KARACHI It`s a rare opportunity for ceramics enthusiasts to see as many as 250 specimens of pieces moulded by a master. The venue is the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and the scintillating forms of ceramics put on display were done by the guru in the field — the late Salahuddin Mian. The exhibition, curated painstakingly by Noorjehan Bilgrami, commenced with a lot of fanfare and will be on till Feb 23.

The wide range of exhibits shows that Mian was as prolific as he was versatile. In her welcome address, the curator thanked all those who had loaned their pieces of the master ceramicist in their collection and at the same time lamented that some people were not willing to part with their collection even for a few days.

“Mian considered all his pieces to be a part of the same family,” said Ms Bilgrami. But then, as someone said, the late ceramicist was very possessive about his pieces and was extremely nervous when moving them from one venue to another.

Adil Salahuddin, a very close friend of Mian, said that postal stamps ought to be issued in the late artist`s memory. He also suggested that the art schools in the country ought to offer a scholarship in ceramics, with financial help from business houses. Mohsin Bandey, a carpet designer, said that the specimens of ceramics on display pulsated with life. “Like all great artists, Mian sahib can be seen in his pieces of art,” he commented.

Karachi-based artist Akhtar Hilal Zuberi, who was a contemporary of Mian at Lahore`s National College of Arts (NCA) and one of his old friends, recalled incidents which showed that the artist was a non-conformist. “He was in fact a dervish,” said Zuberi.

Noorjehan Bilgrami, who spent almost a year in putting up the exhibition, called him an unsung hero. But at least on that evening there was no dearth of appreciative remarks made in endearing terms for the artist, who passed away about a year ago. Had he been there, Mian would have been a picture of embarrassment for he didn`t exactly enjoy accepting compliments on such a wide scale.

Rashid Arshad, the head of the fine arts department, said that inside his hard exterior, Mian was as soft as clay, the medium he worked in.

Ms Bilgrami was assisted by Usman Ghouri in curating the exhibition at the IVS Gallery and Quddus Mirza will be the assistant curator at the exhibition when it moves to Lahore. The venue will be the Zahoorul Akhlaq Gallery at the NCA. —Anis Zuberi