Pakistani artist Nazar Haidri is exhibiting a series of paintings inspired by music in an exhibition titled “Symphony in Cubism”. By blending the forms of musicians and musical instruments with asymmetric geometric patterns the artist has created colourful Cubist paintings that convey the harmony, rhythm and magic of music.
The musical instruments featured in the paintings range from the violin and guitar to traditional Asian ones such as the sitar, flute, tanpura, sarod, shehnai and oud. Many of the compositions depict a “jugalbandi” between various instruments. Through his choice of colours and his flowing brush strokes, Haidri has tried to visualise musical notes and capture the mood of the music and the emotions it evokes in him.
The artist has always been interested in art and music. “I was among the first batch of students to attend the art classes run by the Arts Council of Pakistan in 1961. That gave me the opportunity to meet and learn from leading Pakistani artists of the time, such as Sadequain and Gulgee. But after 10 years of working as a commercial artist and assisting these great artists in my spare time, I decided to move on and accepted a marketing job in Saudi Arabia. Although my work left me with little time to paint, I got the opportunity to travel and visit international museums and galleries and see the work of famous artists, which has helped me to grow as an artist. Since my retirement more than a decade ago, I have focused totally on my painting,” he says.
His choice of style is influenced by his admiration for Picasso. “Twenty years ago I saw Picasso’s painting ‘Girl with a Mandolin’ at the MoMA in New York and it has stayed with me. In this show I have paid tribute to Picasso with my own versions of that painting, where the mandolin has been replaced by the sarod and sitar,” he says.
Haidri’s lifelong love for music is reflected in all his paintings. “I have always enjoyed listening to music, but when I got back to painting I did a lot of research on music, musicians and musical instruments to get an in-depth understanding of the subject. The flute is a recurring presence in my work because it was the first musical instrument used by human beings. In every painting, I try to portray how I feel when listening to a particular instrument or composition. I believe my paintings will resonate with every viewer because music is a universal language for expressing feelings, sensation and mood,” he says.
Jyoti Kalsi is an arts-enthusiast based in Dubai.
“Symphony in Cubism” will run at the Z Gallery in Four Points by Sheraton on Shaikh Zayed Road until December 7.
