Karachi is a cosmopolitan city .It is one of the biggest cities of the world and therefore has many facets. Other than being the country's largest industrial zone Karachi is a culturally rich city as well. It has a number of cultural activities round the year. The veritable kind of people living here has much interest in art.
Many world renowned artists belong to Karachi - Sadequain, Gul Jee and Jamil Naqsh to name a few. From quiet sometime a number of exhibition galleries had been inaugurated in the city. Some became much famous in holding exhibitions of masters, contemporary and emerging artists.
About three years earlier in these columns I have said "By seeing so many galleries emerging on the art scene of Karachi this is inevitable to say that Karachi has and will play a major role in the Pakistani art sphere".
Exhibition of paintings by the renowned artists of past and present at the art galleries in Karachi has now become a norm and this is a healthy sign for our young generation. All the gallery's curators and owners are making efforts to provide ground to the pioneers of the modern art along with new generation of contemporary artists to show their works to the art hungry Karachiites. Here I want to introduce the art lovers to the Karachi art activities during last year through these galleries.
When Chawkandi Art Gallery was established in 1985 by Ms Zohra Hussain, it certainly served as a good gesture to initiate a long journey of exhibitions. It is one of the leading art galleries in Pakistan. "Many notable artists of our time have had their one-man debut at Chawkandi Gallery. Since inception, the gallery has promoted and introduced Pakistani art and artists may it be painters, sculptors or ceramists", said Zohra Hussain.
As the gallery does selected and balanced shows, in the year 2010 Chawkandi curated fifteen shows in all including successful solo exhibition of Tassaduq Sohail, an abstract figurative renowned contemporary artist and a two person show of Imran Qureshi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Fine Art, National College of Arts (NCA) and Aisha Khalid, a contemporary artist based in Lahore.
Chawkandi Art Gallery was followed by Canvas Gallery founded in 1999 by Ms Sameera Raja. The gallery's aim was to discover, support, develop and promote Pakistani art and artists focusing on the new art of Pakistan, especially by the modern and contemporary young artists. For this purpose the gallery brought artists from various parts of the country together on one platform.
"Canvas gallery displays works of cutting edge nature and experimental quality - ranging from paintings, sculptures, digital prints to installations and video installations thus encouraging young and talented artists", said Sameera Raja.
Canvas Gallery has curated Pakistani art shows internationally in USA, UK, Middle East and Far East. With two shows a month, Canvas has twenty-four shows to its credit in the year 2010. It is a high number of shows but it is need of the hour as the gallery promotes and introduces new young talented artists who also need space to exhibit their artworks.
Though every show has its own merits and uniqueness, some of the shows at the gallery are worth mentioning. Two solo exhibitions one by Muhammad Zeeshan, a miniature artist and the other by Izdeyar Setna, a photographic show was well received by the art lovers.
Zeeshan's work has recently been bought by the British Museum as part of their permanent collection. While one of the works by Izdeyar Setna was chosen from 14,000 global entrants for the Art of Photography show in San Deigo, USA, it is worth mentioning that Izdeyar was the only photographer from Pakistan whose work was included amongst the 113 final contestants.
Then emerge the Art Scene Gallery in 2007. "The gallery is being opened with the intention that it will serve the purpose of establishing the Pakistani art scene in the international arena. The space was set up with the sole mission of giving artist, art curators and art patrons their due importance in our society", said Shahzad Saeed, the curator of the gallery.
Art Scene tried its best to play an integral role in setting new standards of the status of Pakistani art at an international level in future. The renowned painters who are known for their works and the paintings of young voices done in many different mediums were exhibited. The gallery has arranged many a show in the year 2010 but the biggest events was two solo exhibitions one by Chitra Pritam, a distinct impressionistic painter and a book launch "Chitra Pritam's expression of gratitude to Jamil Naqsh" documenting his lifetime achievements, and the other show of Saeed Akhtar, a master of pictorial art and his book launch.
The Ocean art galleries received a warm welcome from the art enthusiasts in 2008. The gallery opened by Khalil Ahmed promotes contemporary art by displaying the soulful and philosophical works of old masters as well as new painters. It is a new addition to the Karachi's art scene. It is the biggest gallery in Karachi with ground plus two storey building, making it more exhibitions friendly. A solo show in 2010 of Iqbal Hussain, and a book launch, 'The Painter of Imprisoned Soul' and a group show of four contemporary artists Farrukh Shahab, Abrar Ahmed, Ali Azmat and Mughess Riaz were well received.
There are around fifty-two art galleries in Karachi where off and on art activities take place including Indus Art Gallery, ArtChawk Gallery, Poppyseed Art Gallery, Kunj Art Gallery, J I Art Gallery, IVS Art Gallery, Zenaine Art Gallery, Unicorn Art Gallery, Grandeur Art Gallery, Gandhara Art Gallery and many more.
The efforts of the private sector need to be lauded and supported in spreading the massage of art. The exhibitions are a great opportunity for the visitors to see the achievements of some of our leading artists, what they had done and achieved during the course of their struggle to establish a distinct identity of Pakistani painting. There is no dearth of art connoisseurs, art students, amateur artists and art admirers in the city.
It is very evident that Pakistan's art scene has come a long way in the last ten years and that the coming ten years are equally important. With the assistance of our artist community can make things happen. One hopes to see that by endeavours of people who share the same vision, Pakistan will be held in high esteem for the artistic talent that it harbours.
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