ethos vii

ethos vii

Thota Vaikuntam . Manjit Bawa . George Keyt Sujata Bajaj . Sohan Qadri . B. Prabha M.F. Husain . Akkitham Narayanan . Jogen Chowdhury S.H. Raza . K.G. Subramanyan . Paresh Maity

11 October- 28 November 2012

Indigo Blue Art is pleased to present Ethos VII, an annual showcase of modern Indian Masters. Since its inauguration in 2004, Indigo Blue Art has strived to present a comprehensive collection of the multiple and myriad facets of Contemporary Indian art to art lovers of Singapore. A series of exhibitions featuring works of group and solo artists has highlighted the many genres and styles that makes Indian art so unique. Ethos VII marks the eighth year of Indigo Blue Art. The collection has been meticulously selected by the Indigo Blue Art team as exemplary examples of works by leading senior and Master artists of contemporary Indian art. Steeped in colour and rich in genre, style and technique, these are artists who have gained international recognition as having played a major contribution to the shaping of contemporary Indian art. It is our hope that the collection showcased in Ethos VII is enjoyed by all and that once again, this annual exhibition helps confirm Contemporary Indian arts place on the international art map. Enjoy!

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Research & Writing: Lydianawati Bte Salleh & He Sujin Design: He Sujin & Prashanta Seal Printer: Archana www.archanapress.com

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Suman Aggarwal Director Indigo Blue Art

M.F. Husain (b.1915 - 2011)

When I begin to paint, hold the sky in your hands; as the stretch of my canvas is unknown to me. Born in 1915 in a town in Maharashtra, Husains humble beginning as a painter of cinema hoardings and other odd jobs left him struggling to earn a living in Mumbai. However, his determination and love for painting gradually earned him recognition as an artist in the late 1940s. In 1947, Francis Newton Souzas invitation to Husain to become a member of the Progressive Artists Group was a harbinger of his phenomenal success as a painter. Internationally venerated as the Picasso of India, M.F. Husain has since stood at the forefront of modern Indian art, and was as equally revered as he was denounced for his controversial works. His first solo exhibition in Zrich was held in 1952 and over the next few years, his work was widely seen in Europe and the US. Husains ability to integrate the influences and experiences in his life into his works was remarkable. He painted prolifically and his works, usually treated in series, include topics as diverse as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the British raj, Madhuri Dixit, as well as motifs of Indian urban and rural life. His narrative paintings, which he had created in a modified Cubist style, were caustic and funny as well as serious and sombre. His experience as a billboard painter gave him confidence to paint on larger-than-life canvases using bold colours. Experimenting with media and genre, scale and surface, Husain promptly established himself as one of Indias most versatile, widely recognised and talented artists. M.F. Husain has participated in many international shows which include Contemporary Indian Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1982; Six Indian Painters, Tate Gallery, London 1985; Modern Indian Painting, Hirschhom Museum, Washington 1986 and Contemporary Indian Art, Grey Art Gallery, New York 1986. Along with several solo exhibitions he had major retrospectives in Zurich (Galerie Palette) and Prague (Manes) in 1956, Frankfurt (Kunst-Kabinet) and Rome (1960), Tokyo (1961), Mumbai (1969), Calcutta (1973) and Delhi (1978). His work was exhibited at the Salon de Mai in Paris (1951); the Venice biennales (1953, 1955); Tokyo Biennale (1959), where he won the International Biennale Award; and the So Paulo biennales (1959); and in 1971 where he was invited to exhibit alongside Pablo Picasso. Besides painting, he had also made feature films, including Through the Eyes of a Painter in 1966, which won the Golden Bear Award winner at the Berlin Film Festival (1967), and Gaja Gamini in 2000. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan awards; both prestigious civilian awards.

