September 27, 2003

Shades of Autumn, bright hues of summer, vibrant tones of spring and subtle undertones of winter, all the moods of the seasons can be found in Shakeel Ismail’s works in metal and semi-precious stones. He ingeniously twists, carves and weaves natural mediums into works of art. Wall hangings, pedestal stands and bejewelled bronze artefacts, all are a delight to behold.

Using bronze as his main medium, he treats his pieces in several ways to give them many shades of copper, silver and gold by plating and ‘electroforming’. His jewellry has the glamour of ancient Egypt mixed with the affluence of Arabic designs. Semi-precious stones encrusted in bronze are expertly crafted into bracelets, earrings, necklaces and talisman type chokers that are outstandingly unique.

Starting in 1979 at the Art’s Council, Shakeel was awarded a four-year diploma in 1983. Since then his various exhibitions have put him in the front line of metal art. His recent exhibition at Karachi’s Chowkandi Art Gallery was his first since his last one in Lahore almost two years ago. The pieces were once again a beauty to behold and own.

His calligraphic works in silver, copper and gold-finished tones adorned the walls of the gallery and many had already been sold. Not surprisingly though. Well known verses, names of Allah and plates with “Mohammed” and “Ali” written in many different types of scripts were displayed. The jewellry was silver or gold plated with Aqeeq, different colours of Topaz, Amethysts, Aquamarine and coloured glass from Germany. The pendants and chokars were threaded in black silk ‘doris’ or wires.

The calligraphic works were in old Kufic, Nastaliq, and in his own style. Some of the noteworthy pieces were ‘Allah Hoo’ woven with bronze wires, silver plated and blue glass. ‘Ali’ in chemically oxidized semi precious stones, the names of the ‘Panjtan’ and a Surah Rehman spiral tree done in Nastaliq with to etching and copper casting were intricately designed. A beautifully worked ‘Bismillah’ with bronze casting using acrylic colours was silver plated for a most graceful effect. Acrylic colours were used in several pieces to give the finished pieces a look of ‘Meena kari’.

Geometrically crafted pieces were also worked in many woven and coiled patterns. Plaques in coloured glass, roughly cut quartz, turquoise and amethyst were worthy of a second look and maybe an adornment for the home. The jewel pieces were subtle yet eye-catching enough to be worn casually or for more formal occasions.

Shakeel’s work seems mostly inspired from Middle-Eastern, Arabic and local Islamic art. He is also the recipient of the Sadequain Award. He originally started with calligraphy with oil on canvas as his medium and then began to experiment with different metals and treatments. He is somewhat proud of the fact that he has brought the ‘taweez’ (talisman) back in vogue by making it an item of jewellry. The exhibition was held from September 9-17, and was his 28th exhibition including several group and solo ones in Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Dubai, Jeddah and Ohio, USA.