Masood Kohari, an internationally renowned painter and ceramicist, dies in France.

An internationally renowned painter and ceramicist named Masood Kohari passed away on Wednesday morning in Rouen, France, according to his family. He was 80 years old.

His wife and three kids are in mourning.

In 1969, Kohari immigrated to France and lived in Rouen, the region’s administrative centre. Since then, he had split his time between Pakistan and France.

He first became known in the Karachi art scene in the 1950s, when he and his best buddy Jamil Naqsh, who would go on to become one of Pakistan’s most renowned painters, set out to create the foundation for a national cultural awakening.

In those early years, Karachi was a distinct city. Contemporary artists, such as Shahid Sajjad, Maqsood Ali, Mansoor Aye, and many others from the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), were battling obstacles but were still building a name for themselves in a variety of disciplines.

When Kohari was 25 years old, he started his journey with oil paintings. At the Pakistan-American Cultural Centre, he eventually presented a solo show. Nasir Shamsie, an art critic, said that although he was mostly self-taught, he has “the talents and sensitivity of a natural-born artist.”

Later, Kohari became fixated on clay, which inspired him to experiment with the novel media. He quickly earned the reputation of being a Pakistani ceramics pioneer. 200 works are the product of his achievements in the new field.

He made fresh ground here. He abandoned the oppressively lush surroundings of northern France and laboured alongside regional craftspeople in the sweltering heat of pottery kilns. The glass and metal pieces that Kohari specialised in during this procedure were known as Kohari’s “Fire Collages” or “Crystal Collages.”

He grew close to Shakir Ali, who oversaw the National College of Arts, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz during his time in Pakistan. In a letter, Ali marvelled at Kohari’s patience while effusively praising Kohari’s commitment to the labor-intensive and slow medium of ceramics.