The Loner

The NGMA had been working towards mounting Tyeb’s retrospective exhibition — to showcase and project the trajectories of his art and his unique vision. His portrayal of violence and trauma of existence,the austere forms of the bulls,the rickshaw pullers,the falling figures and Mahisasura Mardini reflect his innate and committed desire to realise universal truths through visuals. In his words “When you are young,you try to understand the world. As you grow old,you try to understand yourself. Your work then becomes the essence of these efforts.” His drive is amply reflected in his statement,“In art you have to go on for a long time before you can say I have done something.”

My association with Tyeb goes back almost 30 years. Incidentally,few are aware that he was immensely passionate about the language of film,having begun his career as a film editor. I vividly recall sharing notes on his long cherished dream to make a film on Mahasweta Devi’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa way back in 1980. I was extremely enamoured by the simplicity of his persona,the silent warmth with a great intellect,always making one feel comfortable. He humbly and subtly acknowledged associations of the past in spite of his reaching a great stature. He had won a number of awards and fellowships. Among them were the Rockefeller III Fellowship in 1968 and his two-year stay as artist-in-residence at Viswa Bharati University,Santiniketan,during

1984-85 which resulted in significant changes in his conceptual concerns and pictorial language.

A prominent artist of the Progressive Art Movement and among the most well-known Indian artists of his generation,Tyeb’s passing away is a great loss to the art world and his contribution to the nation in the global art scenario will always be remembered with reverence and pride.

Rajeev Lochan is director,National Gallery of Modern Art