M.F. Husain Untitled Oil on Canvas 77 x 77 cm

M.F. Husain Untitled Watercolour on Paper 38 x 29 cm

M.F. Husain Untitled Oil on Canvas 77 x 61 cm

M.F. Husain Untitled Oil on Canvas 77 x 61 cm

B. Prabha (b.1933 - 2001)

In an interview ruminating her formative years as an artist, B. Prabha recounted the lack of female painters in India. Overcoming the constraints of a patriarchal society, B. Prabha rose as the rare female artist, documenting through her paintings, the tragedy and trauma that is the life of an Indian woman. While she also covered a wide range of subjects, from landscapes to social issues, a significant component of Prabhas body of work was the artists self-conscious attempt to immortalise the trials, travails and strengths of Indian women, which she conveyed with sophistication. She rarely focused on the male figures, and if they found a presence, it was more in the background. Prabha drew her figures with elongated and graceful limbs, which she said were influenced by Paul Klee. Prabha has held over 40 one-woman exhibitions since 1956 in India and abroad, including the Ewing Krainin Gallery, Waikiki, in 1967. In 1993, her solo exhibition Shradhanjali in Mumbai was dedicated to her late husband B. Vithal. She was also a part of the Bombay State Art Exhibition in 1958 where she was awarded the first prize. A recipient of several awards, Prabhas works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi and Mumbai, the Ewing Krainin Gallery, Waikiki and several private collectors like Ambanis and Harsh Goenka.

B. Prabha Untitled Oil on Canvas 77 x 61 cm

Sujata Bajaj (b.1958)

There is influence of both French and Indian art in my work. I use a lot of vibrant colours, but [I] balance the colours with the texture. This potent combination is the result of the various cultural influences that have come to bear on an artist who happily straddles and combines two halves of a globe in her art practice. Living in Norway with her husband and daughter, working out of Paris and now exhibiting in India brings about a certain global perspective in Sujata Bajajs artwork. India serves as a natural point of reference and departure with her choice of colour, rhythm, harmony and the sense of spirituality and serenity she portrays in her compositions. From her days in Paris, where she dabbled with the monotype, to her studio in Norway and her home in India, Sujata Bajaj has explored various materials, media and methods. Her experiments with a variety of art forms and media have seen her working with ceramics, fibreglass sculptures, terracotta, fabric printing, printmaking, woodcutting and oil painting to now working with mixed media and acrylic on canvas. Having completed a PHD thesis on the special features of Indian tribal art and its influences on contemporary art, Baja explains that the spontaneity and simplicity of tribal art is a source of inspiration in her work. Art critic Ranjit Hoskote, while reviewing Sujatas work says, in the ochre yellow and red palette, we are recalled into the ritual circle of sacrifice; a hero-stone, a tribal totem, a lost goddess of fertility is suggested by certain motifs; and in the elegant calligraphy of the sacred texts, the hymns repeated until the pitch of perfection has been achieved. Bajaj studied at Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts, Paris, on a French government scholarship in 1988-89. She has held around 25 individual shows in India and over 20 international shows, and participated in more than a dozen group shows across India and abroad including U.K, France, Norway and Los Angeles. She was conferred with the Chancellors Award from S.N.D.T University, Mumbai, and selected for International Youth Achievement by Cambridge University, UK. She was also the recipient of the Raza Award in 2003, the Bombay Art Society Award, and the Maharashtra State Art Award.

From Left to Right

Sujata Bajaj Eclat I Acrylic on Canvas 150 x 35 cm Eclat II Acrylic on Canvas 150 x 35 cm

Sohan Qadri (b.1932 - 2011)

A former Buddhist monk, Sohan Qadri grew up in a humble village in Punjab. As a child, Qadri was introduced to a Tantric guru and a Sufi teacher. Both spiritual teachers left an indelible mark in Qadris life, as was later evident in his works. Qadri received his MFA from the Government College of Art in Simla, India. The following five decades were spent mostly in Copenhagen and later in Toronto where he died early last year. In his paintings, Sohan Qadri, a multifaceted artist, a noted poet and a Tantric Guru, abandoned all forms of representation and placed as much emphasis on the process of painting as he would on the tone and structure of his works. Deeply inspired by Tantric Buddhism, he explored deep subliminal levels of his consciousness to come up with symbols, forms and colours, which would be translated into his compositions. Qadri would begin with an empty mind and next fill his paper with splashes of colours, which he described as emptiness and peace combined in a radiation of power. These vibrant colours are made from vegetable dyes that he had mixed himself. Qadri painted in a state of meditation, creating a serene landscape of monochromes filled with punctured dots and incised lines. During his lifetime, Qadri participated in over 100 international solo and group exhibitions and his works are in major private and public collections worldwide.

