Abdul Jabbar Gul
Born in 1969 in Mirpurkhas (Pakistan)
Lives and works in Karachi (Pakistan)
Abdul Jabbar Gull completed his BFA in Sculpture from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 1996. He has several solo and group shows to his credit. From 1998 to 2008 he taught sculpture at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi and is still engaged with various institutes as visiting faculty. Gull attended the Fordsburg Residency Program, Johannesburg (2002); VASL International Artists’ Residency, Karachi (2005); 8th International Stone Sculpture Symposium, Seoul; Sculpture Symposium, Spain (2013) (2014) and (2015); and Arrecido Wood Symposium, Spain (2014). His work is part of collections nationally and internationally. He has completed several major commissions, including a mural for The State Bank of Pakistan, a metal sculpture for the Head office Faysal Bank in Karachi and a metal Installation for Glaxosmitithkline head office in Karachi. He is the recipient of the National Excellence Award for Sculpture by the Pakistan National Council of Arts and the Punjab Artist Association Award for Sculpture.
Abdul Jabbar Gull writes: “Growing up in Mirpurkhas, a remote area in Pakistan that does not have any conventional art activities associated with larger towns, I remember on my way to school seeing a sign painter that used to work in calligraphy and make portraits. Watching him at work motivated me to attempt calligraphy and make sketches on my schoolbooks. Later, as an art student at the National College of Arts, Lahore, I explored various disciplines. In sculpture I found what I had been searching for all along. It helped me develop my senses and increased my awareness towards the world around me. I learnt to see and feel my surroundings in an entirely new way. I found my passion…I find wood and metal to be sympathetic mediums; they help me to enhance my quest and continue it. My carvings in wood set out to explore numerous questions arising from the changing circumstances of my life. I have no conclusions, so my work speaks of the mysteries and ambiguities faced in this process.”
