Protests by artists, beyond political
An exhibition at Progressive Art Gallery in Dubai highlights how individual artistic journeys defied stereotypes and shaped collective movements and dialogues
S H Raza, Le Village, 1956, Oil on canvas, 18 x 22 inches Does art necessarily need to be overtly political to challenge the establishment? Can resistance be wielded by rejecting rigid ideologies or attempting to assert individuality?
The exhibition “Intertwined: Revisitation of the Indian Art Narrative” at Progressive Art Gallery in Dubai attempts to ask these questions through the works of some of India’s most significant artists. “Art’s relevance lies not in the adherence to any ideology, but in its potential to dare, to question, and to unearth the unseen truths of its time,” states curator Wendy Amanda Coutinho.
On the walls in the gallery are works of India’s most significant modernists, from founders of the formidable Progressive Artists’ Group — MF Husain, SH Raza, FN Souza, KH Ara, HA Gade and SK Bakre to artists KG Subramanyan, VS Gaitonde, Jehangir Sabavala, Bhupen Khakhar and J Swaminathan. “The exhibition assembles an ensemble of artists whose legacies are intricately connected to the currents of protest — political and personal — that defied and defined their time. These interconnections reexamine the individual artistic journeys that shaped collective movements and dialogues, spanning generations, challenging and questioning the status quo,” notes Coutinho.
Jehangir Sabavala, Mirage, 1966, Oil on canvas, 41 x 33 inches
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