Sohan Qadri Untitled Vegetable dye & ink on serrated paper 140 x 100 cm

S.H. Raza (b.1922)

A major presence in the Indian art world, Raza is famous for exploring and painting the bindu or the dot central to Indian spiritual iconography. Perceived as the centre of creation and existence, the bindu became an important and sacred feature in his painting. Raza became Indias most expensive modern artist on June 10, 2010 when his painting titled Saurashtra sold for USD $3,486,965 at a Christies auction, setting a world auction record for modern Indian art. In 1947, Raza co-founded the Progressive Artists Group, along with K.H. Ara and F.N. Souza, with a view to bring about resurgence in the Indian Art Scene. Razas style has evolved over the years since his work with the Progressive Artists Group. He started with expressionist paintings of landscapes after shifting to France to study on a French government scholarship at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Later, he diversified into Abstract Expressionism and in the late 1970s, after embarking on trips to India, he began to incorporate Tantric elements into his works, which gradually evolved into geometric abstraction. Raza was awarded the Prix de la Critique in Paris in 1956. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, including the Sao Paulo Biennale in 1958; the Biennale de Menton in France in 1966, 1968 and in 1978; and Contemporary Indian Painting at the Royal Academy in London, in 1982. He was conferred the Padma Shree Award by the President of India in 1981, and the Padma Bhushan in 2007.

S. H. Raza Diagonal Acrylic on Canvas 28 x 19 cm

S. H. Raza Tree Acrylic on Canvas 61 x 32 cm

S. H. Raza Bindu Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 30 cm

S. H. Raza Tree of Life Acrylic on Canvas 61 x 30.5 cm

Thota Vaikuntam (b.1942)

Born in a rural district in South India, Thota Vaikuntam has always admired the simple village lifestyle of the Telangana men and women. This is clearly reflected in the dusky figures of men and women, who are the main subjects of his paintings. He uses primary colours and avoids composite colours because he believes that these colours do not exist in the natural milieu. A key to his virtuosity, Vaikuntam reveals, is his quest to paint the perfect Telangana woman. He confessed, Without them beauty would cease to exist. Their rustic simplicity holds enormous appeal and charm for me. Though it has taken me a whole lifetime of work, I am still working at getting her perfect. His signature Telangana woman is dark and voluptuous, with a fulsome figure that is accentuated by her adornment of exquisite jewellery and decorative costumes. The robust physique of the Telangana women elucidates and embodies an alternative yet delightful form of feminine beauty that is unlike any of its conventional interpretation. His solo and group exhibitions include recent ones like Adbhutam: Rasa in Indian Art, Centre of International Modern Art(CIMA), Kolkata (2011); Memoire du pass 1979-1999, Latitude 28, New Delhi (2011); Mukham, Sanskriti Art Gallery, Kolkata (2006): Figure/Landscape: Part Two, Aicon Gallery, London (2010-11); and Telangana Men and Women, Arts India, California (2005).

Thota Vaikuntam Untitled Acrylic on Canvas 122 x 137 cm

K.G. Subramanyan (b.1924)

