Masood Kohari – A life-time affair with his muse
Text: Marjorie Husain
Images courtesy: Masood Kohari
Masood Kohari is an artist of international experience whose work is rooted in the process of ceramics. He was one of a band of bright young painters in the 60s, who initiated a dynamic art scene in Karachi. Though he was a painter with great potential, he became very involved with ceramics in the mid sixties, and left Karachi to follow his muse.
Referring to Kohari in 1967, Professor Shakir Ali commented:
“Many painters in Europe have experimented in ceramics and other allied mediums, but in Pakistan Kohari is the first one who has adopted this medium for the expression of his artistic talent.”
Now preparing for a retrospective exhibition of his work to be held at the National Gallery of Art, Islamabad in October this year, Kohari looks back on a life spent in art and a thirst for knowledge that led him to diverse parts of the world. The exhibition promises to be a landmark in the country’s art history, an opportunity to view the artist’s life’s work: paintings, drawings, crystal collages and fire paintings; the fruit of four decades of constant striving and seeking that began in an age when commercialism in art was nonexistent.
Glancing through a catalogue of artworks auctioned by Bonham of Bond Street some months ago, time stood still as I came across one of Masood Kohari’s paintings from the early 60s titled: Red Sails at Sunset, and it looked so good. Gazing at that masterly painting, full of memories and nostalgia, one was transported back to an optimistic period, when a number of talented young artists were discovering their aesthetic identities and it seemed anything was possible. At that time Kohari was an artist painting with oil on canvas, always in the company of his close friend Jamil Naqsh. The young artists would move around together searching for subjects and evolving a personal idiom. The USA sponsored Sketch Club was an important phenomenon in Karachi in those days, offering materials and the guidance of an art lecturer free of cost. Naqsh and Kohari attended along with Mansur Aye and other young artists. Now Kohari, who spends much of his time in France, is one of the few of that generation of artists still hard at work; Naqsh is another and he is currently based in London, but in the early days the two friends were often to be seen reading books together in the evenings under the street lights.
The PACC on Fatima Jinnah Road was the most popular venue in Karachi for exhibitions in the 60s, and Kohari’s first solo exhibition was held there in 1962. He was a very likeable young man, always affable and he made it a point to support his friends and attend every exhibition that took place in town. In the evenings, his circle of friends would meet up at his place to discuss their work and talk and argue about art. At that time studio ceramics was an unknown discipline in the country, and it surprised art circles when Kohari went off to work in this medium. In 64, he went off to Gujranwala, where, working with the local craftsmen he became totally involved and absorbed in exploring the diversity of clay. It was a study that held him in thrall for decades to come.
Kohari’s friends welcomed him back to Karachi in 68, when he mounted an exhibition of his work at the Karachi Arts Council. It was a spectacular event, the first of its kind displaying four tall, ceramic columns standing 8ft tall and measuring 15 inches in circumference. There were wall based reliefs, large urns, and a series of tiles he titled: War and Peace, a body of work proved to be the first step on the path of the artist’s adventure. He was obsessed with the idea of taking the media into further fields of experimentation involving wall based collages and `fire paintings’ amalgamating clay and glass. The artist’s thirst for knowledge led him to France where he studied the work carried out at established glass studios and workshops, and he found the artists and craftsmen generous in sharing their knowledge.
Those were busy years; Kohari worked constantly with his media and in 1970, had the opportunity to exhibit his work in Paris at the Galerie Simons Badiner. For the exhibition he experimented with collage, incorporating metal elements and molten glass. The results of his experiments were `fire collages’ and Kohari’s work in exhibition earned positive reviews from publications such as La Monde, and La Figaro. It was an extensive exhibition showing the work of 500 artists at the Grande Palais, Paris, and Kohari was delighted when his work was awarded an `Honorable Mention’.
From that time till the present Kohari has divided his days into seasons, between France, where he has a family, and Pakistan, where he has strong ties. In Gujrat there is the Ceramic Art Institute he loves to visit, and the Opal Glass Factory where years ago a special kiln was installed for Kohari’s experiments. The artist warmly speaks of his long-standing friends in Gujrat, of whom he has the relationship of over a quarter of a century, and the craftsmen for whom he has great respect.
