Contemporary Indian art display brings post-Independence era to life
The evolution of art in the 1990s in India took a new road map with artists experimenting with newer materials often mixing different mediums, further blurring the boundaries between sculpture, painting, design and performing arts. In this new global worl
The basement area of the permanent display section in the new wing of New Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art has been brought to life with selected artworks from the post-Independence era, focusing more on the contemporary period to showcase a time period that has been in the reserve collection for a while now.
In continuity with the narrative of the permanent display, few milestones in the art landscape from the postIndependence era have been selected from the Gallery’s in-house collection to revisit the tales frozen in these landmarks.
The exodus of artistic fervor and vision from rural to urban spaces that started after India’s Independence in 1947 brought a new lease of life to artistic creations. The deeply rooted sentiments of the soil mixed with a fresh wave of ideas led to the germination of new visions of portraying the struggles and aspirations of a newly formed nation and its people. This is the time which witnessed the formation of various artist collectives named after the urban centre of their origin. These centres represented by their artists produced an artistic language that was a synthesis of traditional Indian art with the international artistic trends such as impressionism and expressionism.
One of the significant collectives was the “Bombay Progressive Artists Group” started by artists such M F Husain, SH Raza, F N Souza, K H Ara, H A Gade and S Bakre. Artists such as Manishi Dey, Ram Kumar, Akbar Padamshee and Tyeb Mehta also joined the group. The monumental canvas on display, titled, ‘Zamin’ by M F Husain portrays the relationship of the famer with the soil he tills, in an abstract and angular style which will formulate his signature way of expression in his future works. The triptych popularly called ‘Shantiniketan’ by Tyeb Mehta, also takes a folk event of sacrifice that took place during his stay in Santiniketan, to form his own allegory of life.
The emancipation of woman always occupied a central theme of many woman artists of this period, a voice that becomes stronger than ever before. It all started from an echo which can be traced back to the paintings of Amrita Sher-Gil, where the melancholy of the indecisiveness about the near future reflected in the eyes of the women that took centre stage on her canvases could be seen. Now, the woman from this submissive and tragic victim portrayed in many artworks, is elevated and celebrated as a supreme power, reflected in the works of Arpana Caur and Anjolie Ela Menon. Arpana Caur is one of the first artists, who collaborated with indigenous folk artisans of Warli (Thane District, Maharashtra) to successfully transform her visions into her paintings. With a different approach, sculptor Latika Katt, uses a traditional imagery of the burnt remains of a funeral pyre, titled, ‘Arthi’, to evoke the feeling of ‘momento mori’ inside the viewer.
Abstraction was also a major form of expression adopted by many artists. The exhibition also highlights this form of expression through the pin-point textures of Zarina Hashmi and the high relief metal sculpture of Himat Shah.
The evolution of art in the 1990s in India took a new road map with artists experimenting with newer materials often mixing different mediums, further blurring the boundaries between sculpture, painting, design and performing arts. In this new global world, the vocabulary and language of art became broader with no constraints. In the works of Jitish Kallat and Subodh Gupta, one sees their experiences through their themes and metaphors which can be indentified and related to universally.
There are around 60 art-works on display, which includes paintings, sculptures and prints.