K.G Subramanyan was born in 1924 in Kerala. A multifaceted artist extraordinaire, and a prolific writer, scholar, teacher and art historian, Subramanyan has studied under the tutelage of eminent artists like Binode Behari Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose and Ramkinkar Baij. After graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Economics, he was admitted to the Slade School of Art at the University of London as a British Council research scholar. As a remarkably versatile painter, Subramanyan has experimented with various media. He has blurred the demarcation between an artist and an artisan through his diverse works of art, including weaving, toy-making and pottery. His endeavours in glass painting and terracotta murals are distinct works of art, for he works without conforming to a single genre or technique. His versatility is apparent in his paintings as well he masterfully creates a sensuous fusion of eroticism and wit, imbued with satire and irony. Very subtly, he combines Western Modernism style with Indian folk tradition, while addressing socio-political issues through his paintings. As a revered theoretician and art historian, his profound writings and theories have formed a benchmark in the study of Contemporary Indian Art. He has taught in several schools, including his alma mater, worked as a design consultant at All India Handloom Board, acted as the dean of the faculty of fine arts in Baroda and attended World Craft council meetings as a delegate. In 1989, he was appointed Professor Emeritus at Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati. Subramanyan has often been compared to other Masters like Tyeb Mehta and M.F. Husain. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1975, Padma Bhushan in 2006, and Padma Vibhushan in 2012; three of the four highest civilian honours by the Government of India. Other awards include Lalit Kala Ratna Puraskar (2004), Fellowship of J. D. Rockefeller III Fund (1966) and Medallion of Honourable Mention, Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil (1961). He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions both in India and abroad such as Adbhutam, CIMA, Kolkata; The Art of Drawing, Guild Art, Mumbai; Pause, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai; High-Light, courtesy Sakshi (all in 2011); Bangladesh Drawings, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai; The Drawings of K. G. Subramanyan, The Guild, Mumbai; Modern Folk, Aicon Gallery, New York (all in 2010); and Tracing Time, Bodhi Art, Mumbai (2009), among others.

K.G. Subramanyan Untitled Oil on Canvas 61 x 61 cm

Akkitham Narayanan (b.1939)

Akkitham Narayanan was born into a traditional Brahmin family in Kerala, where he spent most of his childhood studying the Vedas. He received a Diploma in Painting from the Government School of Arts and Crafts in Madras, and later studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris on a French scholarship, continuing his stay there for the next four decades. Akkithams desire for originality led to his compositions of European geometric art forms with Indian Tantric art. This unique combination allowed him to achieve his individual style, without compromising his roots. His paintings consist of blends of triangles and rectangles, with unique blackish tones that are reminiscent of ancient Indian wall paintings and architecture. The cubic, triangular and rectangular forms in his canvas fan out from a cosmic core usually a large circle or a triangle and these elements blend into each other, revolving musically on his canvases. Akkithams works have been exhibited widely in India and internationally. Akkitham was awarded the K.C.S Paniker Puraskaram by Kerala Lalithakala Akademi in 2009 in recognition of his assiduous art practice that has won him and his country international acclaim. He has won the Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala Akademi Award thrice and is the recipient of the IV International Festival of Painting Award, in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France.

Akkitham Narayanan Untitled Oil on Canvas 100 x 100 cm

Manjit Bawa (b.1941 - 2008)

An adroit painter known for the exquisite simplicity of his works, Manjit Bawa stood out for his daring use of vivacious colours at a time when the use of greys and browns were predominant in paintings. His elder brothers had strongly encouraged him to study art, and Bawa pursued art at the School of Art, Delhi Polytechnic. Under Abani Sen, he learned how to develop his own unique style. Following that, Bawa travelled to London to study art at the London School of Printing, Essex in Silk Screen-Printing. Partly influenced by the spiritual readings, poetry and myths from his childhood, Bawas paintings are primarily of spiritual and mythological figures, accompanied by animals and birds, which are inspirations from nature and Sufi philosophy. Although his figures are isolated in flat pictorial spaces, the charming scenes of love, peace and innocence, coupled with the use of bright colours enliven his works. Bawa has participated in numerous solo and group shows, including Freedom 2008 Sixty Years after Indian Independence, Centre for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata (2008); Air Gallery, London, organized by Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai and Gallery Maya, London (2005); and Transition, organized by Gallerie 88, London (2003). Some examples of posthumous exhibitions of his works are Art for Humanity, Coomaraswamy Hall, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (2012); Contemporary: A Selection of Modern and Contemporary Art, presented by Sakshi Gallery at The Park, Chennai (2012); The Path of the Lotus: Indian Art, Grosvenor Gallery, London (2011); etc. Bawa has also received many awards and honours, most recent being the National Award for Best Documentary, for the film Meeting Manjit directed by Buddadeb Dasgupta.

