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Jamali Fine Art
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Jamali Jamali(1944) Brief Introduction Jamali (1944) is an Indian - born, American artist working and living in New York City since 1973. His artistic process is composed of a particular aesthetic that uses complex fresco and tempera mediums, while incorporating decidedly expressive characteristics. His art incorporate elements from nature such as leafs and twigs also, it is painted using the artist’s feet. It combines elements seen in the raw emotion of German Expressionism, the portrayal of recognizable figures in a violently emotional way using vivid colors from neo-expressionism, and many conceptual elements of Abstract Expressionism. Personal Life Jamali was raised in the foothills of the Himalayas near the Khyber Pass, in Peshawar, Pakistan (once a Buddhist capital.) The eldest son of prominent physicians, Jamali was sent to a British military academy at the age of thirteen. Only three years later, he was expelled from the school for “rebellious behaviors.” He believed in peace, not war. Jamali then retreated to the Rajasthan desert, about 1,500 miles away from Peshawar, where he lived amongst the Sufi, a people devoted to the worship of a higher omnipresence or ‘mysterium tremendum’ through intimate and personal rituals, such as dancing. “The Sufi belief in leading a life of inner calm, reflection, and love ,” which had great influence on Jamali and his subsequent artistic endeavors. After years of learning and reflection with the Sufi, Jamali returned to his homeland to further his education. He eventually earned a Masters Degree in Advanced Economics at the University of Peshawar. Further travels and personal discovery of the great Western art treasures in Berlin, Florence, Rome and Vienna led the artist to immigrate to New York City in the early 1970s. By 1976, Jamali recognized his calling through a series of powerful and mystical dreams. These dreams, which began shortly after the sudden death of his father, re-defined Jamali’s mission as a mystic and an artist. He subsequently devoted himself to a life of painting, discipline, and meditation. Jamali earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Florida, and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Florida. Career Work (1970’s -Current) Movement Jamali’s Art forms a new movement called Mystical Expressionism which was coined by American art critic, Donald Kuspit. He states “Mystical expressionism is a new mode of art-making that combines the scientific insights of our new age with humankind's ancient wisdom. ” His art is composed of the traditional and the contemporary methodologies of his years spent with the Sufi, a mysterious desert people who still respect the shaman's powers, complement his studies of modern physics and chemistry. Jamali is the first to incorporate the paradoxes of quantum mechanics into contemporary art. Donald Kuspit writes that “On one level, Jamali’s art is built on the probability, that is the notion the physical object is like a wave in that it has a probable but far from definite form, and as such must be represented in a fluid, seemingly insubstantial manner, if it is to be authentically rendered. ” Different Mediums Utilized by the Artist Jamali uses Fresco Tempera, Oils on Linen, industrial Paints on Canvas, and organic Pigments on prepared surface, and organic pigmentation on cork as mediums to create his specific form of art. He paints out of doors, applying paint in a meditative dance, like the Sufi mystic's swirling prayer to God. The dance on the paintings creates a thick textured. He builds up his intense and complex surfaces over time (approximately fifteen years), allowing the elements to interact with the paint and canvas. In his paintings there are traces of twigs, leaves, and other things found in nature. It often feels as if time and nature, not the artist, has created these deeply etched and layered surfaces. Jamali has brought together the processes of painting and the environment and as such, pushed the frontier of creating painterly surfaces with new meanings. Selected Pieces of Jamali’s Work -Pigmentation on Cork applies pure organic and inorganic pigments to natural cork. “Vision” This piece was created on the same principal of “Schrödinger’s Cat,” but in this case, it was created under water. -Fresco Tempera uses raw powered pigments on a prepared surface. Then, the pigments are banded together by a three tier chemical process, invented by Jamali. “Seven Steps to Heaven” is a monumental piece, one of the most ambitious in weighty for contemporary art history. It is 11 feet high and 100 feet long and weighs approximately 10,000 pounds.. The entire piece took fifteen years to complete. It is painted by Jamali’s feet in a ritual dance, a process he calls “walking to heaven”, hence the name “Seven Steps to heaven.” "Schrödinger’s Cat" is a raw and rough piece, based on modern science and a touch of spirituality. The center of the image, the materializing