Title: Rābi'a Zuberi
Subtitle: Hayāt aur Fann [Rabia Zuberi: Life and Work]
Description: This book is the Urdu version of the original book in English “Rabia Zuberi: Life and Work” by Pakistani art critic Marjorie Husain, published by Foundation for Museum of Modern Art (FOMMA).

Rabia Zuberi, Pakistan’s premiere women sculptor and the recipient of numerous national awards, has dedicated her life to art and art education in Pakistan. Principal of the Karachi School of Art established over forty years ago, Rabia received her art education from the Lucknow College of Art (Lucknow, India), and after graduation in 1963, made her home in Karachi. Finding no art school in the city, Rabia with her sister Hajra and aided by painter Mansur Rahi opened the Karachi School of Art, flourishing today.

Rabia was awarded top honours for sculpture from national Youth Art Exhibitions, held in Calcutta and New Delhi in 1961, 1962 and 1963.

The changes in Rabia’s life found a reflection in her maturing work. In the 70s, she began to analyze the human anatomy working in a simplified form that gave reference to abstraction.

The ‘Dignity of Labour series’ was the outcome of the work entailed in the construction of the Karachi School of Art. In the 1980s, Rabia looked at design as an element of sculpture, approaching it as a gender issue. In the 1990s, the artist’s concern for the troubled mega city of Karachi was expressed in the series: “Quest for Peace”.

In Pakistan Rabia Zuberi’s work has been nationally acknowledged by way of awards in 1986, ‘87, and ‘88, and in 1996 when she was awarded top honours from the 7th National Art Exhibition. In 2003, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

A monumental sculpture ‘Plea for Universal Peace', is among the collection of the National Art Gallery, Islamabad.

Marjorie Husain is a well-known art critic who has been engaged for over two decades in promoting Pakistan’s art and culture both in the country and abroad. She has curated and organized art exhibitions both at home and in foreign countries, written a history of art in the subcontinent for the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, USA, traced the history of art in Pakistan for a book on Karachi: Megacity of Our Times (OUP), compiled and edited a book on Basheer Mirza, and written a book “Aspects of Art” for Oxford University Press, Pakistan.
Marjorie was a regular contributor to The Gallery, a Dawn Newspaper art supplement, and now for Dawn Images (Sunday magazine). MH also writes monthly columns for “She” magazine.
Subjects: Visual arts, fine art, sculpture, design, art education
Places: Lucknow, Delhi (India), Karachi (Pakistan)
People: Several celebrated personalities of visual arts mostly from South Asia
Time periods: 1900-2009