In India, abstract art was not so much a
culmination of a logical process in the
development of the vocabulary of art, but more a
search for purity of line, colour and form by
artists in the 50s and the 60s.
The late Vasudeo S Gaitonde’s introspective
nature found the engagement with colour and
texture- uncluttered by content or narrative – a
satisfactory way to deal with his canvas
surface. A Zen like contemplative approach
informs his canvases. The two other artists who
approached the pictorial space as if it were a
philosophical engagement are Jeram Patel and
late Nasreen Mohamedi. Whereas Patel’s statement
is boldly assertive with a richness of tone,
Nasreen Mohamedi’s drawings reveal an austere
aesthetics that permits no excess.
There are many artists who, from landscapes,
moved towards abstractions. Ganesh Haloi of
Calcutta readily comes to mind. Many of the
artists close to the Progressive Artists Groups
and Syed Haider Raza, a founder member of the
PAG, experimented with abstraction from the 70s
onwards. Their new orientation was not devoid of
philosophical questions relating to the nature
of the image.
Works of Krishen Khanna, Jehangir Sabavala, Ram
Kumar, Akbar Padamsee, Jagdish Swaminathan, Eric
Bowen, Mona Rai, Biren De, GR Santosh, OP
Sharma, Soha Qadri, SG Vasudev, Prabhakar Kolt’s
and V Viswanadhan which find prominent place in
the NGMA, are exemplary.
The collection of abstract art at the NGMA
showcases the diverse use of material, colours,
forms and textures. Moreover, it ranges from
ascetic simplicity to a rich sensuousness in
mood and imagination.
Jeram Patel
Contours, Blow torch on wood, 122X91 cm
Eric Bowen
O.G.+3 S.Q., Acrylic on board, 60X60.3 cm
V S Gaitonde
Painting, Oil on canvas, 101.3X178 cm
Ram Kumar
Oil on canvas, 84X152.5 cm
Krishen Khanna
Ink on paper, 51.5X38 cm
Nasreen Mohamedi
Drawing IV, Ink on paper, 51X51.5 cm
Akbar Padamsee
Metascape III, Oil on canvas, 152X152.5 cm
Biren De
Genesis, Oil on canvas, 182.5X121.5 cm
S H Raza
Untitled, Oil on canvas, 50X99.1 cm
S G Vasudev
Tree of Life, Oil on canvas, 90X90 cm
P Sharma
Mandala in Black, Oil on canvas, 84X92 cm
G R Santosh
Untitled, 127X148 cm
Jehangir Sabavala
Trapped Lake, Oil on canvas, 150X100 cm
Akhilesh
Acrylic on cavas, 101.3X178 cm
Mona Rai
Illustrated, Mixed Media Manuscript, 107X72 cm
Viswanadhan
Red Painting, Oil on canvas, 120X120 cm
Prabhakar Kolte
Untitled, Watercolour, 90X70 cm
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