A tribute to Sadequain

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Some of the artworks displayed at the exhibition.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star
Some of the artworks displayed at the exhibition.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star

KARACHI: Sadequain was one of those first Pakistani artists whose works began to be recognised and acknowledged all over the globe. He was in a league of his own as his creative frenzy was, and still is, admired by art lovers and practitioners in equal measure.

To commemorate the master painter’s 39th death anniversary (Feb 10), the Arts Council of Pakistan’s Fine Art Committee has organised an exhibition at its Ahmed Parvez Gallery carrying more than two dozen artworks made by the council’s alumni and other prominent artists of the country. The show concludes on Tuesday.

Some of the artworks displayed at the exhibition.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star
Some of the artworks displayed at the exhibition.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star

Even a cursory look at the exhibits on view will tell the viewer how diligently, and with all their heart and soul, the creative men and women have worked to pay homage to Sadequain.

Some of the paintings contain his ‘cactus’ theme and some have the flourish with which he used to paint and draw. But there’s also a piece (acrylic on canvas) which has remarkable individuality without losing out on the subject of the exhibition. It’s a painting which deals with piscine and human figures, dividing the two in a way that their separateness gives the feeling of a merger. Extremely engaging.

The exhibition, curated by Chairman of the Fine Art Committee, Farrukh Shahab, has works of the following artists on display: Masood A Khan, A.S. Rind, Moeen Faruqi, Tanweer Farooqi, Khalid Khan, G N Qazi, Munawer Ali Syed, Fahim Rao, Arif Hussain, Imran Zaib, S M Raza, Mohammad Kashif, Shamsuddin, Qasim Bugti, Umaina Khan, Zeenat Khan, Aakash Jivraj, Kiran Aslam, Zoya Abbas, Asim Naqvi and Sohaina Elia.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2026

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