Jimmy Engineer was born in 1954 in Balochistan (Loralai), Pakistan. His Parsi family could not have known then that he would grow up to break all barriers of caste and creed and truly define multi-ethnicity through his art and altruism.
Jimmy completed his schooling from St. Anthony’s High school, Lahore, and after a brief interlude at the Forman Christian College, he spent the next three years at the National College of Arts (NCA), expanding his creative prowess. It was in 1976 that he turned into a professional painter but his achievements went much beyond his artist’s creativity when he discovered a deep love for all his fellow beings, specially for the downtrodden. His art pieces soon became expressions of truth and his images began to speak of his compassion for the people he saw.
Although an artist by profession, Jimmy Engineer’s life has revolved around supporting troubled individuals as well as social work institutions, though he himself prefers to remain undocumented and unsung. His artistic performance has been acclaimed internationally particularly his series on canvas which depicts the Muslim toil in the wake of Pakistan’s Independence in 1947. The minute details, the layered imagery and the fine lines illustrating the transition of humans into tragic victims equal the skill applied by the Great Masters. His works have never failed to captivate successive generations of art lovers in Pakistan and abroad. Jimmy’s speaking impressions which have the power to move young minds and imbue them with a renewed sense of dedication for the country, have been exhibited extensively in Pakistan as well as abroad. The fortunes that he has earned have been generously spent on charitable work, which is what gives him satisfaction and he is content in leading a simple life.
A peace-loving man, he is widely known as Pakistan’s indefatigable crusader for the oppressed, disabled, mentally handicapped, impoverished and generally for all who need him as he has the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life. Jimmy’s many ‘walk-a-cause’ have earned him a special standing amongst Pakistan’s philanthropists as he has undertaken long, arduous journeys on foot to create awareness for many human rights issues.
As for his paintings, he has mastered many mediums and from realism (landscape, still life, abstract et all) to calligraphy, in water, oil, pastels etc, be it on canvas, wood or ceramics, he has explored and introduced numerous textures in his works and the amazing versatility is more than evident in his creations. His collection also includes miniatures and self-portraits, many of which are in private collections in Italy, France, Switzerland, Russia, India, China, England, USA in fact almost in every part of the world, validating his status as an International artist. But for Jimmy Engineer, Pakistan is the only identity he wishes for as he continues to work towards merging all cultures for the common good of his soil. Though he already has over 3000 paintings and more than 1000 calligraphies over 1500 drawings to his name besides the 700,000 prints in private collection in more than 60 countries, selling his work is not why he paints. Like his art he simply aspires to spread his love for people wherever he goes and is ceaselessly pursuing the course of charity as his heart is sold to humanity for the rest of his life.
