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Pakistan canvases paint a pretty picture
Archana Khare Ghose, TNN Sep 2, 2012, 06.33AM IST
On September 10, when auction house Sotheby's begins the sale of 94 canvases in its Modern and South Asian Contemporary Art auction in New York, the spotlight is expectedly going to be on the usual favourite signatures from India. Sitting on the high table of top five attractions which the auction house has already marked out on its e-catalogue , however, would be a new name. That's Seher Shah, the 37-year-old artist from Pakistan who is based in New York and whose canvas , Jihad Pop, is expected to go for anything between $20,000 and $30,000 (approx. Rs 11.1 lakh to Rs 16.6 lakh). That is not a record-breaking price but what makes it big is the fact that Shah's work shares space with two canvases by M F Husain and one each by Ram Kumar and Jehangir Sabavala all stalwarts of Indian art. That, indeed, is a haloed slot even though most artists scoff at the valuation of their works' worth through auction prices. Besides Shah, other young Pakistanis who figure in Sotheby's auction are Shahzia Sikander, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Muhammad Zeeshan, Aisha Khalid and Mohammed Ali Talpur. Even at the other big auction of the season, to be held by Christie's in New York on September 12, there is a discernible number of young Pakistani artists like Tazeen Qayyum, Shezad Dawood and Ali Kazim to name a few.
This is one of the strongest representations of contemporary art from Pakistan in the South Asian auction circuit in recent times, which is otherwise dominated almost entirely by Indians. Of course, Pakistan has not been without a blip on the art radar all this while. It has earlier been represented by senior masters like A R Chughtai (1894-1975 ), Anwar Jelal Shemza (1928-1985 ), Jamil Naqsh and Ismail Gulgee (1926-2007 ). Even though this sizeable Pakistani presence may not be a sign of a growing market yet, it's interesting that the young artists from the often politically-troubled country are making incisive comments on its contemporary reality through their art, and also finding takers in the western market. Toronto-based Tazeen Qayyum , 39, feels that contemporary artists from Pakistan are brave and poignant in artistic expressions. "They are mostly working on current issues facing their country as well as global issues with a loud voice of conviction . I would like to believe that the work itself is speaking out resulting in growing interest in Pakistani art," she says.
Another 39-year-old Pakistani artist , Nusra Latif Qureshi who is based in Melbourne, says, "A huge portion of art coming out of Pakistan at the moment is highly introspective and critical of the political and social turmoil . The artists are well-informed about the region's political history and their own cities and societies but at the same time are eager to engage with the outer world. Probably, the only serious introspection and reflection on society and politics in Pakistan comes from visual artists these days."
While the art content from Pakistan may be catching attention, artists often face the additional challenge of countering certain set notions about their country thanks to its chequered political history. Most of the artists don't like to comment on the issue, but 33-year-old Lahore-based Ali Kazim, well-known for making a transition from being a billboard painter to studying at the prestigious Slade School of Art, London , is candid when he says, "Yes, people have a set perception about Pakistan which can be annoying at times. We are generally vulnerable to believing what mass media serves us and most often Pakistan makes it to the news for wrong reasons. I hope it will change soon."
That may be a minor irritant for the globe-trotting new generation Pakistani artist who is as much at home at Lahore as he is at New York, Toronto or Melbourne. A bigger concern for them is how they employ their rich cultural heritage to express contemporary realities of not just Pakistan but the general world around them. It's not a surprise, then, that miniature tradition is one of the most popular techniques amongst contemporary Pakistani artists.
For instance, Shahzia Sikander, Qayyum and Qureshi trained as miniaturists at the country's most wellknown art institution, the National College of Arts, Lahore. Sikander, 43, who is based in New York, says, "When I started experimenting with the genre in 1986, hardly anybody was interested. In fact, there was much resistance towards it. But as it was not a popular contemporary form, it provided a challenging platform to engage." Qureshi adds, "This mode of painting lends itself well to political comment as its history is mostly about the depiction of political drama of Mughal era."
This seamless blend of the past and present has resulted in the slow rise of Pakistani art as a distinct entity on the international platform. With some fortuitous turn of events, it may well become the space to watch out for in the future.