“The beginning of a life-time affair with my muse, fire and clay. This brought me nearer to the people of Lahore, Gujrat, Gujranwala – with periodical sojourns to be with my family and for creative practices in France.
The land of rivers and its culture became my palette and a source to feed and fill my creative urges. The colours, marks and textures that I accumulated in diverse lands and cultures, took the form of my works and my identity.”
During the National Exhibition organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts, held at Alhambra, Lahore in 1984, Kohari showed his work in the media of glass for the first time. His contribution of four intricately textured, richly coloured glass panels lit from behind were magic to behold, totally awesome. On that occasion he established the medium as an authentic concept of art expression and was awarded First Prize in the category of Sculpture/Ceramics. In a subsequent National Exhibition held in Islamabad in 1997, Kohari’s delicately textured gradient tiles were badly placed. It was a terrible gaffe, one of several at that time, and it was years before Kohari exhibited his work in Pakistan again. On subsequent visits to Karachi, Kohari set up a kiln and ceramic workshop at the Karachi School of Art, and held a six week course to introduce the students to the art and very good results were obtained, but it would be some time before one saw his work in exhibition. He was always much in demand for private commissions and his friends were intrigued by his methods. Bashir Mirza was one of a number of artists inspired by him to try their hand at working on ceramic tiles.
It was not until 2006, that Masood Kohari’s exhibition of crystal collages was held at the Alhamra Galleries, Lahore and it carried the conviction of four decades of experimentation with diverse media. The multiplicity of the work emphasized the remaking of traditional ways of art making. The display held on two floors of the gallery was the culmination of over two years of preparation. The delicately textured, glowing artworks established a new, potentially exciting art chapter in Pakistan. Kohari was delighted to have the long planned exhibition mounted with the collaboration of the Pakistan’s National Council of the Arts, and the Punjab Artist’s Association. In response to the groups of young students and their teachers visiting the exhibition who asked detailed questions about the artwork and the complex process of creativity, the artist explained his work enthusiastically and at length.
Several of the numerous visitors viewing the work in exhibition marveled at the various media and disciplines involved in the artist’s methods, which freely merged media. They raised questions as to how the work should be classified, unused at that time to a wide ranging view of art. They were bewildered by the unusual experience of the media and the title given to the work: Fire Paintings. Kohari attempted to explain the process. He had simplified the current exhibits by removing the clay base. Sheets of a particular kind of glass may be layered with powdered glass, wire netting, various colour and chemicals, and topped with another sheet of glass. On this upper sheet one may find elements, which in the oven fuse to create beautiful textures, air bubbles and variations that interact with light passing through the patterns. Viewing the work, the varied designs and colours of the glass panels framed in steel, was an unusual aesthetic experience. In Kohari’s `Fire Paintings’, the crystal translucence enriched by melting colour form the abstract intervention that is extremely fine. In his work, one finds portraits veiled by wire mesh, collage elements are included with the addition of glass bangles, copper wires, and different glazes, a new uninhibited way of making art.
In Europe, Kohari evolved a groundbreaking aesthetic viewpoint. His deep understanding of his art was nurtured by the contemporary approach of work carried out in various parts of France, and in Murano, Venice, in Italy. The artist’s capacity for work is inspiring. One saw him during the preparations of the opening of the National Gallery of Art in Islamabad, in August earlier this year. Setting up his work in far from perfect location, he made allowances for the `teething troubles’ of the enormous national gallery, arranging his work on the ground floor with a system of light necessary for the viewing in detail of the Crystal Collages. The result of his work was a vision of luminous transparency. Here, facing all difficulties with zeal, one found a dedicated artist who, while working obsessively, shed the years. His art is foremost in his daily existence and he has much to offer as a role model for younger, less globally experienced artists. Talking to him about the work and his life, he smiles and replies: “My life has been a life-time affair with my muse.”
