At this year’s Frieze Masters, Indian galleries are showcasing experimental and lesser-known facets of South Asian modernism
At the upcoming Frieze Masters, a section of the international art fair dedicated to historical and modern art to be held in London between 14-18 October, gallerist Amrita Jhaveri is showing a different facet of modernism. Part of the ‘Spotlight’ section, Jhaveri Contemporary is showing works by Shimla- born British-Pakistani artist Anwar Jalal Shemza (1928-1985). “In this segment, galleries are expected to show either relatively unknown artists or lesser-known works of mainstream artists. It is meant to be a place of discovery [for collectors],” explains Jhaveri.
While Shemza was known for his abstractions, the gallery finds it meaningful to show figurative work from the early part of his career—something that he returned to later as well. Heads, a particularly striking series, which the artist made in 1956 after moving to London to study at Slade School of Fine Art, were inspired by indigenous styles. In contrast, the second set of figurative works from the 1970s clearly represent women. “While Shemza was interested in printmaking, these works were never made in editions. As a teacher, he was experimenting and did not have a commercial outcome in mind. They are more like variants printed on paper and fabric of varying weights and textures,” explains Jhaveri.
Kolkata-based Art Exposure, in their first appearance last year, realised the need to present a focused curation with a clear artistic proposition and historical significance—something that would set them apart from the wide range of works from different parts of the world. So, this year, as part of the ‘Spotlight’ section, the gallery is presenting works on paper by Nihar Ranjan Chowdhury (1908-1977), sourced from the family of the late artist.
Chowdhury studied under Nandalal Bose at Santiniketan and became the first Indian visual art practitioner to be sent to China on a government scholarship. There, he was mentored by Xu Beihong, who is widely considered the father of modern Chinese painting. “Another little-known fact is that as the chief artist of the Hindustani Talimi Sangh, a national education board that Mahatma Gandhi established in 1938 to replace the colonial system, he gave visual form to the leader’s ideas of basic education,” adds Somak Mitra, founder of the gallery.
This year, two Indian galleries are making their debut at the fair. Mumbai-based Akara Art is presenting a solo booth of Piraji Sagara(1931-2014), comprising six of his sculptures. Gallerist Puneet Shah sees Frieze as an opportunity to expand the conversation around Indian modernism internationally. “Sagara’s engagement with abstraction, assemblage and materiality speaks of internationalism while remaining rooted in Indian traditions,” he elaborates. One of the highlights is Birds (1974), a “wood-collage” made with sand, beads, aluminium and nails applied on burnt wood. While deriving from Sagara’s family legacy of wood-carving, it also reflects his experimental use of
found material to create abstract forms. Akar Prakar, with spaces in Delhi and Kolkata, too is presenting a solo showcase of works by octogenarian artist Ganesh Haloi. The six works at Frieze date back to 1970 and reveal his early explorations of abstraction in landscapes.
Even DAG, a regular participant at Frieze Masters, has chosen to display a slightly different selection of artists including Asit Kumar Haldar, Kshitindranath Mazumdar, Radha Charan Bagchi and Ramgopal Vijayvargiya, among others. “The point of bringing these artists together is to challenge the idea that Indian modernism can be told through a handful of canonical names,” says Ashish Anand, CEO and MD, DAG. While Haldar looked to Ajanta and
the miniature traditions for inspiration, Mazumdar turned to devotional iconography and precolonial histories. Similarly, Bagchi’s practice was rooted in Bengali folklore. “Vijaivargiya was inspired by an unusually broad literary and classical inheritance spanning Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian traditions,” he adds.
Other highlights at DAG include two sets of drawings in ink, graphite and gouache on paper by Chittaprosad (1915-1978) such as works from his Famine series. In one of the drawings, The Silent Muslim Boy (1944), the artist’s notes written in verso are revelatory. The boy’s mother had died of starvation, and he himself was down with dysentery. “Weeps secretly for his mother, and always sighs. His only friends with whom he talks are the nurse comrades, whom he calls ma (mother) and mashi (aunt)”, noted the artist. The second set includes satirical cartoons, made between 1945 and 1947, many of which were published in the Communist Party’s then mouthpiece People’s Age. “He was an artist, who understood the responsibility of the image in times of crisis—that the image could be an instrument of dissent, capable of confronting authority, exposing hypocrisy and responding directly to the political realities of the time,” explains Anand.
Collectively, the presentations reveal the heterogeneity of Indian art in the years before and after India’s independence. By working directly with estates of late artists and supporting research,, the galleries are also laying the groundwork for a more robust way forward—a much- needed correction for a segment plagued by weak provenance.
Anindo Sen is an independent art writer.
