About
The Artist
I have always tried to articulate my own thoughts, evolve my own symbols, and express myself in my own style.
NAHID RAZA
Nahid Raza was born with art very much part of her genes. Her Persian ancestors came to India and settled in Hyderabad, Deccan in the 16th Century. During the reign of the emperor Aurangzeb, the family moved to Nagpur and from there Nahid’s father, Syed Yusuf Raza, shifted to Delhi, where he became a well-known journalist, author, and art writer. At the time of partition, Yusuf and his wife Azra were joined by his brother S. Ali Imam on the exodus from Delhi to Lahore, and on to Rawalpindi.
A third brother, Syed Haider Raza, stayed on in Bombay, where he became one of the founders of the Progressive Art Movement initiated by Francis Newton Souza. Syed Heider Raza left India in 1949 and headed for France, settling in Paris, where he went on to achieve international recognition. It was S. Ali Imam, who later became a key figure in art circles in Pakistan, was to have the greatest influence on Nahid’s life.
Nahid’s parents and her maternal grandparents initially settled in Khairpur, Sindh, and while Nahid divided her time between her family in Khairpur and her aunts in Hyderabad, Sindh, she became familiar with the culture and history of the region. Eventually, Nahid joined her parents in the home they had set up in Nazimabad, Karachi. Here, her father, who had grown up with artist brothers, encouraged his children to draw and paint. Education was of extreme importance to both the parents, and Nahid was marked out for a future in medicine.
Nahid completed one year of art studies with great enthusiasm and good results, but in order to continue, Nahid had to pass her matriculation exam. As she had this agreement with her parents, Nahid had no choice but to put aside her art practice and complete her formal education. As Nahid’s mother was keen that Nahid should go on to study medicine, she took up science subjects at Sir Syed College, and although she did not enjoy the studies, she complied with her parents’ wishes by studying rigorously.
STARTING OUT AS A PAINTER STARTING OUT AS A PAINTER
1970 — 1980
STARTING
OUT AS A
PAINTER
Nahid Raza completed her arts course in 1970 and thus began her journey to explore various media and art styles. Like most young artists, Nahid searched for themes and ultimately, she found her inspiration in the life around her.
At that time, the Raza family home was a small town house with concrete balconies and patterned wall openings that allow light and air to enter the rooms. It was these impressions that inspired her ‘Jharoke’ (balcony) series. She incorporated such ideas into her work with geometrical designs and Islamic motifs, largely influenced by the art of the Byzantine period. Her subconscious awareness of her environment also stirred her artistic perception of a woman’s place in society and led to her award-winning ‘Woman’ series.
Before her marriage took place in 1971, Nahid, along with her class-fellow, Anjum Saeed, mounted a two-artist exhibition at the Indus Gallery. Shakir Ali attended the exhibition and he predicted to Imam that Nahid would be a future artist of note.
NAHID’S WORK & EXHIBITIONS NAHID’S WORK & EXHIBITIONS
The 80s were a time of great expectations but love, optimism, and hard work were the key ingredients that helped Nahid ensure a happy home for her loved ones. She found creative inspiration in the intricate patterns of nature and presented them on textured canvases with a touch of love, optimism, and hope. Nahid was awarded the second prize in the Fine Arts Section of the Pakistan National Visual Arts Exhibition held in Islamabad in 1981.
Her inspiration lay deeply in ancient Egyptian and Byzantine art which later led to her finest creations such as “Reflection”, “Jharoke”, and “Still-Life”, in which she interfaced geometric-shaped objects and cubes. Her most noteworthy work of this era is “Chawkandi Tombs” series, inspired by the beautiful yet mysterious Chawkandi sand tombs located at the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan.
In 1984, the artist exhibited her work at the Karachi Arts Council, and later that year, showcased a series of thirty paintings from the “Chawkandi Tombs” series at the Indus Gallery.
1980 — 1990
NAHID’S
WORK
1990 — 2000
STARTING
OUT AS A
PAINTER
In the last decade of the century, Nahid perfected the personification of the feminist work ethic as mother, daughter, teacher and accomplished artist. She taught, traveled abroad, exhibited her work, participated in artist’s camps, and launched her own art institute, Studio Art in 1992. Her children gained admission in reputed institutions abroad and she continued to explore and work on her ‘Woman’ series.
After two decades of work she was the recipient of national awards and her work had been shown in many parts of the world. In 1990, she mounted a solo exhibition of her work titled ‘To Speak Without Words’ at Islamabad, and participated in a group exhibition in Karachi. The exhibition was a milestone in art in Pakistan as no artist before Nahid had so boldly challenged the status of women in a male-dominated society that legitimized the Hudood ordinance.
Her children Zainab and Azfar had gotten admission abroad and later Nahid was invited to Germany as artist in residence at the Ateliers Gallery. The decade ended with her art display in Houston and Chicago in 1999, accompanied by her honorable lecture to the audience in Houston.