
As part of the thirteenth edition of India Art Fair from April 28 to May 1, 2022, a new art exhibition at Booth no M10 highlights the unrivalled richness and breadth of modern Indian art, ranging across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Titled Masterpieces: 200 Years of Indian Art, the exhibition by DAG features works dating from a period when artists grappled to combine traditional themes with new materials and conventions; Landscape of Shiva by Manu Parekh (Source: DAG)
Mithun III by M F Husain (Source: DAG)
Beginning with an exceptionally fine and detailed Early Bengal oil painting depicting Krishna Lila, and a group of unusually large-format Kalighat paintings, the focus on iconography continues in early twentieth century works with paintings by M V Dhurandhar, Nandalal Bose and M A R Chughtai; Untitled by M V Dhurandhar (Source: DAG)
Though highly individual in approach, these artists share a common exploration of the border between the figural and the abstract, notes the press statement; Untitled by G R Santosh (Source: DAG)
Untitled by Nandalal Bose (Source: DAG)
It has been curated by Dr Giles Tillotson, senior VP – Exhibitions and Publications at DAG; Lovers by Amarnath Sehgal (Source: DAG)
Radically new configurations including the rise of abstraction are found in mid-century works by Khagen Roy, K K Hebbar, Rameshwar Broota, M F Husain, S H Raza, Shanti Dave, and a large sculpture by Dhanraj Bhagat; Untitled by Rameshwar Broota (Source: DAG)
Untitled by Khagen Roy (Source: DAG)
Madhvi Parekh's artworks bring back the focus on iconography but with a difference: a Christian theme, familiar through Renaissance depictions, comes ‘home’ in a naïve style derived from Indian folk art; Last Supper (Triptych) by Madhvi Parekh (Source: DAG)