Pakistan’s distinguished, National Award winning artist, Ghulam Mustafa, who displays his latest work, at the Clifton Art Gallery, Karachi belongs the school of ‘plein-air’ Painting.Wandering around Lahore, the city he loves he shares with us the mystic effects of light on solid objects.In his art,light creates myriad patterns on passers by,dazzling the observer’s eyes as from shadowed lanes they observe buildings and people dissolve in sunlight.There is a forceful personal conviction in Mustafa’s work’yet it is at the same time a contemporary observation of political, social and environmental issues.As well as the diversity of his home town, Lahore,his recent work includes views of the countryside as well the beautifil regions of the country that pay homage to nature.Through his paintings Mustafa evokes the wonder and joy of a world in which there still exists trees and hills,mountains and clear skies.
In Lahore, he is well known in its lanes and by-ways and he paints undisturbed.The local people bustle about their business but the artist’s uncanny ability to focus on the work in hand leaves him undisturbed by the life and sounds around him.Among his Favourite views are those of the Wazir khan masjid, painted from a near-by balcony,the sunehri masjid and kashmiri bazaar.In the past, his plan to paint the view seen from the the balcony of Iqbal Hussain’s studio,caused quite a stir when mural sized canvases were hauled up to the studio on ropes from the street below. The performance was regarded with interest by passing pedestrians.The artist is renowned for the detailed paintings he refers to as ‘balcony scenes’.They are superb examples of aesthetic symmetry and balance,the vertical planes and lines of the balcony countered by the horizontal ledges and patterns in the brick and wood surrounds.His familiarity with his subject results in a clarity of vision that is rare in cityscapes. He knows where the artisans and the tea shops are situated,the tree that shelters transients and the lanes enriched by the colors of dancing washing on a line.
To view Mustafa’s work is an experience of Lahore, Almost like being. There as he introduces the viewer to the architecture,the people and the unexpected interaction of nature in blades of grass between cobblestones,and green shoots where they have on logical right to be. He leads one gently around the town to the interior of the walled city where he was born in his grandfather’s house.
Ghulam Mustafa has a history of encouraging young artists,a contributing factor to the emergence of many serious young talents on the scene. As the general Secretary of the Punjab Artists Association, he works tirelessly to ensure that there is place for all artists at the Association’s important annual exhibition traditionally held at the Alhamra cultural Complex,Lahore.He holds the post of Executive Director of the Punjab Council of the Arts, and with energy and enthusiasm generates active artinvolvement throughout Arts Councils in the Punjab.He is an optimistic,dynamic attitude that shines forth in his work.
Appreciation of the artist and his work was recognized by way of the President’s pride of performance,with which he was awarded in 2002.In his work he poignantly evokes the heart of urban life,and finds great visual pleasure in celebration the countryside.In times past he would often accompany the late Professor Anna Molka Ahmed on Forays into the countryside,both with easels and the accoutrements of art prepared, to spend the day painting simple villages or rural landscapes.On a visit to Karachi,he set up his easel in the Bagh-e-Jinnah, and captured some beautiful images of the historic Frere hall and its surrounds.He is a widely traveled man who has visited the renowned museums and centers of Art abroad and met internationally recognized artists.But the great influence and inspiration of his vocation is the beauty he finds in Pakistan and shares with his audience.
