KARACHI: The Gulgee Museum, named after one of the finest artists Pakistan has produced, Gulgee, and set up by his renowned sculptor son, Amin Gulgee, was opened for a preview for the media, art practitioners and art lovers on Tuesday evening.

The museum, located in Clifton, was formally inaugurated by the late artist’s daughter, Zarmeen, who had especially flown in from the US for the event.

The space is thoughtfully developed with some striking sections. For example, there’s a room in which portraits of his wife and children by Gulgee are displayed. They are pencil-on-paper works and exude affection for his family.

Gulgee’s early works are on view, too.

Each room has notes carrying descriptions of that particular phase in the artist’s life. The ‘Portraiture’ section needs a special mention where the viewer can see sketches of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud next to that of George H W Bush.

Gulgee Museum will formally open its doors to the public today

Earlier, former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in his engaging speech narrated a story. Gulgee made his portrait because he liked his face. When Gen Musharraf came to know about it, he expressed the desire that he’d also want his portrait be made by the great artist. Initially, Gulgee refused but after a bit of convincing, made it. One day, Gen Musharraf and Mr Shaikh were having food at a restaurant in Karachi when the general said he’d like to receive the portrait. They went to Gulgee’s house but the artist said he had no idea where he’d kept the artwork. A day later, however, he was able to find it.

Mr Shaikh said, “Gulgee is unique in Pakistani history [for a few reasons]. First, he went to some of the best universities in the world. Second, he always challenged himself to the extreme. Third, whatever he did, he was best at it. As a person he was curious, but he was also calm and content. He had this child-like innocence. You could feel happy in his presence. He exerted himself to the fullest. He always tried to strive for the very best. He was a good friend. He could do anything. He was a painter, sculptor, calligrapher, mosaic builder, he could use his hands, he could use the paintbrush, he could use the pencil, crayon, chalk, metals, marble… Whatever he touched, he turned it into gold.”

He said it was timely that a tribute was being paid to him. “I think it’s also appropriate that we recognise the great contributions of his wife, Zaro. She was the rock behind him. She protected him as well as preserved his work. She was his partner in life and death. I’m confident that Gulgee’s name will go on… One more thing: he loved Pakistan. He loved its people. He painted Pakistan, its ordinary folks and its rulers, the men on the street and the men in palaces.”

Art critic Niilofur Farrukh said Gulgee was a modernist who took up calligraphy and pushed it in a particular direction. He combined the Nastaliq and Kufic, the two very popular scripts, and turned them around in his own style.

Adam Fahy-Majeed said the Gulgee household is one of the most psychedelic households. “But it [the museum] also has inter-generational aesthetic interplay between father and son. You have the presence of Zaro. Amin has also created a Gulgee room. You can really feel their presence.”

Speaking on the occasion, Amin Gulgee said, “Gulgee was an octopus. For the Polynesian, the octopus was a spiritual guide, a bringer of life. Gulgee brought me to life and was my spiritual guide. The octopus has a very unique intelligence. Its neurons are not centralised in the brain. They spread among its tentacles, so the tentacles have an intelligence of their own. Gulgee’s arms and hands also had an intelligence of their own.”

He then went on to talk about his father’s art and its different phases, such as in the 1960s when he moved away from representation into abstraction. In 1974, he experimented with calligraphy for the first time (there’s a painting in the museum from that period).

“He was never happy with his calligraphy. Being a self-taught artist, he locked away himself in his room for seven years, learning calligraphy from all the great masters,” he said.

The museum will formally open its door for public on Wednesday (today).

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025