Confronting me on my computer screen is a regal-looking gentleman with a finely lined face, an aristocratic salt-and-pepper moustache, sitting in solitude, clutching his pigeons much like another famous artist Henri Matisse. He gives the impression of a man born into royalty, not one who has had to strive for recognition, but Jamil Naqsh’s story, like many others, started with a struggle. The now ‘modern-master’ of Pakistani art did have trouble getting the late Shakir Ali, artist and vice-principal of the National College of Arts in Pakistan, to mentor him. Twice rejected, Naqsh got through when he convinced the principal he wanted to study miniatures and trained under Ustad Sharif, but eventually quit before his finals. “I’d rather be known as (his) student than the schools’. In fact whenever I made miniatures, I never signed my name, rather, ‘student of Ustad Sharif’.”

Naqsh didn’t always fancy himself an artist despite his innate understanding of the form and nature of art which lends his works an obvious sense of romance. Relying on memory, he develops themes like pigeons, which are recurrent in his works. Manifestations of his childhood remembrances, these pigeons dawdling in his courtyard and flying blithe through his ancestral home, become a symbol of domestic harmony when combined with the female figure. Memory forms the crux of his works. “When you look at the subject you preserve its image in your mind… which could last with you for a second, a minute, an hour or even as long as 10 years. It’s a psychological condition. Lots of artists are compelled to have the subject before their eyes while they paint. For me seeing the subject once is enough to preserve it in my mind.”

Having paid tribute to Marino Marini a decade ago, Jamil Naqsh is now paying homage to another virtuoso he admires with Homage to Picasso, showcased at Nitanjali Art Gallery, New Delhi. The sketches created as a tribute to the Andalusian artist are reminiscent of his cubist phase. The pencil sketches employ similar symbols and techniques actually recalling works like Guernica and The Portrait of Igor Stravinsky. His canvases devoid of clutter, constantly re-imagine and reunite his favourite figures and focus on the distribution of form making everything else peripheral. Even colour becomes an illusion, just a way of expressing a feeling visually.

The homage then becomes not just one of technique but also of kindred spirits. “I admired his courage and freedom. My work does not directly relate to Picasso, rather to say it is connected to his spirit.” And there seems to exist a brotherhood of artistic spirits. As it turns out Naqsh did eventually gain Shakir Ali’s respect. When the latter was painting at Al-Imam’s gallery, a lady walked up to him with one of Naqsh’s paintings. On seeing his work Ali stopped, stared and eventually broke his brush vowing never to paint again. In time he gifted Naqsh one of his works and Naqsh returned the favour converting his house into a museum. Perhaps it won’t be long before someone does the same for him.

Joan of Art
Farah Siddiqui champions the cause of South Asian art in Mumbai

South Asian artists have never had it so good. Farah Siddiqui Contemporary Art (FSCA) a gallery nestled in Colaba, Mumbai’s art hub, is the latest to join a retinue of spaces which cater to them. Spearheading this gallery is Farah Siddiqui an art savant, for whom founding a gallery of her own was just a logical next-step after five years of working with galleries and collectors. “Mumbai is a vibrant city and collectors here are very astute and discerning.” The inaugural exhibit covered the likes of Faiza Butt, Chitra Ganesh and Mehreen Murtaza and upcoming exhibitions promise to showcase the works of Ayaz Jokhio in January and a foray into other visual mediums.

Siddiqui envisions creating a new audience for South Asia’s visual arts and making it easily accessible. And she’s very upbeat about the prospects of Pakistani art and its international reception after a visit to the Pakistan pavilion at Art Dubai, 2008. “With the shared history and tradition, the cultural boundaries disappear. Besides internationally, there is a focus on art from the subcontinent and Pakistan is the next emerging destination.”

Siddiqui’s future seems inextricably bound with that of South Asian art and she’s quite ready to walk the metaphorical plank. “Art connoisseurs across the world have an open outlook while collecting art. It’s not at all regional and collectors are never influenced by the politics of the country. Our focus at FSCA is displaying art that is stimulating regardless of the nationality of the artists.”

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