Within ten days we have lost three senior artists. Mansur Aye, a very likable and seasoned artist of Pakistan, who has been painting devotedly for the past four decades, . He died of kidney failure. He was 67.
After Mansur Aye, the passing away of Maqsood Ali on Wednesday April 16, 2008 caused a blow to the art world in Pakistan. Maqsood died of heart attack. M. K. Baig, died in the early hours of Thursday 24 April 2008 because of heart failure. He was 70. He qualified from School of Careers, England, 1968 and spent considerable time in Abu Dhabi.
Known for his moon faced paintings, Mansur's second name was Ahmed. When another artist surfaced with the same name, Mansure changed his second name to Aye. Like his new name he was unique as his work; the self taught artist did not confirm to any school of art. A contemporary of Jamil Naqsh, Ahmed Pervez, Bashir Mirza, Kohari and Shahid Sajjad, Aye appeared last at Indus Gallery in 2006. His displays at that show were, indicative of his experience of closeness with God when he suffered a heart attack. His moon faces with a twinkle in eyes placed in floral starry situations earlier, were reduced to minimum lines and colours and housed in cubicles. At this show he also had a surprise for his viewers. Against his smaller canvases he dramatically appeared with forceful hues on larger canvases creating illusive multiple faces. He also introduced geometric forms on his canvases creating a sort of transparency. It would not be wrong to assess that his paintings were inclined towards minimal abstract formations. No curator realized that it was high time to arrange a retrospective exhibition of his past achievements. He also deserved a book on his life achievements.
M. K. Baig did not die unsung. Shakil Ismail art gallery hosted him as a solo artist on March 5' 2008 only a year after Kunj Gallery showcased his abstract compositions in March 2007. From 2007 onwards Baig bade farewell to horses, women and pigeons he showcased at Karachi in 2001. At Shaki l Ismail he created dramatic landscapes with red, black, yellow, green, blue and white and experimented with impossible yet enchanting colour compositions. On some of his canvases cubism prevailed and some showed sure signs of landscapes with habitats.
Baig's creativity assumed different garbs for its expression. He wrote poetry, prose, and painted calligraphy as well as his views. In one of his couplets, he admitted that he was a lot more under cover than what was apparent. His recent works were acrylics on canvas in bright hues. Over the years he had gathered many feathers in his cap. In the 70s Baig was recognized as a painter of portraits, and horses in realistic and impressionistic styles. Earlier in the 60s his drawings on large scales earned him credit. His calligraphy based on Chinese scroll writing earned him three Sadequain Awards at various shows. His palette always remained full of bright hues. His recent work brought him close to the late Bashir Mirza's Australian series and compositions by Shan Amrohvi, a young graduate from City School of Art.
Maqsood Ali's paintings were hardly seen in group exhibitions; he also did not believe in exhibiting his works every other day. He was mostly found at Karachi Press Club than in the circle of artists. His last solo exhibition was held at Indus Gallery in August 2005. The show was titled "Music in Colours."
In his last interview, he had said a period of almost five decades. His romance with painting created musical notations in cubistic style on his canvases. The situation was more forceful in his Chand aur Chakor series displayed at the art gallery of a local five star hotel in the early years of 2000. Picking his motifs from his surroundings and concepts from the literature of the subcontinent, Maqsood weaved chequered compositions dubbed with blue and rosy black blots on his canvases. But this was not the end of his palette. Maqsood created floating statements with bright colours. Somehow blue was always there.
On his canvases his cubism flowed like musical notes . Some of the canvases were studded with sapphire like splinters. These splinters were a common element on his canvases with variation of colours according to the state of affairs creating texture on the surface. His cubistic abstract compositions in lively colours created a joyous atmosphere. One could see as well as hear his paintings. Maqsood's images were an outcome of his experimentation and analysis.
Born and brought up in Lucknow (1936), and educated in Bombay at Noortan Kala Naketan (1953-1956), he had been living in Karachi since 1957 and worked as an art director in various advertising agencies. It was in 1969 that he decided to work as full time painter. Maqsood Ali was fascinated by Sindhi culture and colours. His first exhibition was held in 1969, titled `Colourful Sindh`. He derived his motifs from Sindhi embroidery and patchwork - Rilli. Some how or the other, all his previous exhibitions were based on Sindh. When One Unit was dissolved in 1970, he honoured the occasion by painting a huge mural showing a new sun rising on Sindh. Same year he held an exhibition of paintings titled `Rebirth of Sindh`. There was a time when Maqsood experimented with metal work. He made brass relief on metal achieving results, which were aesthetically and technically admirable.