“He is a flamboyant, Ferrari-driving artist, who relished showing up at elite Indian clubs barefoot, divides his time between London and Dubai now. He has a large body of work that runs into literally several thousand pieces of art and comprises a series on the erstwhile British colonial Raj, Mother Teresa, Bollywood cinema, Hindu epics and horses. His vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes hark back to his early days of struggle when he used to live on the pavements and painted cinema billboards for a living.”
This is how an interesting essay in The Washington Post by Rama Lakshmi depicts Maqbool Fida Husain. It adds: “In the heady celebration of the boom witnessed in recent years in the country's contemporary art market, he is an iconic artist conspicuous by his absence. The paintings of this 94-year-old artist, hailed by many as India's Picasso, are still coveted at international auctions.”
His painting entitled ‘Battle of Ganga and Jamuna’ fetched $1,609,000 last year at a Christie's auction. Unfortunately, galleries back home are not keen to show his works as they have drawn angry protests, court cases and arrest warrants that forced the artist to exile three years ago in Dubai. This constantly triggers a debate about creative freedom in context of religious sensitivities in India.
An author of his illustrated biography, K. Bikram Singh, has been quoted as saying, "Husain has become the symbol of freedom of expression in the country today. We state we are a multi-cultural, multi-religious society. But our secular values are rather hollow." News agency PTI reported as Husain stating that he was ‘dreaming all the time to come back to India.’ But this looks increasingly difficult.
An independent cultural critic Sadanand Menon noted that though the so-called 'friends of Husain' hold tributes occasionally, the art community as a whole and the academia are largely silent on this issue. On his part, Husain recently said in London that he was "dreaming all the time to return to India," reported the Press Trust of India. But his return looks increasingly difficult.
This is how an interesting essay in The Washington Post by Rama Lakshmi depicts Maqbool Fida Husain. It adds: “In the heady celebration of the boom witnessed in recent years in the country's contemporary art market, he is an iconic artist conspicuous by his absence. The paintings of this 94-year-old artist, hailed by many as India's Picasso, are still coveted at international auctions.”
His painting entitled ‘Battle of Ganga and Jamuna’ fetched $1,609,000 last year at a Christie's auction. Unfortunately, galleries back home are not keen to show his works as they have drawn angry protests, court cases and arrest warrants that forced the artist to exile three years ago in Dubai. This constantly triggers a debate about creative freedom in context of religious sensitivities in India.
An author of his illustrated biography, K. Bikram Singh, has been quoted as saying, "Husain has become the symbol of freedom of expression in the country today. We state we are a multi-cultural, multi-religious society. But our secular values are rather hollow." News agency PTI reported as Husain stating that he was ‘dreaming all the time to come back to India.’ But this looks increasingly difficult.
An independent cultural critic Sadanand Menon noted that though the so-called 'friends of Husain' hold tributes occasionally, the art community as a whole and the academia are largely silent on this issue. On his part, Husain recently said in London that he was "dreaming all the time to return to India," reported the Press Trust of India. But his return looks increasingly difficult.
No comments:
Post a Comment