Mumtaz Hussain
Encyclopedia
History and Education
Mumtaz Hussain (1954 - ), artist, filmmaker, graphic designer, was born in JhangJhang
- Demographics :According to 1981 census of Pakistan population of Jhang was 1,970,944 with the 434,495 housing units in Jhang. In 1998 census, population of Jhang was 2,834,545, whose annually growth rate was 2.16%. Male population was 1,474,099 and female population was 1,360,446...
, Pakistan, where he also began his education. Jhang is the center for Sufi culture in Pakistan, so Hussain was immersed in Sufi culture during his childhood. Hussain's early artistic education was informed by the medieval Indian figurative tradition. In 1981, he was admitted into the prestigious National College of Arts
National College of Arts
The National College of Arts Lahore, usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts...
(NCA) in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. NCA has produced many now famous contemporary Pakistani artists. During his time there, Hussain won the National Poster Competition, a coveted and highly selective award. Upon graduation, he was commissioned to construct a seventy-foot mural in Lahore's town center; he was also commissioned to decorate the Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan Palace, an architectural landmark in Karachi, under his instructors' supervision.
Hussain left Pakistan for London in 1981 to study European art forms. In 1988, he moved to New York to pursue graphic design at the School of Visual Art where his teachers included Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser is a graphic designer, best known for the I Love New York logo, his "Bob Dylan" poster, the "DC bullet" logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the "Brooklyn Brewery" logo. He also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.-Biography:Glaser was born into a Hungarian...
, a world renown graphic designer and illustrator. Hussain also studied figure drawing and painting at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
. His European and American art education introduced him to Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
and Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, which had a deep influence on his work. New York's multicultural atmosphere also helped Hussain develop a unique fusion of multiple customs and sources of inspiration, drawing on Eastern and Western styles both traditional and modern.
Also a graphic designer, Hussain has served as Art Director for Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, one of the leading U.S. publishing houses. He has also worked as a graphic designer or art director on accounts including Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
and Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
. Hussain regularly donates artworks for auction at the Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust
Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust
Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust or LRBT is Pakistan's largest non governmental organisation. working to fight blindness in the country. Established in 1984, it is based in Karachi with hospitals and primary eye care centres throughout the country....
(LRBT) in New York, and his works are shown at nearly every exhibition in a series called Erasing Borders: Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora, curated by the Indo-American Arts Council
Indo-American Arts Council
The Indo-American Arts Council is an American non-profit cultural organization that promotes Indian art, theatre, film, fashion, music and dance in the United States. The Council was established in 1998 in New York City...
.
Film
As a filmmaker, Hussain has participated in a number of films as director, writer, producer of both animations and short films. Titles to date include the feature length Art=(love)2, for which he also produced the paintings used as a key narrative device in the film (2011), and shorts Butterfly Screams (2007), Push Button For (2006), Yeh Mera Pakistan Hai (This is My Pakistan) for Pakistani TV Channel GEO (2005), Inside You (2004).His film Soul of Civilization has been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City as part of its 2003 exhibit The Art of the First Cities.
His art and films have been shown at numerous museums, universities, art galleries and many international film Festivals, including the 6th Karachi International Film Festival (KaraFilm) .
He directed 13 episodes of Parker Waichman Alonso LLP's television show, "Ask a Lawyer", on WWOR-TV (Channel 9) in New York City.
Exhibitions
- 1983 YMCA (Jesus: the great show), Lahore, Pakistan
- 1984 National College of ArtsNational College of ArtsThe National College of Arts Lahore, usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts...
Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan - 1985 Alhambra Art Centre, Lahore, Pakistan
- 1985 National Poet Alama Iqbal show, National College of ArtsNational College of ArtsThe National College of Arts Lahore, usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts...
