Delhi Art Gallery is pleased to present the ninth edition of its signature, biannual exhibition Manifestations this summer, with a select collection of seventy-five noted artists of modern Indian art. The artworks span a wide range of forms, periods and styles in Indian modernism that have been grouped by genre: abstract art, figurative art, portraiture, the narrative, mythology, still-life and landscapes..
A selection of exciting works from the Indian modernist stable are on feature, led by the six founding members of the erstwhile Progressive Artists’ Group, Bombay: F. N. Souza, M. F. Husain, S. H. Raza, K. H. Ara, H. A. Gade and S. K. Bakre. A host of artists, from Satish Gujral, Ram Kumar, Avinash Chandra, K. Laxma Goud, Laxman Pai to Gogi Saroj Pal showcase high modernism at its most diverse, besides the Bengal masters Benode Behari Mukherjee, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Haloi, Ganesh Pyne and Prokash Karmakar.
Academic realism is a special inclusion, featuring established masters such as M. F. Pithawalla, M. V. Dhurandhar, J. P. Gangooly and Pestonji Bomanji. Sohan Qadri and Biren De feature with early works before their shift to tantra, while G. R. Santosh participates with a mature tantra work of a meditating devi.
A special highlight of the exhibition is Nandalal Bose’s landmark watercolour wash work from the 1930s, Untitled (Siva Drinking World Poison), leading the collection that make this Manifestations an exciting, and art historically significant one.