An artist inspired by his legendary father's legacy leaves his own mark

Owais Husain’s just concluded exhibition, the first solo show in Mumbai for nearly a decade, has drawn critical applause. Putting the series in perspective, the artist reveals how he has been silent or quite a while, before feeling an urge all of a sudden to vent the thoughts bottled up inside his head. It’s an echo of the silent phase he has suppressed all this while.

The new set of work revolves around an ensuing battle between one’s heart and the mind. It displays the various facets of relationships. He is currently working on an
experimental opera, having just finished shooting a film that will mark his directorial debut. Spelling out the difference between painting and filmmaking, he narrates that art is a solitary act whereas film involves a different kind of mathematics where one can get more experimental.

He is an artist boasting of probably the most recognizable surname in modern and contemporary Indian art history. His father is undoubtedly among the country's most internationally renowned and respected painters, unfortunately mired in controversies ever since he ruffled the religious feathers of touchy morality brigade. Having accepted citizenship of Qatar after a prolonged exile, MF Husain is unlikely to revisit his homeland.

The master painter, known as the pioneer and trendsetter of Indian modern art in the post-Independence era, was forced to give up on his Indian citizenship after a spate of protests. For record, Husain was forced into an exile in 2006 after a spate of criminal cases were slapped against him across the courts in India. Owais was supportive of his father's decision.

Meanwhile, he has also enhanced his reputation as a talented and dynamic artist. He does not carry that baggage of being an illustrated father's son. His deft brushstrokes create thickly delineated forms in constant movements. He prefers abstraction than pure forms. Notably, the element of the narrative is strong.