Anwar Jalal Shemza, Take 2: The British Landscape
  9th September 2010 to 22nd October 2010

  Green Cardamom presents the second of a series of exhibitions exploring the practice of the late Anwar Jalal Shemza (1929-1985). Take 2: The British Landscape examines the work of the artist through the lens of the landscape genre and is curated by artist, writer and lecturer, Rachel Garfield.

Shemza trained at the Mayo School of Art in Lahore (now the National College of Arts), graduating in 1947 and then at the Slade School of Art in London from 1956-1958. It was during this period that Shemza abandoned his earlier illustrative approach to modern art, and began to develop his practice in new ways. Garfield posits that the explanation of work by an artist’s peers and contemporaries is vital in forming a judgement and ultimate legacy. Shemza, as a Pakistani, was positioned by critics of the time as a South Asian artist, which hindered a comprehensive and thorough investigation of his work. Garfield argues that by placing Shemza’s practice within these parameters, they failed to take on the maturity and breadth of his work.

Anwar Jalal Shemza was born in Simla, India in 1928. He received his BFA from the Mayo School of Art (now National College of Arts) in Lahore, before enrolling at the Slade School of Art, London (1956). While living in London he showed alongside F.N. Souza and Avinash Chandra at Victor Musgrave’s Gallery One, and had solo shows at Gallery One (1960) and the influential New Visions Centre (1958). Shemza’s work has been exhibited widely, including at the 6th Triennial of World Art, New Delhi, 1956; 5th Exhibition of International Prints, Moderna Galerija, Ljubiana, 1963; Treasures from the Commonwealth, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1965; 1st British International Drawing Biennial, Teeside Art Gallery, 1973 (where he was a Major Prize recipient); The Other Story, Hayward Gallery, London 1989-90;; Typo, Ikon, Birmingham, 1999-2000; and Pakistan Another Vision, Centre of Contemporary Art, Glasgow; Huddersfield Art Gallery; Brunei Gallery, London 2000. Selected solo shows include Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lahore1960-2; Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art, Durham, 1963; Manchester Metropolitan University, 1992 and the Birmingham City Museum, 1997-8. Shemza died in Stafford, UK, in 1985.

Rachel Garfield is an artist and writer. She is a lecturer in Fine Art (Critical Studies) in the Fine Art Department at Goldsmiths, University of London.


Event:

On 30 September 2010, Whitechapel Gallery, London will host a panel discussion on the practice of Anwar Jalal Shemza and Rasheed Araeen. Panelists include Rachel Garfield, Curator of Take 2: The British Landscape; Hammad Nasar, co-founder of Green Cardamom; Iftikhar Dadi, artist and art historian, and Niru Ratnam, Director of Aicon Gallery, London. Time to be confirmed. Please check the Green Cardamom or Whitechapel website for details.
   
 
 
City Walls, 1961, gouache on mount board