The history of Pakistani art is studded with iconic names. But these names seldom get the recognition that they deserve. It has become imperative to take their presence beyond the odd history book and bring it to a permanent place where their works can be viewed, studied and celebrated for years to come. It is in this context that the inauguration of the new space for the Jamil Naqsh Museum in Karachi, which opened last week, is of great significance for the art community.

Sobia Naqsh, the curator of the museum, addressing a big gathering of friends and enthusiasts at the opening ceremony, said, “Jamil Naqsh Museum was first inaugurated in February 1999 to honour and commemorate a living legend. It was proof of love and respect of his admirers and friends that it started from a small space on Sharea-Faisal and has expanded to this beautiful and purpose-built space designed by Cezanne Naqsh.”

Senator Atizaz Ahsan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, congratulated the museum’s team. He also gave his own impressions on the works of Naqsh, highlighting the recurrent images of the woman and the pigeon and their message of peace. This view, an outside perspective from someone who claimed to have an untrained eye, was refreshing because it provided an interesting and insightful reading of the artist’s oeuvre. He went on to highlight the importance of art and the appreciation of aesthetics in distinguishing man from beast, and civilised societies from uncivilised ones.

Artist Mona Naqsh, daughter of Jamil Naqsh, during another conversation, spoke of the significance of such a space, as both private and public art museums are a rarity in the country. She said it gives budding artists the opportunity to view and study some historic works.

The relocated Jamil Naqsh Museum is a tribute to the prolific artist, enabling visitors to understand his creative trajectory

On display at the museum are hundreds of paintings made by Naqsh, opening with a section featuring works from the 1960s to the start of the 2000s, intelligently divided into separate areas for his figurative works, miniatures, calligraphy and pigeons. Some of the works on view have never been viewed in Pakistan before, and the curatorial team must be commended for its bold choice of displays that reflect the true essence of the artist’s practice.

Naqsh’s artistic legacy is rooted in his respect for tradition, which helped shape his visual vocabulary. Eminent art critic Marjorie Husain writes in one of her essays, “While his peers explored Western art forms, Naqsh was committed to the study of his own aesthetic legacy. He was determined to understand and absorb the spirit of his roots in order to study modern art movements from a position of strength.” Husain adds, even his iconic imagery of the pigeon pays tribute to his childhood where “windows were always wide open in the house and birds flew in and out.” He began to associate them with art and poetry, something he was immersed in at the time.

Yet, his work is part of a modernist sensibility that is free of pretension; it is at once about nothing and about everything. While his characters are symbols from a bygone era that speak of love, peace, spirituality, sensuality and nurturing, his foremost concerns are with the act of painting itself. The artist is quoted to have said, “I have no story to tell, no symphony to play, no poem to recite… If you must find a plot or a story, music or metre, then you should find them in my treatment of colour, texture, form and composition.”

The museum is a tribute to the prolific artist enabling visitors to chart the evolution of a legend and to honour him through it. Such spaces are much needed in the Pakistani art landscape so that the next generation can acquaint themselves with, and be inspired by, our masters.

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 24th, 2017