form, a cat - like figure, gives the image a mysterious feel. Donald Kuspit writes “Schrodinger’s Cat is a new, even more elusive kind of Cheshire cat: it is always on the verge on fading away into an atmosphere of energy, yet still, intuitively, a material presence. ” -Oil on Canvas “Remains of my Mother” -Quoted from the Artist - “Walk gently on this earth, for this is your mother.” “After my mother passed away everywhere I walked I remembered.” “And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small’” -Bronze Sculpture The measurements of “Blind Man IV” are 51x16x9. “I stoke the fire Eat my legs up to my knees Take off My blood soaked clothes Sever my head I lift my naked torso to The counter And witness this condition A miracle This rite of devotion” -Two Stanzas taken from the “The Kitchen, ” written by Jamali. -Photography #10126 24”x20” Jamali uses 8”x10” film for hand painted silver photographs. This photograph as of all of Jamali’s is hand painted and is a one of a kind original- there are no editions. -Jamali’s environmental pieces are monumental & weighty. The measurements of the pieces are around 10’x150’. There are 167 panels total from this collection. Published Literature about Jamali 1. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/PAINTINGS KUSPIT, DONALD; MARK STRAND, FORWARD (COLLECTOR’S EDITION WITH CORK SLIP CASE) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 1997 2. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/PAINTINGS KUSPIT, DONALD; MARK STRAND, FORWARD (LIMITED EDITION WITH BRICK SLIP CASE) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 1997 3. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/PAINTINGS KUSPIT, DONALD; MARK STRAND, FORWARD (TRADE EDITION) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 1997 4. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/PAINTINGS AND MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/DREAMS AND WORKS KUSPIT, DONALD; PHILIP E. BISHOP, MARK STRAND, FORWARD (DOUBLE BOOK SET WITH BLACK CASE) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 1997-2003 5. 2002 LIMITED EDITIONS PRINT CATALOGUE MARDAN PUBLISHING • 2002 6. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM HILLIGOSS GALLERY • CHICAGO, ILLINOIS • 2002 7. JAMALI: MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM WALKER FINE ART • DENVER, COLORADO • 2002 8. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/DREAMS AND WORKSA KUSPIT, DONALD; PHILIP E. BISHOP, FORWARD (COLLECTOR’S EDITION WITH LEATHER SLIP CASE) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 2003 9. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/DREAMS AND WORKS 10. KUSPIT, DONALD; PHILIP E. BISHOP, FORWARD (TRADE EDITION) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 2003 11. 2003 LIMITED EDITIONS PRINT CATALOG MARDAN PUBLISHING • 2003 12. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM/DREAMS AND WORKS KUSPIT, DONALD; PHILIP E. BISHOP, FORWARD (LIMITED EDITION WITH BLACK SLIP CASE) RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL • NEW YORK, NEW YORK • 2003 13. 2005 LIMITED EDITIONS PRINT CATALOG MARDAN PUBLISHING • 2005 14. MYSTICAL EXPRESSIONISM MARDAN PUBLISHING • 2007 Jamali and the Art Institution Jamali has continued to shock the world of art from beginning to date. He has been expelled from two educational institutions for his artistic methods. Very often there has been open hostility to his art making process. Jamali was told not to pursue Mystical Expressionism while attending the University of Florida, working on his MFA degrees. Jamali’s Foundation Inc. The Jamali foundation’s holdings comprise of sixty-thousand works of art. A state of the art methodology is employed to archive the history and cataloging of this collection in perpetuity. Solo Exhibitions/Selection from 100 Man Shows 1. 2006-2007"Journey of Hope," Jamali Gallery. New York, New York. December 7 - January 20, 2007. 2. “Without Me," Jamali Gallery. New York, New York. February 1-March 25, 2007. 3. "Time," Jamali Gallery. New York, New York. April 5-May 26, 2007. 4. "Panic / Bliss," Jamali Gallery. New York, New York. June 7-September 3, 2007. 5. "Day," Jamali Gallery. New York, New York. September 13-November 11, 2007. 6. Jamali Fine Art, LLC. Naples, Florida. December 5-January 10, 2008. 7. "Dancer," Jamali NYC Gallery, LLC. New York, New York. November 15-January 13, 2008. 8. "Seven Steps to Heaven," Jamali Gallery. New York, New York. February 23-April 23, 2008. 9. "The Four Horsemen," Jamali NYC Gallery. New York, New York. May 29-September 1, 2008. Honors & Awards -Jamali was named GQ’s 2001 “One the Most Fascinating People in the World.” -His artwork is found in well over 9000 private collections in the United States and abroad, including those of notable celebrities and dignitaries such as: Opera Winfrey, Kelsey Grammer, Emeril Lagasse, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Paula Zahn, Jack Welch, Sir Elton John and his majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. 
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