Recently it came as a pleasant surprise for many art lovers when they heard that distinguished Pakistani artist (who now lives in France) Masood Kohari would exhibit his work at Karachi’s Citi Art Gallery from March 21 to March 28. As a result they thronged to the gallery to see his a little more than 20 paintings. They found the experience worth remembering.

Kohari is not just a master painter but also an eminent sculptor and ceramist. However, this time round he had only put on display his oil-on-canvas work. The subjects of the exhibits ranged from personal issues to societal shortcomings. The traditional use of birds, crows in particular, and their association with man appeared to be a subject which he often explored.

In one painting human figures are seen feeding the birds. In another, the concept of a scarecrow is touched on in an eye-catching way. The remarkable thing about these paintings is the use of the black and grey shades. The artist has created an effect which highlights the aesthetics involved in the interdependence of man and other creatures. Most of all, what the viewer ends up appreciating is not the comment that Kohari is trying to make, but his art. It is the beautiful strokes nicely gelling with the intelligently used colours which capture the attention of the viewer.

Then, as is the case with almost every artist, faces and the faces behind them, that is, the concept of ‘masks’ with respect to human relationships is handled in a very powerful manner. Again, it’s the not-so-heavy strokes and not-so-loud colours that do the trick for him. The thing to notice is that these masks are not devoid of feelings. They have their own, distinct moods and mannerisms which the viewer has to guess about.

It is testimony to his immense talent that Kohari had his first exhibition when he was only 25 (he was born in Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1937) and immediately attracted attention of art buffs. Like most self-taught artists, he did not dabble in only one genre of art. He diversified his skill as time passed by. This diversification was not a conscious endeavour: he is an artist who likes to express himself through the expression that he feels suits his purpose the most. Hence, the sculpting, the ceramic-making and the painting.

There is no surprise that while as an emerging artist in Pakistan, Kohari rubbed shoulders with the likes of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and artist (and mentor to many) Shakir Ali. This had a profound effect on him as well as on his work. The sense of purposefulness in his art has a background. He does not merely paint or sculpt. He does so to propagate his ideas, albeit with aesthetic flair. And this was clearly evident from the exhibition.