Ahmed Parvez (1926 - 1979)
1952 was the year when Ahmed Parvez was awarded the University Shield for men at the annual: All Pakistan Art Exhibition organized by Professor Anna Molka Ahmed in Lahore. Parvez was on of the 'Lahore Art Group' who grew up around Shakir Ali. Eager to widen his experience Parvez set off for London in 1955.He was to suffer years of frustration before his work was shown in a solo exhibition at a major gallery. There were encouraging reviews from the media but paradoxically, just when success beckoned Parvez turned his back on London and returned to Pakistan. This behaviour appeared as a leitmotif in his life. In New York when he finally made contact with a major gallery interested in his work, he promptly fled back to Pakistan. Parvez was primarily a colorist with a very personal, vibrant signature.In all his work the lyrical,linear beauty took the work beyond the decorative. Ahmed Parvez was awarded the President's Pride of Performance in 1978, and died one year later.
Anwer Jalal Shemza (1928 - 1985)
Shemza was one of the first Pakistanl artists to use calligraphy as pure form. It appears that he was introducing a trend already popular in Europe but originally inspired by the art of the Middle East and South Asia. Shemza was line-oriented using calligraphy create abstract a t compositions with curves,dots and angles from Arabic script and Roman letters. His paintings were both meaningful and successful. They were colourful and carefully designed, many having a textured background .
Bashir Mirza (1941 - 2000)
Bashir Mirza graduated from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 1962 and, with the offer of a job of designer by the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, made his way to Karachi. The first solo exhibition of his work took place in 1963, at the residence of the Nigerian Ambassador. BM, as he was known, opened the first commercial art gallery in the country on Kuchery Road, Karachi, in 1965. It became a central meeting place for artists and many lively evenings took place discussing art. Though sales of paintings could not support the gallery, BM ran a monthly news letter and collected ads, and he printed a portfolio containing prints of eight beautiful drawings titled `Portrait of Pakistan’ that sold in literally hundreds and for years. .
Colin David (1937 - 2008)
Colin David was a member of the outstanding generation of artists that emerged from the Punjab University and the National College of Arts in the 1960s.He was one of the most eminent painters of Pakistan, a virtuoso draughtsman whose figurative work won him accolades from fellow artists and students alike. In the genre paintings, Colin David often incorporated elements of ‘Op’ art in his imagery, the optical illusion of lines,rings and squares creating movement. In his figurative work the settings contain a wealth of detail fascinating to observe. The natural and direct treatment of his subject conveys an innocent celebration of nature’s handi work the miracle of the human body rendered with superb mastery of media. The artist’s contemporary Still Life and Landscape paintings create an air of strange anticipation. In a curious way, the absent human form appears to be hidden from view and though unseen is part of the scene.