Manjit Bawa Untitled Oil on Canvas 72 x 57 cm

George Keyt (b.1901 - 1993)

Born in 1901 into an affluent English-speaking family in Sri Lanka, George Keyts passion for art began when he was a young boy. At a tender age, Keyt already had a voracious appetite for knowledge, even though he had no interest in formal education. Keyt won his first art prize at the age of 15 and his winning entry was a pen and ink drawing shown at the annual exhibition of the Ceylon Society of Arts. Despite being raised as a Christian in a westernised family, Keyt was later drawn to Buddhism and the Indian culture. As such, subjects like Hindu icons, Indian literature and Buddhist philosophy found their way into his artistic and literary expressions. Keyt adopted many different styles in his lifetime, but the dominant trademark of his works was the amalgamation of Indian tradition and the concept of cubism, which was due to his exposure to Western artists like Picasso, Braque and Matisse. Keyt is also famous for his translation of Gita Govinda a 12th century Sanskrit poem about Sri Krishna and Radha into English and Sinhala, with illustrations in elegant draughtsmanship. Keyts works have been exhibited widely for over five decades, including in India, America, London and other parts of Europe. His artwork is housed in a large number of international private and public institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum. London. Besides being regularly featured as an Indian artist in international auctions, an important collection of his works is owned by the George Keyt Foundation, which was established to preserve and perpetuate his work, and to assist aspiring artists.

George Keyt Untitled Acrylic on Canvas 130 x 71 cm

George Keyt Untitled Acrylic on Canvas 130 x 71 cm

Paresh Maity (b.1965)

Paresh graduated in Fine Arts from the Govt. College of Art & Craft, Calcutta and obtained his Master of Fine Arts from the Delhi College of Art. A highly versatile artist he started out as a watercolourist, but gradually moved towards abstraction. This abstract work is painted in Pareshs signature abstract style, a style that he is now recognised by. Angular, geometrical shapes line the canvas in dark hues of reds and pitch-dark blacks. Paresh uses lines as subtle indications of his subjects expressions, like the brooding contours of the eyes and the mysterious uplift of the lips in a faint smile. Over the years of his career Paresh has won many prestigious awards. He has held over thirty solo shows and has participated in several prestigious art camps and group shows in India and abroad. He has won acclaim in Europe particularly in Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, France and the United Kingdom. In 2010, he was commissioned to paint a 850 feet mural for the Delhi international Airport. In 2011, Paresh was invited to be part of an exhibition commemorating Rabindranath Tagores 150th birth anniversary at the National Gallery of Modern Art (Delhi).

Paresh Maity Closeness Oil on Canvas 61 x 61 cm

Jogen Chowdhury (b.1939)

I am passionately engaged in practice of visual art for a quite long time and all through expressed life in various forms and colours in my art works. Man is always in the centre point of my work. I get reacted and disturbed with social disturbances taking place all over around me. An artist of compelling works, Jogen Chowdhury was born into a family of artists in 1939 in Faridpur district, Bengal. He graduated from the Government College of Art and Crafts in 1960 and was subsequently awarded with a scholarship to enter the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Atelier 17 in Paris. Chowdhurys paintings are often dark and moody a reflection of his past experiences of the partition of India, famines and the food movement of 1959 and are primarily of isolated individuals with abstract faces and provocative gestures. An expert in lines and contours, he uses these to create sensuous figures and adds muted colours to create volume to his forms. These lines and colours give form to the characteristics and emotions that emanate from his paintings. Although he has used oil in his paintings, Chowdhury is best known for his use of watercolour, ink and pastel. He steadfastly holds onto his cultural background in his works. Chowdhury has received a number of awards, including the Prix le France de la Jeune Peinture in Paris and the Kalidas Sanman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in India and overseas.

Jogen Chowdhury Untitled Drawing on Paper 57 x 57 cm

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