Composition in Red and Green, Squares and Circles
- Artist: Anwar Jalal Shemza
- Date: 1963
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 911 × 720 × 18 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Composition in Red and Green, Squares and Circles” by Anwar Jalal Shemza. Painted in 1963, the oil on canvas bursts with bold layers of crimson and emerald that hide a faint under‑painting when the surface is touched. The canvas is a grid of squares, rectangles, circles and half‑circles that echo the rhythmic geometry of Mughal calligraphy and European abstract canvases.
Shemza began his career in Pakistan, then moved to London to study at the Slade. Feeling displaced, he abandoned figurative work and turned to pure form, seeking an “own identity.” He blended the calligraphic flow of Arabic script with the solidity of Mughal arches, creating a “calligraphic modernism” that bridges East and West. His own words capture that moment: “I am much more aware of my own art heritage now than I ever was in Pakistan. You only become aware of the things you lose.”
Here, the interplay of red, green and black, and the layering that reveals hidden hues, invites you to feel the tension between the seen and the concealed, between cultural memory and the new language of abstraction.
See it in person
Composition in Red and Green, Squares and Circles is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
