Mashkoor Raza is one of the most celebrated artists of Pakistan. A recipient of Pride of Performance, Mashkoor is acclaimed for his non-representational and abstract/cubism styles which have become his inimitable signature. With a blend of abstraction and cubist component, Mashkoor creates aesthetic transparent impressions through which his images adopt varying shapes.
Recently a book "Mashkoor Raza's Journey" written by Nadeem Zuberi was launched in a ceremony at Ocean Art Gallaries, Karachi. An exhibition of exceptional paintings by the world-renowned artist also greets the art lovers. Mashkoor Raza has established himself as an identity on canvas for portraying the brute force of horses and silent nude figures during the last four decades. His boldly rendered horses and glamorous nudes in abstract have become his signature style.
Mostly Dutch and French artists over the centuries incorporated horses in their paintings. But no one has created such ingenious and intricate abstract compositions with a lively and exciting line work and no one has used such glowing colours in variegated harmonies like Mashkoor in Pakistan. The image of horses depicts rhythmic movement of horses and body creating a sense of arrogance and pride. The dynamic application of brown, black and white heighten the glory of the animal. Different moods and action of horses reflect an intense and passionate atmosphere in motion.
The majestic animal bears immense fascination for Mashkoor. Horses serve both as a subject and symbol in his paintings. He portrays horses as a symbol of beauty, power and speed. He maximises the impact of his strong drawing skills to establish details in small and large canvases alike.
Mashkoor uses a visual language of form, colour and line to create a composition which contains a degree of independence from visual references in the real world - woman and horse. Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be only slight, or it can be partial, or it can be complete Mashkoor chooses the partial one.
The exhibition offers a wide perspective of Mashkoor's work. From images of women to action-packed horses - to calligraphic masterpieces and abstract art pieces, the exhibition encapsulates them all Mashkoor's major artworks are of commendable quality, bold colours combination and fine strokes capture the diverse presentation of women and horse in attractive semi-abstracts paintings while aesthetically beautiful calligraphy is also part of his works.
Present at the occasion, the senior writer and art critic, Marjorie Husain praises the efforts of Nadeem Zuberi and said, "Zuberi has documented a fantastic book and he must carry on the good work".
She affectionately speaks highly of the artworks by Mashkoor Raza. She said, "Mashkoor has a quiet unique style of painting, he has done terrific work. One thing I love about his work is that when you see his work you are actually communicating with him through that work and that's a special quality of him". Senior artist Naheed Raza herself a recipient of Pride of Performance said, "I am happy that eminent writer and art critic Nadeem Zuberi has confidently write about the life and work of Mashkoor Raza and he excels in his work and surely achieve much more."
Speaking fondly about Mashkoor Raza she said, "Mashkoor is one of my favourite artists. His artworks has something that touches others heart. He is also a great person other than an artist. His bold colours come spontaneously from within. The way he uses strong and light colours in his compositions shows his unparallel quality".
Mashkoor Raza said, "I did not think that one would ever write a book on me, until the author contacted and told me that he was going to do so". While smiling Mashkoor Raza said, "I used to avoid interaction with journalists and writers but the frequency of my heart matches with Zuberi's".
The book is truly a mix of sentimental statements, emotions recorded by Nadeem Zuberi showing Mashkoor Raza's command and strength on the medium to express himself vibrantly through art. It reveals some of the many different experiences of Mashkoor's life and different phases of progress of his work.
The book takes readers around the art life spreading on four decades of a sensitive artist of international repute. The book narrates a story of the ability to motivate one's creativity and the journey of self-discovery that leads Mashkoor Raza to the art world.
"I chose Mashkoor Raza not only because he is the senior most artist of the country but also because Pakistan is known in several artistic circles across the globe because of him", said Nadeem Zuberi. The book shares a wide range of diverse ideas by Mashkoor Raza with masterly done innovative paintings, which unveils his life experiences and better understanding of his works to art lovers.
Mashkoor has been holding solo exhibitions almost every year since he graduated from Karachi School of Art in Fine Art in 1972 standing first, in the First Division and winning a gold medal. Today he is proud of being one of the school's first graduates. He has also participated in many national and international displays around the globe and his paintings have been selected for the art collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A large number of art lovers, artists, art students, art critics and collectors visited the gallery and admired Mashkoor Raza's work and the book.
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