty in the exaggerated countenance of the women. Though of course not diminishing the artists other masterpieces, this work alone is worth the visit. The exhibition runs until December 6, at Gallery 6 Islamabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2010.
The anecdote to the celebrity is like spare change to cash; pennies being pounds, the odd yarn towards a woven whole. It may be spurious, it may be verity but these traditions come part-and-parcel with the baggage of celebrity and are especially magnified when they recount the tales of the dearly departed.
In an evening arranged by Islamabad’s Gallery6 and the Sadequain Foundation, the hosts, all associates of the former artist, narrated story after story regaling some, while being elliptical to others. Of course one does not wish to sound captious; tales are almost always specific to the person they have happened too but when dealing with such a clearly emphatic personality it is best to let their work speak instead.
Preeminent in his discipline and voluminously prolific, mere adjectives cannot describe the talent and the man that was Sadequain. From his almost Sisyphean mural projects; marathon long runs painting them, like the Mangla Dam mural to interpretive lithographs of the works of Camus, Ghalib and his own poetic works, Sadequain issued through the brush, existing in art.
For a man who died relatively recently (1987) and for an artist who was almost manically productive, his works and indeed his legacy are criminally absent from his country, either disappearing after his death or hoarded by collectors; his paintings and works are heard of but rarely seen. In a very commendable effort on the part of Dr Salman Ahmad, founder and president of the Sadequain Foundation based in the States, the foundation has undertaken the task of preserving the artist’s works and promoting him to an art world that remains largely unaware of him. Launching two collections of Sadequain’s works, the foundation has compiled a collection of calligraphies and illustrations into two books, The Legend of Sadequain and Mystic Expressions, a limited number of the books are up for sale at the gallery.
In addition to these collections, the gallery has also put on an exhibition of the artist’s work, putting on display some of his most well-known pieces. In a truly complimentarily move, the foundation is also selling a number of pieces as high quality prints, on offer for the first time in Pakistan. Among many of the artists chef-d’oeuvre’s on exhibit, a particularly inspired piece that you will find upon entering the gallery is the portrait titled ‘Marie’s’ from the Camus Series.
At times channelling the pop art of Lichtenstein and at others the self portraits of Frida, the piece is wondrous, Sadequiain’s strong lines stamped upon the work, a beauty in the exaggerated countenance of the women. Though of course not diminishing the artists other masterpieces, this work alone is worth the visit. The exhibition runs until December 6, at Gallery 6 Islamabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2010.