Written by: Varda Nisar
Posted on: April 20, 2018 | 
| 中文
Congregation
The Maestro is in Town! Tanzara Gallery brings to Islamabad a chance to bask in the presence of the brilliant work of Jamil Naqsh.
Jamil Naqsh is hardly a name that needs an introduction in Pakistan; he and his work has been recognized on every level, nationally and internationally. Now, with the opening of the Jamil Naqsh Museum in Karachi, his work will live on forever in the public domain, immortalizing him. It is a greater blessing that we are being given the opportunity to see, understand and marvel at these works and conclude that the fuss is actually justified. An image of a work can’t even come close to capturing what you see in front of you, and this is one of those moments, for what is on display is beyond the capacity of words to capture.
These works are nothing short of a medium to transport you to a place of calm and serenity. You find yourself surrounded by canvases in earthy tones that look back at you where ever you go, through the eyes of Naqsh’s subjects. These eyes watch you either through the faces of women, which have the profound capacity to hold within them innocence and sensuality, or in the form of pigeons, that resonate a playful quality captured in a moment that the artist has deemed us worthy of being a part of.
Every work is a masterpiece. Take for example, “Congregation,” - a woman with big eyes and big lips is looking at you, her features sharpened by the play of light and shadows. Her long hands and equally long neck, seem to be reaching out to the two pigeons that fly around her head. Her eyes can look lifeless in a moment, and alive in the next. The background is relatively chaotic, revealing a sense of urgency through the brush strokes, an urgency that is altogether missing from the woman’s features. The fact that so many varied qualities can be captured, and composed in perfect synergy with each other, is a trick that can only come from a true master.
In “Pensive,” there is an altogether different quality to be discovered. The woman and her feathery companion seem to be lost in thought, and disappearing into the canvas. The eyes and the lips remain the same, but the feel of the work is that of something fragile, on the verge of being lost forever.
“Repose” seems to be an ongoing conversation between the two subject matters of Naqsh’s work. The audience is ignored, and one’s presence only seems to hint towards an intrusion. The slight craning of the pigeons’ necks so that their eyes can look deep into those of their human companion, is a private moment, framed by a grey border. The rendering of the image is such that it appears to have been captured in another century, and yet is powerful enough to resonate with its current audience.
“Congregation II” should confirm to anyone beyond doubt why Jamil Naqsh is a maestro. There are a number of elements at play, there are of course the earthy tones, the eyes, the lips, the pigeon and the woman, but beyond that there is a layering of all these elements in a complicated web. It’s a riddle that has to be solved, a code that needs to be deciphered, requiring the attention of the viewer. You become part of that web, entangled in it, without realizing that you were only there as a spectator.
The relationship that is developed when one witnesses a piece of art is an altogether different experience, and only that experience can help you understand what makes for a genius artist. Don’t take anyone’s word when they tell you what Jamil Naqsh means to the world. See the works for yourself and you will be a convert.
The show is on till the 30th of April 2018 at Tanzara Gallery before it travels to Lahore.
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