Picasso in Pakistan at Gandhara-art Space

Dec 24 - Feb 2, 2013

For the first time in Pakistan, 13 works of Picasso on exhibition at the Gandhara art Space in Krachi.



“Abstract art is only painting. And what’s so dramatic about that? There is no abstract art. One must always begin with something. Afterwards one can remove all semblance of reality; there is no longer any danger as the idea of the object has left an indelible imprint. It is the object which aroused the artist, stimulated his ideas and set of his emotions. These ideas and emotions will be imprisoned in his work for good... Whether he wants it or not, man is the instrument of nature; she imposes on him character and appearance. In my paintings of Dinard, as in my paintings of Purville, I have given expression to more or less the same vision... You cannot go against nature. She is stronger than the strongest of men. We can permit ourselves some liberties, but in details only.” – Pablo Picasso

Boisgeloup, Winter 1934, Quoted in Letters of the great artists – from Blake to Pollock -, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London, 1963, pp. 256-257 (translation Daphne Woodward)

Pakistan Art Exhibition at Tufts

Illuminated Geographies: Pakistani Miniaturist Practice in the Wake of the Global Turn January 17 - March 31 Tisch Gallery Featuring new works by Ambreen Butt, Faiza Butt, Murad Khan Mumtaz, and Saira Wasim. Guest curated by Justine Ludwig, adjunct curator Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. The practice of Mughal miniature painting originated during the 16th century in the Mughal Empire, which spanned what is now India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. This art form was marked by a meticulous attention to minute detail, lush jewel tones, epic subject matter, and diminutive scale. As the Mughal Empire fell into decline, so did this style. Today we are experiencing a renaissance in this mode of artistic expression, due, in large part, to the National College of Art in Lahore, Pakistan (NCA), which since the 1980s has taught this traditional practice of wasli paper- and brush-making techniques, paint mixing, narrative style, and iconography. Two generations of artists have now studied at the NCA and have revived this practice as a relevant contemporary art form by infusing it with their individual visions and contemporary subject matter. Illuminated Geographies explores how Pakistani miniaturist painting is evolving as it enters into new contexts and how its stylistic foundation is being adapted through four very different artistic visions. This exhibition focuses on four artists trained at the NCA now living outside of Pakistan who are pushing the boundaries of miniaturist practice in different directions. New works by these four artists -- Ambreen Butt, Faiza Butt, Murad Khan Mumtaz, and Saira Wasim -- all deal with themes of cultural hybridity as the artists address the political, social, and cultural realities of both Pakistan and their present locations. Saira Wasim, for example, critiques American politics in the visual language of political cartoons, while Faiza Butt addresses the representation of Muslim men in the London media and the aesthetic qualities of the Urdu and English languages. Through beauty these artists ask difficult question and confront us with the realities of the world we live in. This exhibition has been guest curated by Justine Ludwig, adjunct curator at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. A 168-page multi-authored publication will be co-published in February 2013 by the Tufts University Art Gallery and The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, which organized Realms of Intimacy: Miniaturist Practice from Pakistan (on view September 2011 to January 2012; featuring Ambreen Butt, Faiza Butt, Imran Qureshi, Nusra Qureshi, and Saira Wasim). It will also feature 18 contemporary artists trained at the NCA working internationally.

Ambreen Butt          Faiza Butt          Saira Wasim         Murad Khan Mumtaz

 

Aisha Khalid Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester - Video

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Zarina: Paper Like Skin is the first retrospective of the Indian-born American artist Zarina Hashmi

Zarina: Paper Like Skin is the first retrospective of the Indian-born American artist Zarina, featuring approximately 60 works dating from 1961 to the present. Paper is central to Zarina’s practice, both as a surface to print on and as a material with its own properties and history. Works in the exhibition include woodcuts as well as three-dimensional casts in paper pulp. Zarina’s vocabulary is minimal yet rich in associations with her life and the themes of displacement and exile. The concept of home—whether personal, geographic, national, spiritual, or familial—resonates throughout her oeuvre. Organized by Allegra Pesenti, curator, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts.

“Paper Like Skin reveals the breadth of Zarina’s vision and the versatility of her practice,” explains Hammer director Ann Philbin. “It joins a series of survey exhibitions organized by the Hammer that highlight important but under recognized female artists such as Lee Bontecou and most recently Alina Szapocznikow. The presentation of Zarina’s work also emphasizes the museum’s commitment to the study and collection of works on paper through its Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts.”

 

Zarina Hashmi , who prefers to be referred to simply by her first name, was born in Aligarh, India, in 1937. After receiving a degree in mathematics, she married a diplomat in 1958 and spent several years living in foreign countries including Thailand, France, and Germany. Though she had planned to train as an architect, she instead explored woodblock printing in Bangkok and pursued her studies in printmaking with S. W. Hayter at Atelier-17 in Paris, and later in Tokyo. In 1975 Zarina moved to the United States, settling first in Los Angeles and then in New York City where she has lived ever since. She came into contact with artistic movements prevalent there in the 1970s, including minimalism, conceptualism, and process art. At this time, Zarina also began to explore the versatility of paper as an art medium, including its sculptural properties, and it has remained the artist’s primary material. Zarina has participated in numerous exhibitions, including most recently Mind and Matter: Alternative Abstractions from 1940s to Present at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gouge: The Modern Woodcut at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles and WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, a traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The artist is based in New York.

Doris Duke's Shangri La: Shahzia Sikander - Video

 

Art Radar Journal - Govett-Brewster brings South Asian art to New Zealand audiences: “Sub-Topical Heat” picture feast

 

November 28, 2012

New Zealand’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery recently concluded its fifth show in an exhibition series on contemporary Asian art.

“Sub-Topical Heat: New Art from South Asia” closed on 4 November 2012 at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Zealand. Nine South Asian artists showcased their artworks, a selection that included artist books, drawings, installations, miniature paintings, sculptures, photography, photo-media and video art.

Installation view of Gigi Scaria artworks in Govett-Brewster Gallery. Image courtesy Govett-Brewster Gallery.

“Sub-Topical Heat”: Regional concerns

“Sub-Topical Heat: New Art from South Asia” forms part of a series of contemporary Asian art exhibitions held at the Govett-Brewster in Taranaki, a city on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. As Director Rhana Devenport explained in an email interview with Art Radar, ....... read more

 

Imran Qureshi, ‘Threatened’, 2010, Gouache on wasli paper.