August 3, 2002

The show titled Roll Call at Karachi’s VM Gallery is a substantial collective that needs to be savoured at length and should be taken in small bites. An open file of the Karachi School of Art clan, the show is a befitting tribute to the Zuberi sisters, and an institution which has nurtured successive generations of young artists. The Zuberis performed the pioneering task of establishing an art school in an indifferent climate of the 1960s when, as Rabia Zuberi remarks, “only a small minority of people understood the language and perspective of art.”

In 1964, when KSA was founded, structured art education was available only in Lahore at the Punjab University and National College of Art. Karachi did not boast of any education centre offering academic degrees in the arts. Consequently, there was a marked dearth of artists who could take on art related jobs in the developing design and advertising sector. In the last forty years KSA has produced a significant crop of graduates, most of whom have filled this vacuum to some extent. Those comprising the cream have made a name for themselves as painters, sculptors, designers, teachers, curators, etc.

Roll Call evolved as curator Riffat Alvi stepped back in time to indulge in fond memories of her own learning experience at KSA. Aiming for a quality show, she undertook rigorous short listing of graduates with essential focus on highlighting those “who are and have been active artists - working, exhibiting, experimenting.” The final collection was a body of hundred works including 16 sculptures, 12 prints and 70 paintings by 54 artists.

Since one is generally familiar with the oeuvres of the senior artists, one found the fresh expression of young talent much more exciting. Young Rehma Iqbal’s life size Tree of Life in the gallery foyer is hard to miss. Welded metal sculpture constructed out of scrap iron, it has a host of birds landing on its bare branches. Not only has Iqbal made clever use of junk metal but has managed to bring the inert tree to life with the flutter of birds.

Nargis Kazmi has welded a mammoth eye in scrap metal which was quite intriguing. Greeting the visitor at the entrance, Sakina Zaidi’s deep red sculpture woven in jute fibre hung like an effigy in a caged frame, giving the impression of a trapped soul yearning for flight. Stepping indoors, one was confronted with yet another life size sculpture in fibre glass by Amir Khan, who has been able to express the body language of a destitute in a state of agony.

In marked contrast to these “worked pieces” is Anjum Ayaz’s effortless sweep. His Sunbathing Beauty’s poetic repose is a marble meltdown of contours into fluid grace. Seldom does one see glass as a sculpture medium and Salma Farooqi’s Skyscrapers is a delightfully abstract mix of vertical glass shards, metal wires and spirals assembled into a scraper image which glows and beams in the window light.

Bol Meri Machhli Kitna Pani is a fun piece that needs to be enjoyed in the spirit in which it was made. Artist Shariq, basically taking inspiration from rudimentary truck art imagery, has refined his aesthetics to a painterly level and bolstered the imagery with conceptual content.

Among other young artists with creative potential at the VM show, Danish Raza has a cerebral approach. Defining his work with complex textual messages, organic imagery and mixed metaphors, it reminds one of a poet/artist William Blake’s sketches. Naheed Afridi is frank, feminine and romantic. Shazly does fantasy art with amazing candour. Babar Mughal based his thesis on the music of Pink Floyd and continues to find inspiration from the group; A.Q. Arif’s watercolours are progressing towards semi-abstraction. One expects more from Shazia Qureshi whose initial solo was very promising.

Along with painters, sculptors, designers and graphic artists, KSA has spawned a large fraternity of Karachi watercolourists, who specialize in painting the fish harbour and dockyards, Karachi’s architectural heritage, slum areas and green belts in Malir and Memon Goth. Artists displaying these themes were Abdul Hayee, Pirzada Najam, Hanif Shahzad and Athar Jamal. Moazzam Ali, however, is veering between figurative and semi-abstract styles and had a popular solo recently. Energetic forceful brushwork typified (late) Zaheen Ahmad’s abstract watercolours. Ghalib Baqar, another abstractionist, softens his thrust with lighter colours. Artist Shamim Khan takes inspiration from the wash technique and Oriental stylization of Hajra Zuberi.

An intricately detailed Mughal miniature by artist Zawar Hussain brought diversity to this contemporary art show. Faran Qureshi has rendered a semi-abstract calligraphy for the show but his specialty is figure painting with emphasis on creating very realistic special effects. No KSA roll call can be complete without the established seniors whose standing has enriched and rooted the KSA image. Lubna Agha’s painting on display belonged to her earlier period when she had just emerged as a serious artist. Critics may chide talented artists like Mashkoor Raza, Tariq Javed and Mohammed Kazim for repetitiveness, but their work is in demand and they continue to be prolific painters.

Hafiz Khan, who was Lubna’s friendly competitor for top honours during their student days also had his work on display. He branched out into television as a designer and now has a flourishing furniture business. Riffat Alvi’s latest work in which porcelain and terra cotta bird/dove figurines are incorporated within her mud paintings relate to the theme of global peace.

A quantum display becomes easier to assimilate and enjoy if one tracks it sequentially either segmenting it into a display of various mediums, a thematic or stylistic division or a chronological breakdown. However, reading a picture/artwork is a stimulating experience; it sharpens one’s appreciation levels and makes the visit to a gallery worth its while.