A collection of 25 rare self portraits by the legendary Indian-Qatari artist, MF Husain opens tonight in Dubai.
The exhibition, Maqbool, commemorates 100 years since the birth of Maqbool Fida Husain or MF Husain as he was commonly known and is hosted by Sovereign Gallery in Dubai's Jumeirah Lake Towers.
Husain, who died in 2011, was associated with Indian modernism since the 1940s and went on to become the most celebrated Indian artist of the 20th century. In 2010, he was awarded Qatari citizenship and he lived in Dubai for several years before his death.
According to Dadiba Pundole, the curator and gallery owner of Sovereign, although MF Husain was one of the world’s most prolific artists, his self-portraits are hard to come by and rarely seen together. "It has taken me several years to identify and borrow this exceptional body of work from collectors around the world, and we are glad to mark Husain’s birth centenary with this ode to his extraordinary oeuvres," he says.
Several of the works belong to private collectors, and have never been exhibited, or seen before in public and the show also displays the vast range of mediums that MF Husain used such as pencil sketches to oil paintings on canvas, and several mixed-mediums including Arabic calligraphy.
* Maqbool runs from tonight until 12 December at Sovereign at The Palladium in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai and is open from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm, and 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm - every day except Friday. Private viewings can be arranged by appointment on Tel: 04 4322846, or by email: info@sovereignfze.com
