Pastel Art in Pakistan: Historical Development, Artists’ Practices and the Emergence of the Pastel Society of Pakistan

Abstract

This paper aims to document the successive development of pastel art across the country; moving from the expressive pastel portraits of Khan Abdul Ghani Khan and following through to the establishment of the Pastel Society of Pakistan (PSP). Despite the rich history of Pakistani art, pastel medium has received less attention withing the art institutions, scholarly writings, practicing artists’ community and galleries. Based on the archival data, visual analysis, exhibitions records and existing scholarly literature, this paper presents Abdul Ghani Khan as a foundational precedent, who extensively used pastel for his artworks. The group of contemporary artists are selected here based on their diverse approaches, styles and techniques who portray different genres like, portraiture, architectural memory, landscape, foliage, symbolic and abstract forms using pastels. Central to this study is how pastel shifts across line, tonal modelling, layared hues and deliberate engagement with the support. It suggests that pastel should not be considered as merely a drawing medium. Instead, it functions as a mature, hybrid painting medium in its own nature and applications, defined by the ways,  artists handle pastels, surface, colour and the overall composition. The foundation of the PSP and staging its first show titled, The Twelve Pastelists, were major milestones in building a countrywide community of practicing pastels. The paper concludes that athentic historical documentation, professional and institutional practice, curatorial and art gallaries instruction, easy access to materials, conservational knowledge and sustained curatorial focus are all essential to recognize and appreciate pastel’s status within contemporary art history in Pakistan.

Keywords: Pastel; Pakistan; Pastel Society of Pakistan; Khan Abdul Ghani Khan; Contemporary Painting; Art Institutions; Practice-based Research; Materiality, Pastelists, Pastel Artists.