Beschreibung:

Bashir Mirza (1941-2000)Untitled (Woman)
signed and dated 'BM 92' lower left
acrylic on canvas, framed
90.5 x 90.5cm (35 5/8 x 35 5/8in).FootnotesProvenance
Property from a private collection, Pakistan.
Acquired from the artist.
'There had always been charcoal sketches in process of BM's easel, but he started painting again with a vengeance at the end of 1988, influenced by his friend...Francis Newton Souza. Souza was based in America, but appeared to dislike New York, referring to it as a concrete jungle. He often visited Goa, and en route stopped off in Karachi, where he exhibited his work at the Indus Gallery. Staying with Bashir on an extended visit and working in his studio, Souza produced over sixty paintings. Bashir who had a great regard for Souza, watched him at work and became interested in the acrylic paints he used. The fast drying attribute of the medium appealed to BM's temperament and he started to try the medium on paper surfaces.
Thus began his involvement with acrylics. Tacking paper to a board, he began to sweep brushes, heavy with paint across the surface - and kings crowned with thorns, female forms, faces with mouths gagged by wide bands of paints, and leafless trees emerged. (Marjorie Husain, The Last of the Bohemians: Bashir Mirza, Karachi, 2006, p.73)
Bashir Mirza's artistic trajectory was deeply shaped by his engagement with F.N. Souza's ground-breaking oeuvre. Souza's daring and unapologetic exploration of the human form which entailed fusing the figurative with his vivid visual language resonated with Mirza, inspiring him to embark on his own path of artistic exploration, an example of which can be seen in Untitled (Woman).
Much like Souza's voluptuous nudes, BM's nude dominates the canvas however, unlike Souza's nudes, BM's nude is active. She appears to be escaping from the canvas, running against the wind and does not meet the viewers gaze. She is not meant to be looked at as evidenced through the feeble attempt at covering her modesty. The brushwork is swift and abrupt and unlike his Lonely Girl Series from the 70s, which had an air of nonchalance about them, this work is frantic, mirrored by the vivacious reds and maroons. She is unadorned apart from her necklace and yet has curvaceous lips and kohl rimmed eyes.
This painting is unique in Mirza's oeuvre as it is not part of any of his series, but stands alone. Much like Souza, BM goes beyond mere representation here, and instead challenges societal norms whilst embracing the rawness of human nature. Ali Imam best sums up BMs genius during his acrylic phase, when he says that 'His present work is figurative expressionist, executed with powerful strokes. His emphasis is on form, structure and sensitivity sculptured vertical, horizontal and diagonal gestural strokes. An intense imagery evolves in which colour, form, surfaces and spaces acquire a painterly sensitivity rare to find in figurative art in Pakistan.' (Marjorie Husain, The Last of the Bohemians: Bashir Mirza, Karachi, 2006, p.83)
Bonhams extends their gratitude to Mrs Salima Hashmi for her assistance with cataloguing this work.