Ahmed Parvez () (1926 – 1979) was a modernist painter from

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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

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. He was also among the few early modernists 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 and the Ashmolean Museum 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. 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 as has been accomplished by anyone. The mood is as near to aul Klee as it is to the jeweled ambiance of an Eastern potentate." The '' Oxford Mail'' 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, Ivon Hitchens,

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, 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

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and married Reiko Isago, from Sendai, Japan. 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, Askari Mian Irani, Sadequain, Ali Imam, Shakir Ali, Anna Molka Ahmed, Zahoor ul Akhlaq, Zubeida Agha and Bashir Mirza.

Major exhibits

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

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 * Commonwealth Institute,

, 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