ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) showcased a calligraphic show titled: “The Legend of Sadequain,” here on Friday.
A large number of people turned up to watch the spectacular masterpiece by Sadequain displayed at the national art gallery.
Some 35 years ago the world lost Sadequain, a phenomenal artist and calligrapher from Pakistan best known for his unmatched skills.
He was credited for the renaissance of Islamic Calligraphy in Pakistan. His first exhibition of calligraphies took place in December 1968.
For the next 15-16 years, a veritable Niagara of painterly calligraphy flowed from his pen and brush.
Sadequain was widely praised for his calligraphic style, which is considered iconic by many critics of South Asian art.
He was part of a broader Islamic art movement that emerged independently across North Africa and parts of Asia in the 1950s and known as the Hurufiyya movement.
Hurufiyah refers to the attempt by artists to combine traditional art forms, notably calligraphy as a graphic element within a contemporary artwork.
Hurufiyah artists rejected Western art concepts, and instead searched for a new visual language that reflected their own culture and heritage.
These artists successfully transformed calligraphy into a modern aesthetic, which was both contemporary and indigenous.
Prior to Sadeqain’s work, only a few painters had experimented with the medium in Pakistan.
Sadequain is a pioneer of the style, bringing calligraphy into a mainstream art form, and influencing subsequent generations of Pakistani artists.
