AMIN GULGEE
Written By: Solmaz Regi
Amin Gulgee has a prominent place in the art scene of Pakistan and is actively involved internationally too. He was the chief curator of the first Karachi Biennale in 2017 with 180 artists, 12 sites, and 60 international artists. He is also a trustee member of the KBT (Karachi Biennales Trust). The inaugural KB17 was themed “Witness- We all bear witness to our times and ourselves, both in the present and the past.” –Amin Gulgee.
Amin Gulgee Gallery inaugurated in the year 2000 is a breath of fresh air. It’s a sanctuary for noncommercial and thematically produced solo and/or collaborative shows. One can feel the airiness from its home vibe to the gallery display, to the uniquely done clay and glass rooftop area, usually shown in his performances, and not to forget the New York-style staircase. Everything is airy and energy just flows through and through with the right amount of light.
He has a very peculiar view of looking towards the world and specifically art. A personalized point of view, that is creator centric with an inside-out approach. An honest black-and-white personality yet vibrantly loud, with the right amount of madness soaked with salty sanity. He is completely over the top of the moment yet not controlling. This leaves the audience almost enigmatic however giving them a clear creative picture.
He received a BA in Art History and Economics from Yale University, USA in 1987 and won the Conger B. Goodyear Fine Arts Award for his senior thesis on Moghul gardens. He works primarily in sculpture, installation, and performance. He has participated and exhibited in numerous solo, father-son, and group exhibitions and has performed all around Pakistan, and all over the world including Italy, Malaysia, India, UAE, Portugal, USA, UK, UN Headquarters (New York), Germany, and Beijing Biennial.
He has also been the recipient of the following awards:
2019 – Best Visual Artist, Islamabad Art Festival
2012 – Pakistan Power 100
2005 – President’s Pride of Performance, Government of Pakistan
2001 – Young Achiever Award, IndusVision – First Award for Jewelry, Pakistan School of Fashion Design
1999 –Calligraph-Art Award, 2nd International CaligraphArt Competition
1993 – Excellence in Art Award, Sindh Government
WHO IS AMIN GULGEE BEFORE BEING THE ARTIST, THE CELEBRITY?
AMIN GULJEE (AG): I’m completely the artist; you cannot separate me from my work. I think the way you live your life is the way you do your work. You cannot separate the two things. The real Amin Gulgee is the real me, it’s my work, that’s me!
HOW DO YOU DEFINE ART AND HOW DID THIS EVOLVE FOR YOU AS A PERSON?
AG: Art is everything!, art is everything around you, I use art as therapy, I use art to understand myself, and my situation in the cosmos. Art doesn’t evolve me, it helps me understand how I am at a certain point in time it’s a constant process.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT ART ASPECTS THAT YOU COVER IN ANY MAJOR?
AG: I work in sculpture, installation performance art, and also curate. I do all of these things. I don’t have a major everything balances out, everything affects everything, and everything is interconnected for me. Primarily I have worked in copper and bronze with my object making with my sculpture.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST? WHO INSPIRER’S YOU LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY?
AG: My father is my favorite artist and the fact that he was a genius. Internationally there is a variety of people; you see I travel a lot to see what’s happening in the rest of the world. I’m very interested to see what’s happening around me internationally and there is always something that you say oh that’s interesting. I don’t have one person that I can say “Oh My God!”
YOUR WORK IS VERSATILE WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MEDIUMS?
AG: I love everything to see that’s me I like all mediums as long as they are well done. The question is “is it well done?” I don’t care about what you are doing whether it’s conceptual or what kind of work it is or if is it new media, I’m interested in how good it is.
WHAT DOES AMIN GULGEE DO THAT NO ONE ELSE DOES?
AG: I think most of the things I do nobody else does. I think the kind of work I’m doing is different. This international biennale lady judge came to the KB17 and told me how much she liked the biennale and then she came over to my studio and looked at my work and said “I’ve never seen work like this before.” And she was someone who judges biennales and has seen an incredible amount of work, a German woman. You see when I go around the world in art fairs and I’m speaking internationally not nationally I’ve never seen the work that I’m doing, it sticks out, I’m an aberration.
HOW IS ART IMPORTANT FOR SOCIETY?
AG: Art is the soul of society! And for some reason without any public or private support, the art scene continues to grow and thrive in Pakistan, and I think it’s very important for the young generation that’s coming out that their work should be supported.
CAN WE BRING CHANGE IN THE SOCIETY THROUGH ART?
AG: This is a country where artists have become populist heroes, for example, Sadequain, you don’t have to be an intellectual to know about the existence of Sadequain, everybody knows Sadequain. The old generation of modernism Sadequain and Ahmed Parvez believed in art for change and the newer generations are more interested in just exporting themselves. I think Inshallah and I hope that they also think that they must change the context of the work, it should matter in the context of Pakistan what they are doing.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS AS AN ARTIST?
AG: To be free and to do exactly what you want to do, which I have done. It’s liberating I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it. I’m very grateful.
DO YOU HAVE A SCHEDULE AS AN ARTIST, AND WORK LIFE BALANCE?
AG: Absolutely! I’m completely scheduled; my work life is my entire life. I wake up super early, my chaps come in, and a lot of projects go on at the same time, some juggling throughout the day. Lots have been happening this year, it’s all on my website and social media.
ANY MESSAGE YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE TO OUR READERS?
AG: Sure! I think art is important, I think art has to be supported and it doesn’t mean buying it. It means being interested in it going to exhibitions being aware of what your cultural scene is. Because the greatest thing my parents gave me was cultural confidence when I left for Yale University in America. Know your culture, know where you are. Pakistan is beyond cricket, there is a culture here too, be aware of it be aware of the contemporary Pakistani culture and that means be aware of the art scene.
BEING A TRUSTEE FOR KBT HOW DO YOU SEE THE KB24 AND WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE ADDED TO MAKE IT BETTER?
AG: I don’t know, we will see where it goes it all depends on the vision of the chief curator. We had Faisal Anwar this time, Mohammad Zeeshan the time before and I was the first. Each curator had a different vision so we will see where it goes. It all depends on the curator’s vision again. One important thing is that the biennale needs to engage the city.
ONE WORD FOR THE PAKISTANI ART SCENE?
Eclectic!
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Written By: Solmaz Regi, Creative Head at Ruralz Inc. – It’s an Interior Design firm in Karachi; she is also the Co-Founder of the platform Identity Pakistan – A Social Patriotic Initiative that is active in diverse areas. She believes in Metaphysical thinking and going beyond borders, is a multilingual, an occasional poet, and a humanitarian activist.
