28/02/2025
Next “Mind=Blown 2.0 (a dialogue with Piet Mondrian)” by which opens on Tuesday 11th March 2025
Ghulam Hussain (Guddu) is a contemporary visual artist belonging to Hyderabad, Sindh, home to the world’s oldest civilization, Indus Valley Civilization. He is trained in miniature painting from National College of Arts Lahore (2009). Guddu comes from a family which is craft orientated and as they were his initial inspiration, his artmaking is craft-based. He challenges the notion of high-end art by integrating in it forms of craft (from his roots in Sindhi culture) which are considered as laborious and menial. Belonging to the land of a historically rich culture, heritage, and craft, Guddu has a personal attachment with the Sindhi craft like Ralli, Chatai, and Charpai which reflects in his art practice.
This current body of work by Guddu is an exploration and interpretation of Piet Mondrian’s art practice. The artworks in the current exhibit feel different when viewed from various directions and distances. Colors and patterns which emerge in these pieces when viewed from the left change when viewed from the right side. This combination of art and craft inspired from the craft making of Sindh combined with inspiration drawn from Piet Mondrian’s practice takes Guddu’s skill of artmaking to new heights.
Guddu’s work has been exhibited widely both nationally and internationally including the Devi Art Foundation Museum in India, the Fifth Beijing International Art Biennial in National Art Museum in China and at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Pakistan. He has been the recipient of a Grant by Rockefeller Brothers Artist Residency, New York and The Artist Students League Artist Residency, New York.
