Mrinalini Mukherjee: A non-conformist, she made tough choices, never took easy way out

In 1994-95, she was invited by the Museum of Modern Art at Oxford to mount an exhibition of her sculptures.(Photo Source: Manisha Gera Baswani)

She defied convention, with regard to subject and material, whether it be her earliest figurative paintings or the famous sculptures knotted with hemp ropes and the cast bronzes. Even as a celebration of her art is underway in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, artist Mrinalini Mukherjee breathed her last at Max Hospital in Delhi on Monday night.

Suffering from prolonged lung problem, the 65-year-old artist was admitted to the hospital last week. “She was strong-headed and would have her way when she felt it was the right thing to do,” says artist Vivan Sundaram who was present at the hospital at the time of her demise. He recalls attending her first solo exhibit in 1972 at the Shridharani Art Gallery in Delhi. “Her hemp work brought her lot of acclaim, she was possibly the first Indian artist to be invited for the Sydney Biennale,” adds Sundaram.

Daughter of artists Benode Behari and Leela Mukherjee, Mrinalini studied art at MS University and mural design under KG Subramanyan. In 1994-95, she was invited by the Museum of Modern Art at Oxford to mount an exhibition of her sculptures that later travelled to other cities in the UK.

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Known to experiment with mediums, she produced tactile sculptures that borrowed extensively from flora and organic forms and were often laced with sexual overtones. “She was a nonconformist, who chose a path less trodden. She made tough choices and never took the easy way out,” says artist Nilima Sheikh, one of her closest friends. Sundaram adds, “She produced remarkable works even towards the end of her life, some of what you see at NGMA. She put up the show. When she went home before the opening of the exhibition, she didn’t know she would never return.”