“IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MANY OF THE ISSUES THESE ARTISTS GRAPPLED WITH IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE NATION STATE HAVE RESURFACED IN INDIA TODAY.”
ABROAD CANVAS
early years of the republic? The first was logistical. The works for this exhibition have come from all over India, the UK, Dubai and different parts of the
US, many from private collections, which meant tracking down the works I wanted before approaching friends in the art world for help and access. Sometimes I had to live with disappointment because of the nature of India’s public institutions, which are difficult to borrow from.
I think it made the show more suited to its context in an American institution. For instance, I wanted to juxtapose some of the PAG’S works with the ancient Indian sculptures, miniatures and scrolls which they were inspired by. But we couldn’t borrow antiquities from India, since it’s illegal to take antiques out of the country. I had to use the ones from the JD Rockefeller III’S collection at the Asia Society. This ended up lending another angle to the show, because the Rockefeller collection brings Indian modernism into direct conversation with American modernism.
The second hurdle was conceptual — how to define the Indian Moderns. The term is often used synonymously with the Progressive Artists Group but is not restricted to it. What fascinated me was that despite the general feeling in Mumbai and Delhi that the PAG were old news, even the date of their first exhibition and who really belonged to the Group — was difficult to ascertain.
So, this seemed the right opportunity to do some archival research on the Group. There are a lot of artworks that remain in the national galleries of Modern Art. With a bit of detective work, an interested curator can dig out the seminal paintings and sculptures, as well as their forays outside the mainstream art world. Did you know that Husain made some interesting furniture and toys? There is also much to be done on the less famous PAG artists like HA Gade and SK Bakre. The works are there, we just need to give them attention. My fear is how public museums in India are taking care of the PAG’S signature works. Or rather, not taking care of them!
The works I am most excited about are ones that feature in the archival photographs of the early shows of the PAG, like a Husain and Souza from the first PAG show in Bombay in 1949. There is also an amazing Souza from his London solo at Grosvenor Gallery in 1964. It is probably his biggest crucifixion painting. But I don’t want to give too much away! More than 16 artists showed at the prestigious exhibition, including Nilima Sheikh, Ganesh Haloi, Gauri Gill and Nikhil Chopra.
Modernism on the Ganges: Raghubir Singh Photographs The first in-depth study of Singh’s work as a pioneer of street photography in colour from the late 1960s through the late 1990s.
Nalini Malani: The Rebellion of the Dead The retrospective show covered Malani’s video, mixed media and performance works,with relatively unseen 16 mm films from 1969 and 1976. Gupta’s works were displayed along the historic salons of 11 Conti by the banks of the Seine, extending up the main stairway and the courtyard of the Monnaie de Paris .
Vivan Sundaram: Disjunctures