Images courtesy: Masood Kohari
Masood Kohari is an artist of international experience whose work is rooted in the process of ceramics. He was one of a band of bright young painters in the 60s, who initiated a dynamic art scene in Karachi. Though he was a painter with great potential, he became very involved with ceramics in the mid sixties, and left Karachi to follow his muse.
Referring to Kohari in 1967, Professor Shakir Ali commented:
“Many painters in Europe have experimented in ceramics and other allied mediums, but in Pakistan Kohari is the first one who has adopted this medium for the expression of his artistic talent.”
Now preparing for a retrospective exhibition of his work to be held at the National Gallery of Art, Islamabad in October this year, Kohari looks back on a life spent in art and a thirst for knowledge that led him to diverse parts of the world. The exhibition promises to be a landmark in the country’s art history, an opportunity to view the artist’s life’s work: paintings, drawings, crystal collages and fire paintings; the fruit of four decades of constant striving and seeking that began in an age when commercialism in art was nonexistent.
Glancing through a catalogue of artworks auctioned by Bonham of Bond Street some months ago, time stood still as I came across one of Masood Kohari’s paintings from the early 60s titled: Red Sails at Sunset, and it looked so good. Gazing at that masterly painting, full of memories and nostalgia, one was transported back to an optimistic period, when a number of talented young artists were discovering their aesthetic identities and it seemed anything was possible. At that time Kohari was an artist painting with oil on canvas, always in the company of his close friend Jamil Naqsh. The young artists would move around together searching for subjects and evolving a personal idiom. The USA sponsored Sketch Club was an important phenomenon in Karachi in those days, offering materials and the guidance of an art lecturer free of cost. Naqsh and Kohari attended along with Mansur Aye and other young artists. Now Kohari, who spends much of his time in France, is one of the few of that generation of artists still hard at work; Naqsh is another and he is currently based in London, but in the early days the two friends were often to be seen reading books together in the evenings under the street lights.
The PACC on Fatima Jinnah Road was the most popular venue in Karachi for exhibitions in the 60s, and Kohari’s first solo exhibition was held there in 1962. He was a very likeable young man, always affable and he made it a point to support his friends and attend every exhibition that took place in town. In the evenings, his circle of friends would meet up at his place to discuss their work and talk and argue about art. At that time studio ceramics was an unknown discipline in the country, and it surprised art circles when Kohari went off to work in this medium. In 64, he went off to Gujranwala, where, working with the local craftsmen he became totally involved and absorbed in exploring the diversity of clay. It was a study that held him in thrall for decades to come.
Kohari’s friends welcomed him back to Karachi in 68, when he mounted an exhibition of his work at the Karachi Arts Council. It was a spectacular event, the first of its kind displaying four tall, ceramic columns standing 8ft tall and measuring 15 inches in circumference. There were wall based reliefs, large urns, and a series of tiles he titled: War and Peace, a body of work proved to be the first step on the path of the artist’s adventure. He was obsessed with the idea of taking the media into further fields of experimentation involving wall based collages and `fire paintings’ amalgamating clay and glass. The artist’s thirst for knowledge led him to France where he studied the work carried out at established glass studios and workshops, and he found the artists and craftsmen generous in sharing their knowledge.
Those were busy years; Kohari worked constantly with his media and in 1970, had the opportunity to exhibit his work in Paris at the Galerie Simons Badiner. For the exhibition he experimented with collage, incorporating metal elements and molten glass. The results of his experiments were `fire collages’ and Kohari’s work in exhibition earned positive reviews from publications such as La Monde, and La Figaro. It was an extensive exhibition showing the work of 500 artists at the Grande Palais, Paris, and Kohari was delighted when his work was awarded an `Honorable Mention’.
From that time till the present Kohari has divided his days into seasons, between France, where he has a family, and Pakistan, where he has strong ties. In Gujrat there is the Ceramic Art Institute he loves to visit, and the Opal Glass Factory where years ago a special kiln was installed for Kohari’s experiments. The artist warmly speaks of his long-standing friends in Gujrat, of whom he has the relationship of over a quarter of a century, and the craftsmen for whom he has great respect.