Gallery, Lahore Pakistan - 1988 Media of Art Center London England
- 1988 La Bell Art gallery Paris France
- 1989 Art Student League of New York
- 1989 School of Visual ArtsSchool of Visual ArtsThe School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
New York - 1995 Simon & SchusterSimon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
Art gallery Parsippany New York - 1996 LRBTLayton Rahmatulla Benevolent TrustLayton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust or LRBT is Pakistan's largest non governmental organisation. working to fight blindness in the country. Established in 1984, it is based in Karachi with hospitals and primary eye care centres throughout the country....
Art show and Art Auction, Long Island City New York - 1997 Pak American Art Exhibition, Hilton Hotel, New Jersey
- 1998 Pak American Art Exhibition Hilton Hotel, New Jersey
- 1999 LRBTLayton Rahmatulla Benevolent TrustLayton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust or LRBT is Pakistan's largest non governmental organisation. working to fight blindness in the country. Established in 1984, it is based in Karachi with hospitals and primary eye care centres throughout the country....
Art show and Art Auction Roosevelt Hotel, New York - 2000 LRBTLayton Rahmatulla Benevolent TrustLayton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust or LRBT is Pakistan's largest non governmental organisation. working to fight blindness in the country. Established in 1984, it is based in Karachi with hospitals and primary eye care centres throughout the country....
Art show and Art Auction Roosevelt Hotel, New York - 2001 Ramnarine Art Gallery. Long Island City, New York
- 2001 New York Independent Art Fair The Plaza Hotel New York
- 2001 New York Independent Art Fair The Crown Plaza Hotel New York
- 2002 Tabak Museum, Vienna, Austria
- 2002 United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
New York - 2003 Art and Modernity Wisconsin State University Madison
- 2004 Art, Religion and Culture, Saint John the Divine 87 Street Church New York
- 2004 DIL Art Show, Cipriani New York
- 2004 Passport to Contemporary Indian Art Gallery, New York
- 2005 LRBTLayton Rahmatulla Benevolent TrustLayton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust or LRBT is Pakistan's largest non governmental organisation. working to fight blindness in the country. Established in 1984, it is based in Karachi with hospitals and primary eye care centres throughout the country....
Art Show, New York - 2005 Muslim Art Michigan State University Ann Arbor
- 2005 DIL Art Show, Cipriani New York
- 2006 Without Borders, The Gallery New York
- 2006 Film and Art, RIVAA Gallery New York
- 2006 Indus Valley Civilization, Hilton Hotel, New York
- 2007 Art and History, The WAH Center Williamsburg New York
- 2007 Modern Mystics, Alwan Gallery, New York
- 2008 Art show, One Police Plaza, City Hall, New York
- 2008 AIR Gallery 511 West 25th Street, New York, NY
- 2008 Queens Museum of ArtQueens Museum of ArtThe Queens Museum of Art is an art museum and educational center located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, United States.-Overview:...
Flushing Meadows, Corona Park, New York - 2008 Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY
- 2008 Manhattanville CollegeManhattanville CollegeManhattanville College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, located in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 it was known initially as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart...
Art Gallery, Purchase, Westchester, NY - 2008 The Guild Gallery, New York
- 2008 Tabla Rasa Gallery, 224 48th Street, Brooklyn, New York
- 2009 Dowd Gallery, State University of New YorkState University of New YorkThe State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
College at Cortland, Cortland, NY - 2009 The Gallery at Penn College Pennsylvania College of Technology One College Avenue Williamsport, PA
- 2009 Queens Museum of ArtQueens Museum of ArtThe Queens Museum of Art is an art museum and educational center located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, United States.-Overview:...
, New York City Building Flushing Meadows Corona Park Queens, NY - 2009 Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Project Space, New York
- 2010 The Guild Gallery, 45 West 21st Street, New York
- 2011 Queens Museum of Art, Flushing Meadows Corona Park Queens, New York
- 2011 Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University, New York
- 2011 Aicon Gallery, 35 Great Jones Street, New York
- 2011 Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
Books
GOOL AINAK KA PECHAY (Behind the Round Glasses)(written in Urdu)
160 pages
Pub: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2010