By the middle of 1980s, contemporary Indian art began to chart a new direction. The discourses that dominated the art scene of earlier decades slowly faded away. The younger generation of artists engaged themselves with new concerns. They explored fresh concepts (and the concept acquired preeminence, so that the artist’s idea became germane to the work leaving him free to commission helpers to complete the project). Post-modern ideas left their mark. They experimented with new media, material and techniques, they rethought the scale of the work attempting site-specific three-dimensional installations and they were prepared to negotiate with both global and local stimuli. Themes involving gender, environment and urban crisis began to surface in images. The vibrancy of popular culture worked as a major trigger in image-making. Some of the younger artists, even when they were working with representational forms eschewed narrative elements even as they gave vent to whimsy. In sum, contemporary art tore through the silken veils of the exclusive private gallery ambience and donned an assertive dynamism, a colourful vitality.

Work of Sudhir Patwardhan, Vivan Sundaram, Veena Bhargava, Arpita Singh, Nalini Malani, Paramjit Singh, Manu Parekh, Manjit Bawa, Rameshwar Broota, Jatin Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, Arpana Caur, Amitava Das, Chittrovanu Majumdar, Jaya Ganguly, Jayashree Chakravarti, Rekha Rodwittiya, Rajeev Lochan, Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Subodh GHupta, Anju Dodiya, Hema Upadhaya, Chintan Upadhaya, Riyas Komu, Probir Gupta, Anandajit Ray, and NS Harsha in the NGMA collection beautifully capture the eclectic spirits of contemporary art practices.

 

Bikash Bhattacharjee Untitled, Collage, Ink and oil on board, 77X61 cm Bikash Bhattacharjee Doll, Oil on canvas, 121X 121 cm Paritosh Sen The Bag Lady, Oil on canvas, 137X150 cm Paramjit Singh Landscape, Oil on canvas, 182X152 cm Veena Bhargava Chowringhee, Oil on canvas, 175.5X259.5 cm Rameshwar Broota Ageless Stone, Oil on canvas, 126X178 cm Vivan Sundaram Black Arena, Oil on canvas, 126X177 cm Rekha Rodwittiya The Visitation Manu Parekh Evening in Benaras, Untitled, 177X121 cm Arpita Singh Painting-I, Oil on canvas, 123X92 cm Manjit Bawa Jogan, Oil on canvas, 131X160 cm Arpana Caur In Vrindavan, Oil on canvas, 206X152 cm Krishen Khanna Bandwala, Oil on canvas, 178X125 cm Amitava Das Untitled I, Oil on canvas, 91X106 cm Chittrovanu Majumdar Untitled Anjolie Ela Menon Shahpur Jat, Oil on masonite board, 89X180 cm Rajeev Lochan Vision of Reality, Mixed media on silver gelatine print Sudhir Patwardhan The Riot, Acrylic on canvas, 84X152 cm Jitish Kallat Naked Skyline-Porous Air, Oil on canvas, 66”X60” Nalini Malani Untitled, On acrylic sheet, 173X184.5 cm