Improvisations in clay
by Faisal Quraishi
The show featuring eleven contemporary ceramists at the Arts Council, Karachi was aptly titled Journeys with Clay. Opened on September 18, the exhibitions offers some brillant sights to behold. Breaking free of conventional designs, the clay-modelling artists have experimented freely with materials, textures and ideas which resulted in an enticing and amazing presentation of varying shapes and end effects.
Curated by ASNA, a non-profit-making organisation, which supports the preservation of craft heritage, and presented by the Fine Arts Committee of the Arts Council, Karachi, the opening of the exhibition was widely attended by a cross-section of society. There were art enthusiasts, artists and mediapersons, all of them had a word or two for the remarkable pieces of ceramics.
The eleven ceramists who proudly displayed their works were Arji Karim (Islamabad), Sheherzade Alam (Toronto), Saman Shamsie, Izba Mansoor, Tariq Javed, Salman Ikram, Nabahat Lotia, Shazia Zuberi, Mian Salahuddin, Ishrat
Suhrawardy and Suraiya Hasan (Paris).
Journeys with Clay encompasses a wide area of revolutionary thoughts and ideas, expressed through different materials that are all incorporated into the main medium — clay — to produce a work of ceramic art that merits more than a second look. From Saman Shamsie's beautifully-crafted opening flower buds, where the artist has applied the pinch technique to sensualise the fine lines of her work, to the NCA graduate Salman Ikram's meticulously planned angles which comprise a wide repertoire of forms and glazing, the show promises something for everyone and maybe even more.
Nabahat Lotia stands out with her Pat Jharh (falling of leaves). She has created impressions of leaves on clay to impart a magnificent effect with unrivalled shapes and lovely hues. Her dancing pots, inspired by the work and form of classical dancers, are interesting too.
Arji Karim, a ceramic graduate of St Martin's School of Art, London, has experimented voluminously with her potter's wheel, churning out pieces that defy time and elegance. Her wall hangings depicting human forms spin a yarn of folklore all their own and are timeless in their elegance.
Tariq Javed, a self-taught ceramist, has exhibited at home and abroad. He claims to be trying to understand the medium of clay for the past 10 years and tries to create pieces which conjure up a sense of satisfaction in the core of his being.
However, these are just a few of the talented youngsters who are poised to take the traditional craftsmanship of ceramics into the next century, resurrecting this particular form of art by breathing the gift of life into it, thereby saving it from fading into oblivion.
Encore, October 29, 2000
