Born in 1939, Pakistan
In 1966, a 63-mile trip from Karachi to Thatta
(interesting archaeological site and traditional
center of tiles and pottery) brought about
complete metamorphosis in young painter. For
centuries ceramics have been considered medium of
artistic expression in Thatta. Here, in the
stretches of the desert, the sand glitters under
bright hot sun beating down fiercely from the
intensely blue, cloudless sky. Harmonizing with
bright sun shine, ceramists, who are also
intuitive artists, work and design intricate
patterns, using only blue, white and brown as
basic colors.
The artist in Kohari was deeply fascinated by this
medium. Inspired, he made exploratory trip to Hala,
another town in Sind, which is traditionally the
center of Sindhi pottery. The trip to Hala decided
Kohari to work seriously in the new medium.
At first, hr borrowed some material from potters
and designed few experimental tiles of his own,
blue-and-white, of course, but illustrated in his
usual figural style; but the half-hearted attempt
left Kohari dissatisfied. Temperamentally, he
would have liked to throw himself feverishly and
frantically into the world of wet clay, oxides and
kilns.
Kohari's sudden and unannounced absence for 18
months from Karachi art scene was later to
be accounted for by the giant-size display of his
ceramics in March 1969. Gallery of Karachi Arts
Council, were he exhibited his ceramics, looked
like well-stocked department store.
During these months, he had worked up North to the
villages near Gujranwala, town in Punjab renowned
for its pottery. Until then, pottery to him meant
nothing more than the few decorative pieces, he
had chanced to see in the houses and shops of
Karachi. But, it was soon to become his life's
guiding passion. To learn the age-old secrets of
shaping, firing and glazing wet clay into toys,
jars and vases, he decided to live with these
craftsmen, whose trade had been handed down from
father to son, for centuries.
Gaining their confidence was not easy. At first,
they were highly suspicious of this city dweller,
who had left his comfortable, modern world to live
in their mud houses, eat their simple food and
sleep under the stars, near their cows and
buffaloes. But, Kohari's sincerity and passion for
pottery changed their minds.
They were pleased to see that he had mastered
techniques of firing and glazing. But, on occasion
they were mystified by their enigmatic student,
who was doing so many strange things, which they
had certainly never taught him. For instance,
Kohari would deliberately craze the fine sheen on
the surfaces of his works by over firing or under firing
them. Or, he would deliberately ignore the
conventional uses of oxides and let them run wild
into strange, unusual patterns. He would not shape
his vases, bowls and jars with any particular
care, and they would either crack at the edges
from over firing, or he would deliberately distort
them into absolutely non-functional shapes with
his hands.
Seeing this, they would shake their wise gray
hands sadly. He had forgotten all their fine
education, they would say. However, they were
pleased enough with their obstinate student, when
he portrayed their life on his tiles and pottery.
They would see on them vivid pictures of their
farmers, cows, houses, children and their
womenfolk, pictures which looked almost alive.
70 beautiful tiles, in sparking color schemes,
with some drawings in relief of them, some with
non-reflecting surfaces, some with super glazed
surfaces, others with crazed surfaces, was for the
first time exhibited, in Pakistan.
Less than a year, he left to Europe. In 1970, he
held individual painting exhibition in "Gallerie
Simone Badinier", Paris. He spent 19 months
at "Ecole des Beaux Art" and "Savigny",
learning traditional and contemporary techniques
of the medium.
When he completed his schooling in Paris, quietly
moved to Auffay, rented 150-years-old farm-house,
fitted it with electric kiln and settled down to
serious work in his secluded residence-cum-studio.
Kohari has abandoned pottery making: "I am
not potter, I am painter in clay".
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