Cube Root

Veteran Pakistani artist Jamil Naqsh8217;s penchant for Eastern calligraphy has been replaced with Cubist contours...

Veteran Pakistani artist Jamil Naqsh8217;s penchant for Eastern calligraphy has been replaced with Cubist contours. At his first solo exhibition in India, he pays tribute to Pablo Picasso through quintessential nudes and horses. The London-based artist spoke to VANDANA KALRA about the Spanish master, association with India and art in Pakistan. Excerpts:

In the 1990s, you paid homage to Italian sculptor Marino Marini and in this solo the focus is on Pablo Picasso. How have these artists influenced your work?
Marini is one of my favourite artists, therefore working on a show that paid homage to him was enjoyable. His Horse and Rider series prompted me to juxtapose the female form with horse. For Picasso, I did a lot research on his life and works. Surface and lines were not important for him; he was interested in colour and form. I particularly admire his La Toilette, Les Demoiselles d8217;Avignon, Guernica, Peace and War. My exhibition comprises drawings over the past 10 years while the paintings are from 2006-7.

Several of your contemporaries have had solo exhibitions in India. Why did your show take this long?
My work has been featured at group shows in Delhi and Mumbai since 2005, but I waited for the solo. I won8217;t be present at the exhibition as I don8217;t like travelling, but I might come to India for a retrospective with Nitanjali Art Gallery in September next year.

You were born at Kairana, Uttar Pradesh, and part of your childhood was spent in India. Do you have any early memories of India?
India is my birthplace. My father sent us to Lahore during Partition but he stayed back. I was eight then. Then I visited India in 1952 and travelled through Chittagong, Calcutta and Colombo. I was only 13 so I have little memory of those journeys, but I do remember the tall temples of Madurai.

What prompted you to shift base to London in 1993?
I wasn8217;t keeping too well in the early 1990s and London suited me. Finally, I shifted here with Najmi Sura, my companion and muse whom I have known since childhood.

Nudes made an appearance in your art in 1962. There have been cases in India where artists have being accused of obscenity. What were the reactions you received? Does the tense political situation in Pakistan affect artists in the country?
We painters really don8217;t care about what is happening politically. I have always received admiration from my art lovers. Pakistani art is now getting its due internationally, and several Indian and international galleries and auction houses are showcasing art from Pakistan. I8217;m the highest paid artist in Pakistan, but compared with Indian masters there is a long way to go.

The exhibition at Alliance Francaise is on till September 20