CULTURE

artscape
Getting its act together - in retrospect
Ravi Bhatia

THE National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), which at one time had a monopoly over art exhibitions in the Capital, is now getting its act together once again in the face of the competition offered by a string of private galleries, some of them backed by affluent industrial houses, which have come up in the Capital and the neighbouring areas during the last couple of years.

Encouraged by the response to its recent A Ramachandran and K G Subramanian retrospectives, the gallery now has plans to organise more such exhibitions of other prominent artists in the near future.

So far, the gallery has shortlisted seven prominent artists for retrospectives, including Gaganendranath Tagore, Satish Gujral and Meera Mukherjee. The gallery is also planning to bring out digital reproductions

of preeminent works of masters. This is a pilot project of the gallery, which will be on demand-print basis in collaboration with Hewlett-Packard, an official said. The success of the previous retrospectives, as well as the exhibition of nearly 300 works of Pablo Picasso, is a testimony to the public interest in genuine art and sculpture, he said.

Inaugurated on March 29, 1954, the NGMA is the only institution of its kind in the country, run and administered by the Union Government.

The recent retrospective, comprising around 300 paintings, presented the whole spectrum of Ramachandran’s artistic development spanning four decades; from the angst and uncertainties of early years to the mellow and mature outlook of the later years. The paintings, like large murals with powerful figuration, exuded the artist’s strong command over lines, colours and forms.

The artist’s masterpiece, ‘Yayati’, was the main attraction at the exhibition. This piece of art created a revolution in the art world by portraying the theme in a series of paintings. It relates to the plight of Yayati, accursed by the Asura Guru Shukracharya to suffer premature aging. The painting exposes the irrelevance of the transient in life and the importance of self-realisation.

His sculptures, in stone and brass, were both intriguing and bristling with life. The traditional bas-relief temple sculptures were a source of immense inspiration for the artist and the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial at Sriperumbudur is designed in this style, according to the organisers.

Two generations together

‘Two Generations Together’ is an exhibition of 35 paintings that are being exhibited at Dhoommial Art Gallery’s newly built art complex, Ravi Jain Centre, for International Arts, from January 28 onwards. Consisting of works by veteran painter Parshotam Singh, his son Harvinder Singh and daughter Balvinder Kour, these paintings depict the theme of peace and spirituality.

A man of few words but eloquent paintings, Parshotam Singh has had no formal training in fine arts. But the technical expertise and the fusion of soft, enchanting colours in his works prove that no formal training can match an innate sense for creativity.

Parshotam Singh started painting when he was only seven years old with a slate and chalk as his tools. “I was asked to copy an elephant for one of my school’s paintings and I was so elated by the task that, on my way back home, I made several elephants and erased them,” reminisces the soft-spoken painter. And thus started a journey into the world of art.

He began his career, however, as a signboard painter when he was only 14 years old. Then, he went to Agra and started working for a factory. Though he has made several portraits and landscapes, including scenes from village life, his area of interest remains music. It is the marked influence of spirituality in his life that has compelled Parshotam Singh to regularly contribute illustrations for a number of books on Jainism. It is his self-taught experience that propelled his children into the world of art.

Balvinder Kour, the eldest of Parshotam Singh’s five painter-children, has done her post-graduation in drawing and painting from the Agra University. She has a penchant for making realistic paintings, and loves to paint human figures, particularly female forms. She has had her solo exhibition at AIFACS and has participated in several group

shows. Her latest series of paintings, which will be part of the exhibition, `Two Generations Together’, at the Dhoomimal Gallery from January 28 onwards, is based on fairies.

Harvinder Singh, on the other hand, is fascinated by Indian village life, which is often depicted in his realistic works as well. He started his career as a commercial art designer and has made illustrations for religious books, children’s books, calendars, posters etc.

His medium is oil on canvas, the colours he uses are soft and subdued, creating the mystical feeling of being part of a normal village. However, having lived in Delhi for so long now, his paintings also depict the historical buildings and monuments that make his work come alive with a grandeur interlaced with simplicity.

Bridging the gap