One of the most exciting things about modern Indian art is its synthesis of different elements – from East Asian decorative patterns and European formalism to the traditional materials and the mythologies of the subcontinent.
"Indian art brings together a variety of influences," says Sanchit Joshan, whose New Delhi gallery, Sanchit Art, is staging the week-long exhibition Kalasutra in Dubai from today.
“You can see this in the work on show here – and how younger Indian artists are learning from the older masters.”
The exhibition provides an opportunity to see a broad range of 20th-century Indian artists, including M F Husain – one of the most beloved of the country’s painters – and the contemporary artists they have influenced.
“This exhibition indicates where Indian art is heading now,” Joshan says. “It shows works of both past and present.”
Arun Ghose, the Indian art critic who curated the exhibition, stresses the visuality that is a feature of his country’s art.
“Art clarifies the unknown by means of what is known,” he says. “There is no art without images.”
The work in Kalasutra is vibrantly executed, with strong colours jutting up against each other and typical Indian scenes on display.
In Manu Parekh's Evening Light at Banaras (2015), for example, a group of riverside dwellings are pictured at dusk, each one lit vividly from within.
Throughout the exhibition, the full panorama of Indian life is on view. Buddha, cows, women with young children in prams, old men and musicians – they all make an appearance. The styles range from the folksy to the expressive.
Jogen Chowdhury shows an arresting pencil-and-ink drawing of a long-necked bird, talons poised, mouth open to devour his victim – a striking image that conveys the mysticism and symbolism that Ghose’s curation seeks to bring out.
The show is also a commercial venture and all the work is for sale, with Joshan’s New Delhi gallery representing the artists. This is the third stop, after exhibitions in Singapore and Hong Kong.
The market for Indian art boomed in the early 2000s but, as in most other places, suffered after the 2007 financial crash. It is only now slowly recovering.
Auction house Christie’s held its first-ever Indian sale in Mumbai in 2013, and has held annual sales there since, sharing space with its international rival Sotheby’s and the Indian auction house Saffronart, among others.
Buyers of Indian art include the new class of Indian super-rich and East Asians, and the decision by Christie’s and others to hold auctions in India reveals the growing clout of Asian collectors, a market they are keen to tap.
In Dubai, Joshan says the interest in Indian work is largely from Indians, but also includes western and Japanese collectors.
While contemporary Indian art was the focus of the pre-crash frenzy, earlier 20th-century works have become the stronger bet in the aftermath. In Christie’s London sales in June this year, for example, an untitled 1956 cityscape by M F Husain fetched a record price of US$1.67 million (Dh 6.1m).
In Kalasutra, Sanchit includes a 2003 rural scene by the artist, who was one of the key members of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group that emerged after Partition. Strong reds and earthy tones contrast with a white bird and bridge that lie almost flatly on the canvas – one can easily see Husain's talent, even in the later years of his life.
The definition of "Indian" art is always blurred by the number of artists born or raised in other countries. Indeed, there is a growing disparity in prices between artists of the Indian diaspora, such as the London-based Anish Kapoor, and artists based in India, such as those being displayed in Kalasutra.
Both groups, however, wrestle with the question of how to represent India and maintain the country’s unique character amid the globalisation of contemporary art – a question that also confronts Emirati artists.
The work in Kalasutra ranges from explicit representations of Indian mythology, to work that is less easy to place in terms of character.
Amid the variety of influences it offers a fine place in which to begin an understanding – or a collection – of Indian art.
• Kalasutra is open from today until Tuesday at Rira Gallery, DIFC, in Dubai. Entry is free. For more information contact info@sanchitart.in or visit www.sanchitart.in
artslife@thenational.ae
