Ahmed Parvez () (1926 – 1979) was a

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

from

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He was a member of The Lahore Group in Pakistan and founder of the Pakistan Group in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was also among the few early

modernists Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and social issues were all aspects of this moveme ...

of Pakistani origin to have garnered considerable critical acclaim, with solo exhibitions at the New Vision, Lincoln, and Clement Stephens galleries in London, along with exhibitions at London's

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust was a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pr ...

and the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

in Oxford between 1955 and 1964.

Life as an artist

In 1962, Parvez held a two-man exhibition at the Lincoln Gallery with American painter

Alexander Calder Alexander "Sandy" Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobile (sculpture), mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, hi ...

. Ali Imam wrote in 1979 that "Ahmed Parvez has held over 30 solo exhibitions in Europe, the US and Pakistan. He is undoubtedly our most exhibited Pakistani painter abroad." Declaring his paintings to be "art of the highest standard", George Butcher wrote for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in 1963 that ''Three in One (II)'' was "as complete and beautiful a testament to the resolution of the Eastern pattern and Western

Tachism __NOTOC__ Tachisme (alternative spelling: Tachism, derived from the French word ''tache'', stain; ) is a French style of Abstract art, abstract painting popular in the 1940s and 1950s. The term is said to have been first used with regards to the ...

as has been accomplished by anyone. The mood is as near to

aul An aul; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (; ) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia. They are generally built out of stone, on faces of ridges or against cliffs in order to provide protection against su ...

Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

as it is to the jeweled ambiance of an Eastern potentate." The ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 by MP Fra ...

'' review of Parvez's work noted that "it takes an extremely clear vision or strong personality to impose such an individual character on an abstract or near abstract design.

Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscapes, and still-life. He was one of the leading promoters of abstract art in England. Backg ...

Ivon Hitchens Ivon Hitchens (born London, 3 March 1893 – 29 August 1979) was an English painter who started exhibiting during the 1920s. He became part of the 'London Group' of artists and exhibited with them during the 1930s. His house was bombed in 1940 d ...

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

and R.J. Hitchcock are among the few that have it; so is Ahmed Parvez." In the 1950s,

Victor Musgrave Victor Musgrave (1919–1984) was a British poet, art dealer and curator. Described by David Sylvester as a 'true pioneer' Musgrave was the first gallerist to show Bridget Riley and was a champion of Art Brut. Musgrave ran 'Gallery One' between 1 ...

, a British poet, art dealer and curator of Gallery One, considered Parvez to be "without question, the outstanding artist from Pakistan who has made a very strong impact upon the English art world. His extension into the West of the ideals implicit in Muslim art has been an effort of unique importance." Ahmed Parvez attempted to integrate Modernism into Pakistani art.

Life in the UK and US

From 1955 to 1964, Ahmed lived and worked in London, UK. In the late 1960s, he spent two years living and working in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

before returning to Pakistan. During this time, he exhibited his work at the Galerie Internationale in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and married Reiko Isago, from

Sendai, Japan is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the twelfth most populated city in Japan. The modern city was founded in 1600 by th ...

. She would later give birth to their son, Aleem Isago Parvez.

Death

Ahmed Parvez died of a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

in Karachi in 1979.Profile and painting of Ahmed Parvez on Bonhams (bonhams.com) website
Retrieved 11 July 2019

Awards

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

Award (Urdu: تمغۂ حسنِ کارکردگی) by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

in 1978.

Commemorative postage stamp

On 14 August 2006, Pakistan Post Office issued a Rs. 40 sheetlet of stamps to posthumously honour 10 Pakistani painters. Besides Ahmed Parvez, the other nine painters honoured were:

Laila Shahzada Laila Shahzada (1926 – 20 July 1994) was a Pakistani abstract painter who lived and worked in Karachi, Pakistan. Biography Laila Shahzada was born in Littlehampton, England in 1926. After completing her basic education in England, she dec ...

Askari Mian Irani Askari Mian Irani (1940–2004) was a Pakistani painter. Early life and education In 1967, Askari Mian Irani received a diploma in Commercial Design from the Mayo School of Arts now called National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore.NCA and St ...

Sadequain Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi () (30 June 1930 10 February 1987), and often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a historical Pakistani artist and poet best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered one of the fines ...

, Ali Imam, Shakir Ali, Anna Molka Ahmed, Zahoor ul Akhlaq,

Zubeida Agha Zubeida Agha (; 1922–1997) was among the first Pakistani Modern Artists. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, she was the first artist to hold an exhibition of her paintings. She helped bring the modern idiom to Pakistan.(Associated Press ...

and Bashir Mirza.

Major exhibits

Ahmed Parvez held over 30 solo exhibitions in Europe, US and Pakistan *

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, UK *

, UK * Lincoln Gallery (1962) * The Ahmed Parvez Retrospective at VM Gallery, Karachi (2004)

References

External links

Ahmed Parvez , Clifton Art GallerySaffron Art – Ahmed ParvezMutual Art – Ahmed ParvezBonhams Auctions – Ahmed ParvezAsia Art Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parvez, Ahmed 1926 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Pakistani painters Artists from Karachi Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pakistani painters Pakistani artists People from Punjab Province (British India) People from Rawalpindi