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| Seetharaman speaking at the exhibition |
Doha Bank and Blue Mosaic in association with Sotheby’s hosted ‘Between 2 lines’, an exhibition of Islamic calligraphy at the main auditorium of Doha Bank Tower recently.
The event provided a private viewing of a suite of paintings by the late renowned artist M F Hussain and was attended by ambassadors and diplomats in Qatar and customers of Doha Bank.
Doha Bank Group CEO R Seetharaman spoke on calligraphy and elaborated on the life of M F Hussain.
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| Japanese Ambassador Kenjiro Monji looks at one of the exhibits |
“It is very fashionable to talk in China about calligraphy and bank strategy. Approaching a piece of paper to write calligraphy is like mapping out a bank’s strategy in the Chinese economy. Some of the finest works of modern calligraphy are charters and letters patent issued by monarchs and officers of state in various countries,” he told the gathering.
Islamic calligraphy, he said, is associated with geometric Islamic art on the walls and is a visible expression of the highest art of all.
Hussain, widely regarded as the ‘Picasso of India’, has influenced a whole generation of artists in the country, claiming to have produced some 60,000 paintings in one of his last interviews in BBC. Hussain became well known as an artist in the late 1940s.
In addition to several awards for his work as an artist and filmmaker, the Indian government awarded him three of India’s highest civilian awards in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the country, namely the Padma Shri in 1955, the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.
Noted Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad was also one of the speakers in the evening. A media clipping on the biography of M F Hussain was displayed on the occasion by his son Owais Hussain.