Representing a rebirth of sorts, an exhibition of paintings by the acclaimed artist Iqbal Hussain is all set to go up on display. The event marks a comeback for the artist after he fell critically ill last year. He has resumed his practice and continues to paint with zeal and fervour. A testament to his ardour for aesthetics will be put up at Gallery6 on Friday.
His recent works are painted in simpler, yet bolder and more powerful strokes. The current exhibition features 55 paintings, mainly oil on canvas, some sketches and watercolour on paper, including both old and new works painted since his recovery in September 2013.
Hussain, 64, is known mainly for his figurative paintings. He paints women from the red light area without overcrowding the canvas with melodrama. Women are portrayed deep in thought, as if reflecting or meditating.
At times his works reflect a bottomless despair, while others speak of the power of his subjects’ confidence. The key element in his paintings is honesty — he portrays his subjects as they are in real life, and does not create over-the-top sensuality or voluptuousness to make them look beautiful.
Commenting on the paintings, art historian and critic Nadeem Alam wrote, “The cityscapes of Iqbal Hussain reflect the continuity of his figurative painting, as they represent the dishevelled complexity of the walled city architecture, in a manner that its walls, roofs and the heavy environment adds to the unheard silence of the noisy and busy life around.”
The cityscapes let the viewer wander through the intertwined streets, breathe atop a rooftop, and sneak a glimpse of the Badshahi Mosque or the River Ravi, he added.
Hussain harbours a deep love for the cityscape of the walled city of Lahore.
Lavinia Filippi, an Italian art curator and writer underlined that Hussain has been compared with the French Impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
She has written that in the same vein as the late 19th century French artist’s practice, Hussain also loves to paint en plein air by the Ravi, describing everyday life by the river.
Some art critics, however, argue that although Hussain is a unique and iconic painter and a graduate and ex-faculty member of the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, he never got the kind of endorsement he deserved by the state and its allied institutions. It has been written that his stature as an artist has never been “mainstreamed”.
Interestingly, Hussain had no interest in arts, but went to the NCA in 1970 solely by virtue of a friend’s persuasion, who saw him drawing film stars.
Later, Hussain learnt that the friend’s motivation for coercing him into getting an admission there was to have easy access to his girlfriend. At the time, outsiders were not allowed and by coming to meet Hussain the friend was able to meet her. Hussain says that he owes his friend led him to become an artist.
Once at the college, Hussain’s interest in painting evolved, and Khalid Iqbal played a key role in his development. According to the artist, Iqbal was a father figure to him. He not only encouraged him to paint, but also helped him financially and stood by him in times of difficulty. Hussain expressed his gratitude for Iqbal, who had the perseverance to harness his talent.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2014.