“The beginning of a life-time affair with my muse, fire and clay. This brought me nearer to the people of Lahore, Gujrat, Gujranwala – with periodical sojourns to be with my family and for creative practices in France.
The land of rivers and its culture became my palette and a source to feed and fill my creative urges. The colours, marks and textures that I accumulated in diverse lands and cultures, took the form of my works and my identity.”
During the National Exhibition organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts, held at Alhambra, Lahore in 1984, Kohari showed his work in the media of glass for the first time. His contribution of four intricately textured, richly coloured glass panels lit from behind were magic to behold, totally awesome. On that occasion he established the medium as an authentic concept of art expression and was awarded First Prize in the category of Sculpture/Ceramics. In a subsequent National Exhibition held in Islamabad in 1997, Kohari’s delicately textured gradient tiles were badly placed. It was a terrible gaffe, one of several at that time, and it was years before Kohari exhibited his work in Pakistan again. On subsequent visits to Karachi, Kohari set up a kiln and ceramic workshop at the Karachi School of Art, and held a six week course to introduce the students to the art and very good results were obtained, but it would be some time before one saw his work in exhibition. He was always much in demand for private commissions and his friends were intrigued by his methods. Bashir Mirza was one of a number of artists inspired by him to try their hand at working on ceramic tiles.
It was not until 2006, that Masood Kohari’s exhibition of crystal collages was held at the Alhamra Galleries, Lahore and it carried the conviction of four decades of experimentation with diverse media. The multiplicity of the work emphasized the remaking of traditional ways of art making. The display held on two floors of the gallery was the culmination of over two years of preparation. The delicately textured, glowing artworks established a new, potentially exciting art chapter in Pakistan. Kohari was delighted to have the long planned exhibition mounted with the collaboration of the Pakistan’s National Council of the Arts, and the Punjab Artist’s Association. In response to the groups of young students and their teachers visiting the exhibition who asked detailed questions about the artwork and the complex process of creativity, the artist explained his work enthusiastically and at length.
Several of the numerous visitors viewing the work in exhibition marveled at the various media and disciplines involved in the artist’s methods, which freely merged media. They raised questions as to how the work should be classified, unused at that time to a wide ranging view of art. They were bewildered by the unusual experience of the media and the title given to the work: Fire Paintings. Kohari attempted to explain the process. He had simplified the current exhibits by removing the clay base. Sheets of a particular kind of glass may be layered with powdered glass, wire netting, various colour and chemicals, and topped with another sheet of glass. On this upper sheet one may find elements, which in the oven fuse to create beautiful textures, air bubbles and variations that interact with light passing through the patterns. Viewing the work, the varied designs and colours of the glass panels framed in steel, was an unusual aesthetic experience. In Kohari’s `Fire Paintings’, the crystal translucence enriched by melting colour form the abstract intervention that is extremely fine. In his work, one finds portraits veiled by wire mesh, collage elements are included with the addition of glass bangles, copper wires, and different glazes, a new uninhibited way of making art.
In Europe, Kohari evolved a groundbreaking aesthetic viewpoint. His deep understanding of his art was nurtured by the contemporary approach of work carried out in various parts of France, and in Murano, Venice, in Italy. The artist’s capacity for work is inspiring. One saw him during the preparations of the opening of the National Gallery of Art in Islamabad, in August earlier this year. Setting up his work in far from perfect location, he made allowances for the `teething troubles’ of the enormous national gallery, arranging his work on the ground floor with a system of light necessary for the viewing in detail of the Crystal Collages. The result of his work was a vision of luminous transparency. Here, facing all difficulties with zeal, one found a dedicated artist who, while working obsessively, shed the years. His art is foremost in his daily existence and he has much to offer as a role model for younger, less globally experienced artists. Talking to him about the work and his life, he smiles and replies: “My life has been a life-time affair with my muse.”
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