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Recreating Rembrandt: A new dimension of Pakistani art

Recreating Rembrandt: A new dimension of Pakistani art

Irfan Hasan pays homage to neo-classical masters by giving a personal, highly imaginative interpretation to their work.
24 Oct, 2015

It has only been a few years since I was introduced to Pakistani art in the United States. In my quest to learn more, I have attended exhibitions of Pakistani masters such as Sadequain and Gul Gee and contemporary artists such as Imran Qureshi and Rashid Rana.

In addition, I have hosted some artists at my apartment in New York. One of them was the young, talented Irfan Hasan, who was in America’s art capital to attend the opening of a show of his work.

It was being showcased in a group exhibition entitled “Ethereal”, curated by the eminent art curator, Dr. Amin Jaffer, at the Leila Heller Gallery in the Chelsea section of New York City, which is home to many prominent art galleries.

On the same block, one gallery was showing the work of the great British artist David Hockney and in another, Pablo Picasso’s work was on sale. This was not a rare occurrence for Hasan.

During the past year there have been three exhibitions of his work in Europe and the United States, including a solo show of his work at the Grosvenor Gallery in London, which opened this month. His work continues to receive critical appreciation and public attention.

Hasan is a flag bearer of the centuries-old tradition of miniature painting, notable for the exquisite work produced by the delicate brushes of artists in the courts of the Persian and Mughal Empires.

A revival of the techniques of miniature painting began around the turn of the 21st century in the work of the Lahore-born Shazia Sikander who spearheaded the movement and inspired many young artists to follow in her footsteps. One of the most successful is Irfan Hasan.

Irfan Hasan at work. —Zaheer Abbas
Irfan Hasan at work. —Zaheer Abbas

He graduated with distinction from the National College of Art (NCA) and introduced a new dimension to this style by drawing on the figurative work of old classics of Western art, while portraying them in the opaque watercolor painting method from Persian art, known as GudRung.

When he was in New York recently, I had the opportunity to learn more about Hasan.

During a lively discussion at the dinner table, he mentioned playing truant from school to go to old book markets in Karachi where he spent hours copying Western artists to acquire his draftsmanship. This experience left a deep impression on his young mind; he is still inspired by art of the classical Western era and its figurative works focusing on human beauty. This inspiration is shown in his paintings time and again.

From Irfan Hasan's current exhibition in London.
From Irfan Hasan's current exhibition in London.

In his series of paintings, “After”, his subjects are figures from the work of Western renaissance and neo-classical artists such as Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, William Adolphe Bouguereau and Anthony Van Dyck, among others. He pays homage to these masters by giving a personal, highly imaginative interpretation to their work.

From Irfan Hasan's current exhibition in London.
From Irfan Hasan's current exhibition in London.

Cultural comparison is the usual topic of conversation for visitors from Asia to New York. For that reason, it was natural for Hasan to talk about cultural and social taboos of the East.

He has brought up these themes frequently in his work. For instance, Hasan is not shy of showing human flesh, power, dramatic emotions, and aggressive masculinity along with signs of love, beauty, passion, eroticism and death in the same piece of art.

In doing so, he has mastered the art of juxtaposing traditional motifs and contemporary ideas to bridge the gap between the stylistic differences of Eastern and Western art.

Works from Irfan Hasan's current exhibition in London.
Works from Irfan Hasan's current exhibition in London.

To his credit he did not use terrorism and radical Islam to sell his work in the international art market, especially when most of his patronage comes from the West where violence is a successful selling strategy for many contemporary Pakistani artists.

His work is a window into a new era of fusion art which is not bound by certain styles, culture and time.

Ironically, even as Hasan is trying hard to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western art; he is not able to attend his own solo in London. He was denied a visa by the British High Commission in Pakistan. Thus an opportunity was lost for cultural exchange between the two countries.

I remember during his stay in New York last year how well he interacted with and inspired Americans with an interest in art. Cultural ambassadors like Hasan help bring people of two civilizations closer together.

The author (extreme right) poses for a photograph with guests in front of Irfan's work.
The author (extreme right) poses for a photograph with guests in front of Irfan's work.

I have visited the Islamic art galleries of major art museums such as Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, Art Institute Chicago and National Gallery, Washington DC and they have acquired, preserved and displayed mostly traditional Islamic art and artifacts of calligraphy, traditional miniature, pottery and jewelry.

The Agha Khan Museum in Toronto is one of few that provides a place for contemporary art from the Muslim world. Artists like Hasan and Sikander are doing an important job by providing public opportunities to share a new dimension of art from Pakistan.

Unfortunately, these artists are more known internationally than in Pakistan because of a limited number of galleries and museums in the country.

Hasan gave me several of his beautiful prints which now hang in the living room of my apartment. Not only do they give me immense pleasure but I proudly show them to my guests. It also gives me an opportunity to talk about the increasing number of very talented young artists emerging from Pakistan, who are leaving their mark on the global art scene.

Comments

dawn Oct 24, 2015 05:33pm
Great work.
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S. Haider Oct 24, 2015 05:34pm
An interesting report with excellent photos. Thank you. I wish, they would have included more photos, so that the reader gains some insight in the quality and technique of the artist Irfan Hassan.
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Art Oct 24, 2015 08:52pm
Beautiful work. Thank you for putting Pakistan on art map of the world. Why Irfan Hasan does not work in traditional miniature style of romantic love scenes ? I would like to see that.
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Parveen Oct 24, 2015 10:09pm
Very well written article.The artists like Hasan are a national treasure who should be revered.They need encouragement and support.Unfortunately in Pakistan,Art has not flourished because of the Taliban fear. I hope that Hasan brings his show through Asia society to other large cities,so that we can see and appreciate it. Your article is a good start in this direction.
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Salman Oct 24, 2015 10:15pm
I know Irfan for past many years. He has grown into a mature artists working in his unique Genre. It's hard to make a name in international market. Good luck. I wish author have provided more photos of his symbolic work. With more photos it would have been easy to understand work.
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naz Oct 25, 2015 06:55am
it was a breath of fresh air to read and see the art work,wish to know and see more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Akteruzzaman Chowdhury Oct 25, 2015 07:04pm
He has captured the emotion in the Rembrandt faces. Will be interesting to see the placing in the Rembrandt masterpieces.
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BRR Oct 25, 2015 09:02pm
Good art does not need to bridge anything, but the distance between the viewer and the artefact. The artists seems to be attempting too much, if he is all about bridging East and West or whatever.
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M Nafees nagy Oct 26, 2015 05:22am
Like to see his works & perhaps buy some. But how & where to contact irfan
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Jay Oct 26, 2015 11:08am
@M Nafees nagy You can contact him through his Facebook page - Studio Irfan Hassan.
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