To commemorate the 25th death anniversary of legendary artist, Sadequain (1930-1987), the Sadequain Foundation USA and Gallery 6 will collaborate to present a series of events in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad in February. These events will include the launch of the book, ‘The Saga of Sadequain’ and sessions with art school students about the different phases the iconic painter went through during his life. The book is scheduled to be launched in Karachi on 14 February at the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, in Lahore on 16 February at the Al Hamra Art Center, and in Islamabad on 19 February at the Islamabad Serena Hotel. The Serena hotel has also offered to sponsor the event in Islamabad as a part of its corporate social responsibility campaign. ‘The Saga of Sadequain’, is a two-volume book of over 800 pages with more than 500 images of his artworks. Volume one presents the artist’s biography and explores his life from childhood, through his adolescence, his emergence as a young artist and then his meteoric rise to stardom.
The book is based on personal experiences, family stories, newspaper and magazine articles and interviews with artists, writers, art historians and critics, and most importantly, five of Sadequain’s own manuscripts detailing his early life, his views on Indian Art, his travelogue, his letters, and his prologue to the collection of his ‘rubaiyyat’.
Volume two showcases a collection of Sadequain’s work that has mostly remained unknown to the world so far. Salman Ahmad PhD, a nephew of Sadequain is the author of the book. He founded the Sadequain Foundation in 2007 to catalogue Sadequain’s work and to introduce it to the world. To date, he has written eight books on Sadequain, with more in the pipeline. He has also held exhibitions of Sadequain’s work in the USA and Canada.
The Sadequain Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to discover, preserve, and promote the art of Sadequain. In pursuance of its goals, the foundation has executed exhaustive research to locate hundreds of pieces of Sadequain’s artwork – which he either gave away or were lost. The foundation has, till date, located his works in several countries such as Singapore, China, India, Middle East, Austria, Switzerland, France, England, USA, Canada, and others.
The Sadequain Foundation holds regular exhibitions of the artist’s works, and conducts seminars at museums and universities and also supports research on Sadequain’s life and work.
It also provides authentication of his works along with their history and analyses.
Gallery 6 is the official partner of the Sadequain Foundation in Pakistan, and has extended its unconditional support to promote the foundation’s aims.