THE INDIAN-‘ARTPARASITES’

The National Gallery of Modern Art, founded in 1954 by the then Vice President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, aims to create sensitivity, awareness and understanding among people towards art as a form of expression. The gallery comprises of an eclectic and extensive collection of artworks, acquired over the years from various sources and currently represents the works of about two thousand artists from India and abroad.

In front of me stands regally, a self-portrait of Amrita Sher-Gil. I am contemplating why I am so captivated by this work of art. Does it lie in the allure of her beauty, the depth in her eyes or the resplendence in her smile, or is it the vividness of colour and form she has infused in the canvas painting? The museum provides special focus to the life and works of Amrita Sher-Gil, where, along with her splendid artworks there is the tale of her life and thoughts in her own words and in the words of her admirers. A multimedia presentation showcases the inspirations which influenced her life such as the works of Vincent Van Gogh. Her paintings have a flamboyant and intense use of colour and are charismatic like her personality. Her paintings, both of the Europeans and the Indians, have a special focus on the expressions of the individuals depicted and reveal sympathy and concern for the poor and the downtrodden. Often referred to as the ‘Indian Frida Kahlo’, her works reflect a bold and liberal depiction of women. She has also left a legacy of self portraits capturing her many dispositions from poignant to joyous.

A trajectory of the evolution of art in India is expansively exhibited in the gallery. Beginning from the miniature paintings of medieval India to the depiction of the ‘exotic and mysterious Indian land of snake charmers and nautch girls’ by European travelers one moves on to admire the works of the Bengal School of painters such as Abanidranath Tagore symbolizing a nationalist fervor. Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, the Shantiniketan school of painters, Jamini Roy, Raja Ravi Verma and those by various collectives and as products of Art Movements also find an extensive display. From contemporary art to abstract ones and from the works of Jatin Das to M.F. Hussain to Anjolie Ela Menon, the museum offers an extraordinary array of artworks for the visitor to study and interpret.

The gallery also exhibits intriguing modern sculptures and has made a marvelous start of a display section of photographic works of eminent photographers like Raghu Rai.

Apart from this, the NGMA is currently engaged in holding a solo exhibition, ‘Untimely Calendar’ by the Raqs Media Collective. Enriched by the use of multimedia, this concept driven exhibition is replete with philosophical density. Through numerous videos, acoustics, riddles and installations, the onlooker is made to delve into the multi-faceted mysteries and experiences of time, future and the impressions of the ‘untimely’. The exhibition speaks of artistic ingenuity, playing with the intellectual, emotional and sensory faculties of the visitors as they experience displays inspired by legacies of Radical Movements to the Mahabharata to the everyday consciousness of individuals. A multimedia presentation displays a ‘phantom limb’ which ‘wonders how to scratch the future it doesn’t have' and a cluster of colourful silhouette like structures of people suspended in the air showcase how ‘Anybody, Everybody, Somebody, Nobody, Antibody, Busybody and others’ are ‘on a lookout for a way out of here and now’.

The gallery is a place every individual, artist, art connoisseur or someone casually interested, should definitely visit. As has been rightly said – Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time, the experience in the museum is sure to make its impact on you and stay with you for a long time, be it insightful, thought-provoking, plaintive, ecstatic, epiphanic, inspiring or something completely out of this world.

A last word-a towering structure made of shimmering stainless steel utensils created by Subodh Gupta will be hard to miss and its meaning perplexing to construe. Do stop by and let your imagination surge.