Closer than the jugular vein

Artist Rasheed Butt explains why he refuses to sell his rare art piece despite offers from around the world

ISLAMABAD:

His words bear the passion of a 25-year-old but his charisma is that of a wise old man. 71-year-old artist and calligrapher Rasheed Butt has painted and sold thousands of art pieces in his long and eventful career but there is one piece that he refuses to sell. His painting, titled ‘Allah’, which has been displayed in Washington DC, Kuwait and Sharjah, received many buyers from around the world but Butt didn’t entertain any of them. 

The Express Tribune speaks to the artist at his Islamabad residence to unearth the reason behind why he refuses to sell this particular piece.

Displayed on the wall of his drawing room, the painting contains about 1,000 ayats from the Quran, intricately painted in black ink around a gigantic, rendered in gold, Allah. It was when his search for a single book with all the verses mentioning Allah’s names went in vain that he decided to compile the around 1,000 ayats from the Quran containing Allah’s names in the form of a painting.

Read: Mystic exploration: ‘I am’ — an artist’s journey

It was a challenge to fit one thousand ayats together on a limited size paper but he managed. None of the verses look congested, hurried or overwritten.



“I display the work so I can see how people will receive it but my heart disallows me to sell it. This is because ever since I completed it in 2004, I have been receiving countless blessings in my life. In fact, I have been living a state of euphoria ever since,” said Butt.

The artist does not just paint Quranic texts but also studies verse meanings in great depth. The teachings are something that he tries to incorporate in his personal life.

“I talk to God constantly and he gives me answers to my queries. I believe it is impossible that God will not respond to your queries through signs and symbols,” says the artist.

Read: Award winning artist: Artworks depict rich culture, everyday life

When asked what kind of blessings he has received, he says he enjoys paramount health even at 71 years of age and lives free from anxieties.

“I live in the moment – in fact I live in the thousandth division of a single moment where there is only bliss. This is because everything is decided by him (God), I do my part but I leave the rest to him” says the artist.

Currently, the artist has taken up a project of using his art of calligraphy to beautify and redecorate a famous shrine in the capital city. Curators have approached the artist’s children in hopes of any luck but his children are aware of their father’s wish.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th,  2015.

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