Experimentation is a fertile territory for Masood Kohari because as an artist he is interested in ideas and practices that defy categorisation. One advantage of occupying this indeterminate cusp is the freedom and flexibility it brings to his art.

The current VM Gallery, Karachi, show of ‘Glass reliefs and sculptures’ underscores Kohari’s innovative spirit and considerable ability to express through the unusual but hugely exciting medium of glass. Accomplished in the art of figurative drawing and painting Kohari is essentially a Modernist Master of the old guard who at heart remains an abstractionist. In a Postmodern artscape, painting is no longer a protected territory and painters are no longer only in dialogue within the framework of their own tradition.

The artist’s opaque tiles and transparent panels and sculptures imbued with abstract markings have painterly origins but their expression through the dynamics of ceramics and glass art has given them another life altogether. Variously termed as crystal collages and fire paintings the strikingly vibrant or mellow hued pieces are mixed media creations in clay and glass.

Aesthetic expression in glass has been intermittent through the ages and the studio-glass movement only took root in the 1870s, when French designer Emile Galle made a radical change in the prevailing attitude toward his medium by being the first modern glass artist to sign his individual creations, just as painters and sculptors did. Today glass is an integral part of the international art world and glass artists' ongoing explorations of new forms, combinations of materials and ideas promise an exciting future.

Appearing as luminous tablets of frozen ice the glowing relief panels at VM, exhibited on platforms were mounted on custom-made wrought iron stands which held the glass securely. Keeping in mind that glass needs light to realise its brilliance the plates were subtly lit from behind by a set of tiny energy saver bulbs.

Beyond the incandescent effect the panels piqued viewer imagination with their unorthodox content and technical complexities. Metallic copper wires, fragments of steel netting, crystals, crushed glass, air bubbles and irregular chromatic delineations, spreads and patches were just some of the elements that Kohari had used to create tactile and visual sensations in his wildly abstract compositions. Emphasising that “non-formula and non-technique keeps me away from the already conceived and established methods” Kohari seizes the creative moment to indulge in spontaneous production. Meaningful construction from such creative spells is only possible if an artist has a wealth of skills, experience and knowledge at his command.

A practising artist since the early 1960s Kohari, a self-confessed “nomad by birth and by nature”, has lived and worked in several countries where new aesthetic encounters have greatly augmented and consolidated his oeuvre. Other than drawing and painting, smitten by clay, the artist has experimented extensively with ceramics.

In Gujranwala he was inspired by local potters who led him to use discarded material like car batteries, broken bottles, window glass and metallic trivia to make glazes and colours. With them he baked ceramic objects in simple wood fires. Fire is used to bind and hold the material together for ceramics and glass, just as oil is the binding medium for an oil painting. This prompted the name ‘Fire Paintings’. His ceramic collages involve the same firing process but carry different materials such as metal and glass pieces.

A recipient of many awards veteran Kohari now divides his time between France and Pakistan. It was in the technically well-equipped studios in Europe where he simplified his ceramic collages and fire paintings by eliminating clay as a base. His new pieces with softer, saturated hues now consist of glaze, glass and metal only.

An alchemist who devises his own techniques Kohari nonetheless draws inspiration from new developments. Currently fused art glass is enjoying immense popularity in the West. It is created by stacking thin sheets of glass and fusing them together in a kiln 1100 to 1500 degrees hot. The heat is gradually decreased to anneal the glass for strength and durability.

Glass fusion has historically been very difficult to achieve with multiple hues, as different colours of glass have different rates of heating and cooling, and will crack if placed side by side. Often fused panels also have at least two and sometimes up to four firings in the kiln. Most panels are painted after the initial firing of the coloured glass, which calls for a second firing to permanently fix the pigment into the glass.

The second segment of the show comprised tile paintings/ceramic collages encased in wooden frames. It is in this body of work that Kohari the abstractionist surfaces to superb effect. Brilliant hued and boldly executed the collage medley references avant-garde giants like Kadinsky, Miro, Chagall and Van Gogh in spirit. The works exude an air of completeness and maturity giving the impression that the artist has reached his peak here — however, the magic is still evolving in the radiant glass panels where his best is yet to come.