Pakistan canvases paint a pretty picture - Times Of India
Archana Khare Ghose, TNN Sep 2, 2012, 06.33AM IST
On September 10, when auction house Sotheby's begins the sale of 94 canvases in its Modern and South Asian Contemporary Art auction in New York, the spotlight is expectedly going to be on the usual favourite signatures from India. Sitting on the high table of top five attractions which the auction house has already marked out on its e-catalogue , however, would be a new name. That's Seher Shah, the 37-year-old artist from Pakistan who is based in New York and whose canvas , Jihad Pop, is expected to go for anything between $20,000 and $30,000 (approx. Rs 11.1 lakh to Rs 16.6 lakh). That is not a record-breaking price but what makes it big is the fact that Shah's work shares space with two canvases by M F Husain and one each by Ram Kumar and Jehangir Sabavala all stalwarts of Indian art. That, indeed, is a haloed slot even though most artists scoff at the valuation of their works' worth through auction prices. Besides Shah, other young Pakistanis who figure in Sotheby's auction are Shahzia Sikander, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Muhammad Zeeshan, Aisha Khalid and Mohammed Ali Talpur. Even at the other big auction of the season, to be held by Christie's in New York on September 12, there is a discernible number of young Pakistani artists like Tazeen Qayyum, Shezad Dawood and Ali Kazim to name a few.
This is one of the strongest representations of contemporary art from Pakistan in the South Asian auction circuit in recent times, which is otherwise dominated almost entirely by Indians. Of course, Pakistan has not been without a blip on the art radar all this while. It has earlier been represented by senior masters like A R Chughtai (1894-1975 ), Anwar Jelal Shemza (1928-1985 ), Jamil Naqsh and Ismail Gulgee (1926-2007 ). Even though this sizeable Pakistani presence may not be a sign of a growing market yet, it's interesting that the young artists from the often politically-troubled country are making incisive comments on its contemporary reality through their art, and also finding takers in the western market. Toronto-based Tazeen Qayyum , 39, feels that contemporary artists from Pakistan are brave and poignant in artistic expressions. "They are mostly working on current issues facing their country as well as global issues with a loud voice of conviction . I would like to believe that the work itself is speaking out resulting in growing interest in Pakistani art," she says.
Another 39-year-old Pakistani artist , Nusra Latif Qureshi who is based in Melbourne, says, "A huge portion of art coming out of Pakistan at the moment is highly introspective and critical of the political and social turmoil . The artists are well-informed about the region's political history and their own cities and societies but at the same time are eager to engage with the outer world. Probably, the only serious introspection and reflection on society and politics in Pakistan comes from visual artists these days."
While the art content from Pakistan may be catching attention, artists often face the additional challenge of countering certain set notions about their country thanks to its chequered political history. Most of the artists don't like to comment on the issue, but 33-year-old Lahore-based Ali Kazim, well-known for making a transition from being a billboard painter to studying at the prestigious Slade School of Art, London , is candid when he says, "Yes, people have a set perception about Pakistan which can be annoying at times. We are generally vulnerable to believing what mass media serves us and most often Pakistan makes it to the news for wrong reasons. I hope it will change soon."
That may be a minor irritant for the globe-trotting new generation Pakistani artist who is as much at home at Lahore as he is at New York, Toronto or Melbourne. A bigger concern for them is how they employ their rich cultural heritage to express contemporary realities of not just Pakistan but the general world around them. It's not a surprise, then, that miniature tradition is one of the most popular techniques amongst contemporary Pakistani artists.
For instance, Shahzia Sikander, Qayyum and Qureshi trained as miniaturists at the country's most wellknown art institution, the National College of Arts, Lahore. Sikander, 43, who is based in New York, says, "When I started experimenting with the genre in 1986, hardly anybody was interested. In fact, there was much resistance towards it. But as it was not a popular contemporary form, it provided a challenging platform to engage." Qureshi adds, "This mode of painting lends itself well to political comment as its history is mostly about the depiction of political drama of Mughal era."
This seamless blend of the past and present has resulted in the slow rise of Pakistani art as a distinct entity on the international platform. With some fortuitous turn of events, it may well become the space to watch out for in the future.
Pakistan canvases paint a pretty picture - Times Of India
