REVIEWED: Mumbai Modern: Progressive Artists’ Group 1947- 2013
By Tehezeeb Moitra
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| Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled Acrylic on canvas. 41 x 36 in / 104 x 91.4 cm. Courtesy of Delhi Art Gallery |
The Mumbai Modern: Progressive Artists’ Group 1947- 2013 exhibition at
the Delhi Art Gallery in Mumbai captures a moment of great artistic and
socio-political change in the history of India. Significantly, the year of the group’s conception was also the year
of India’s independence and partition. The
retrospective forges a link between that seminal time in the late 40s-50s and
the present - as an acknowledgement of how, so many years later, the group’s
artists and their work continue to influence and impact our perceptions of
Indian art.
The
Progressive Artists’ Group, which started in 1947, was comprised of some of
India’s most well known and respected artists ranging from its founding
members, Francis Newton Souza, Maqbool Fida Husain, and Syed Hyder Raza, to
later include others such as Krishnaji Howlaji Ara, Sadanand Krishnaji Bakre,
Hari Ambadas Gade, Tyeb Mehta, Bal Chhabda, Krishen Khanna, Mohan Samant, Akbar
Padamsee, Ram Kumar and Vasudeo Gaitonde.
Disparate
in style, religion and background, the apparently motley group was united in
its vision to create a new kind of Indian art; one that broke away from the
more formal, established traditions of the past, choosing instead to interact
with the changing attitudes and trends, especially those of the global arena.
The art they created reveals that while intrinsically Indian, there was
a clear impact of the current modernist style that was sweeping the world
stage. The progressives were heavily influenced by artists like Picasso,
Matisse and Cézanne.
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| Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled, 1965 Oil and wool yarn on canvas. 36 x 24 in / 91.4 x 61 cm. Courtesy of Delhi Art Gallery |
The 91
pictures thoughtfully placed throughout the gallery showcase some of the
group’s most important works. Paintings by the prolific and peripatetic Husain
include lesser-known early sketches as well as some of his more recognisable
and recurring motifs like the traditional hand mudra* gesture, Mother Teresa
and the elephant-headed god Ganesha. Exceptional among these is Husain’s Untitled (1973), a magnificent oil on
canvas of a galloping horse painted with the artist’s typically heavy brush
stroke and geometric sensibility.
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| Francis Newton Souza, Untitled, 1965 Oil and wool yarn on canvas. 46.5 x 32.0 in / 118.1 x 81.2 cm. Courtesy of Delhi Art Gallery |
Souza’s extensive palette
sprawls over the different levels of the gallery. Noteworthy is his iconic Untitled (1962) painting of a
woman touching her left breast and Untitled
(1965), a black on black painting of a man with a wool beard. Souza’s other
paintings vividly evoke a lifelong angst, created a result of his bid to
reconcile the dichotomy of what he called "sin and sensuality" -
essentially a conflict between his strict Roman Catholic upbringing and the erotic
Indian art that surrounded him. He was specifically taken by the highly
sexualised sculptures of the Khajuraho and Kanark temples.
The first floor of the gallery
presents a wonderful selection of the nudes and still lifes that Ara was known
for. While not particularly celebrated for their sensuality, the nudes display
a certain nonchalance, which is refreshing and quite unlike the overly
sexualised women of Souza’s drawings.
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| Syed Hyder Raza, Rajasthan, 2004 Acrylic on canvas. 39.2 x 78.7 in / 99.6 x 199.9 cm. Courtesy of Delhi Art Gallery |
The exhibition also features a
vast collection of Raza’s works. Rajasthan
(2004)
celebrates the Bindu* in all its
glory, which to the artist signified "a primordial symbol of energy"
and the essence of all things. Noel (1959)
illustrates Raza’s deep connection to nature, particularly the French
countryside and beautifully exemplifies his style, which he termed
"lyrical abstraction".
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| Krishen Khanna, Suspense at Last Supper, 1980 Oil on canvas. 59.5 x 89.5 in / 151.1 x 227.3 cm. Courtesy of Delhi Art Gallery |
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| Akbar Padamsee, Untitled from the Metascape series,1973 Oil on canvas. 70.5 x 48 in / 179.1 x 121.9 cm. Courtesy of Delhi Art Gallery |
Part of what has been called
his Christ Cycle, Khanna’s painting Suspense at Last Supper (1980) depicts a
Christ figure “not in the image given by
European painters, but as one of the fakirs one sees around Hazrat Nizamuddin.”
(1) Juxtaposing Khanna’s
canvas is Untitled
(1973), a work taken from
Padamsee’s Metascape series that
brings to view the introspective interiority and abstraction so characteristic
of his work.
Finally, the gallery’s attic
houses sculptures, which, while not part of the exhibition, undoubtedly add a
special flavour to the viewing experience.
MUMBAI MODERN: PROGRESSIVE ARTISTS' GROUP: 1947- 2013 at DELHI ART GALLERY. Mumbai, India. 26 Oct – 31 Dec 2013
* Mudra is a Sanskrit word meaning closure or seal. Hand mudras are essentially hand gestures, which are believed to direct the flow of energy and spirituality in the body.
* Bindu is a Sanskrit word meaning point.
(1)
Interview
with Chanda Singh, India Magazine, September
1984
Disclaimer: The author of
this article is currently a Research Consultant for the Delhi Art Gallery
in Mumbai.