Sadqain: Pioneer of Islamic Calligraphy in Pakistan - - Coming at Gallery 6 on November 25, 2010

Good news for art lovers, specifically Sadqain lovers. He is coming back to Pakistan capital, Islamabad, through his famous artwork. Sadqain, the great artist, calligrapher, poet and intellectual passed away in 1987 at the age of 57.

Sadqain Foundation San Diego, California, joins hands with Gallery 6 to organize the exhibition on 25^th November. Organizers of Gallery 6 specially invited Sadqain Foundation on the launch of two new books on the legendary artist Sadqain. The two books to be launched, The Legend of Sadqain – Renaissance of Calligraphic Art in Pakistan Mystic Expressions by Sadqain, and present a rich collection to document the related works of Sadqain.

Sadqain Foundation has to exhibit 24 limited edition of oil on canvas giclee prints will also be a part of exhibition at the gallery. These giclee prints have been made in the USA and are high quality reproductions of the Master’s works including those that were painted by Sadqain while living in foreign countries and have never been seen or documented in Pakistan or elsewhere before. These giclee prints will be offered for sale at very reasonable price in pursuance of the Charter of the Foundation. All pieces of artwork offered by the SF are registered and copyright protected by the United States Library of Congress and they carry the Foundation’s seal, serial number and date.

Read Full Article About Sadqain on the link below:

Sadqain: A Legendary Artist And Calligrapher - - Untraditional, Self-made And Self-taught Artist

Sadqain: A Legendary Artist And Calligrapher - - Untraditional, Self-made And Self-taught Artist

SADQAIN (1930-1986) Sadeqain was an untraditional and self-made, self-taught painter and calligrapher. His forte is his creation of mysterious - almost mystic - environment, which he achieves with his bold, uninhibited use of media, colors and lines.



Sadqain was a prolific artist; he experimented with portraits, sketches, caricatures, book titles and did a lot of Koranic calligraphy, but he seems to be at his best while depicting Ghalib. Whether it is due to his extreme devotion to Ghalib, or his profound interest in Urdu poetry (Sadeqain himself was a fine Urdu poet and published two poetry collections), he seems to be at his artistic best while painting Ghalib.




According to Aslam Kamal, "They say that Deewan e Ghalib is a Revelation. Don't know whether it's true but Sadeqain's work on Ghalib is sort of a stamp of approval to this belief".



A rare visionary, Sadqain was able to bridge the gulf between the disparate groups in society. At the age of 31 his work won recognition at the 1961 Paris Biennial. Sadqain had a prolific career and much of his work is displayed in public places. Like Diego Rivera, he celebrated the role of the proletariat. His early mural, based on the dignity of labour is housed in the Mangla dam, near Islamabad. Later he painted a mammoth ceiling for The Lahore Museum based on poet Iqbal’s verses evoking the spirit of man to triumph over odds. While working on his second ceiling at the Freer Hall in Karachi, the painter took ill and died leaving the work incomplete. During his life Sadequain became a cult figure with a large following from all walks of life.



Elongated human forms with bleeding pen-like fingers and nest-shaped head were central to his imagery. In the 70s he got nation-wide fame for his rendering of Quranic verses. Sadequain was one of the few artists who continuously received State support and was equally admired by the people. The very work that gave him a large following did not get critical acclaim. Despite the divided opinion, his influential position in art history cannot be denied. He came from a long line of master calligraphers and was perhaps ideally suited to bridge the gap between modernity and tradition. The content of his work has wider appeal, the early works addressed social evils and in the later decades Sadequain used the unifying spirit of calligraphy to appeal to the masses, who came in large numbers to see his exhibitions.