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A rare figurative canvas by
spiritual abstraction artist Sohan Qadri on display in the
capital. |
New Delhi:
The order is shifting in the firmament of contemporary Indian art.
The depleting tribe of senior artists -- following the demise of
Jehangir Sabavala, M.F. Husain and Sohan Qadri this year -- is
prompting the slow ascent of a second generation of talented young
contemporary artists.
Unlike Indian performing arts, where the top the talent chain
dominates the viewers' imagination, visual arts over the years
have thrown up a formidable line of young talented artists who
have carved a niche for themselves with their unique style.
"Most of the surviving pioneers are too old and infirm to
contribute prolifically to meet the demand for quality art both at
home and outside the country," an industry insider, who was
unwilling to divulge his name, told IANS.
"Artists like S.H. Raza, Suhas Roy, Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar and
Satish Gujral are in their late 70s and 80s. The volume of their
work has decreased with age. A group of talented younger artists -
who are commanding respect among collectors and fetching record
prices at auctions - is gradually grabbing the limelight with
signatures (craft) of their own," he added.
They may never be able to substitute the pioneers of the genre,
but experts said the younger lot could be a viable alternative for
collectors.
With affordability being the bottom-line in a market ruled by
extreme swings in the last three years, works by the top 20 names
in Indian contemporary art, especially those who are no longer
alive, defy the purse-strings of an average collector.
The past two decade has been marked by the passing away of
pioneering pillars like J. Swaminathan, Tyeb Mehta and Manjit Bawa.
According to art historian, writer, curator and critic Ina Puri,
"History has to prove whether the second generation of talented
artists like Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Sudarshan Shetty were
worthy of filling the void created by the demise of the masters".
"A few months ago I was in London when M.F. Husain passed away and
I had to write an obituary. Last week I paid my tribute to
Jehangir Sabavala, who breathed his last in Mumbai. One after the
other, the early pioneers of contemporary Indian art are falling
to the vicissitudes of time and years," Puri told IANS.
In a creative space, it is the name which counts, said Narendra
Jain, director of the Art Mall, one of the biggest gallery spaces
in the capital.
"Those who have generated a name over the years have commanded
value for their works because they have been around for long.
Consequently, the new talented artists have not been able to break
through the price brackets and name created by the top artists.
The big names may never be substituted, but the younger artists
will create their own name and space in the arena," Jain told IANS.
"If a collector is not able to afford a M.F. Husain or find one in
the market, he might as well think, 'let me buy an Atul Dodiya'
very soon," he said.
Since the mid-1990s, an entire generation of new artists like T.V.
Santosh, Riyas Komu, N. Harsha, Chintan Updhayay, Jitish Kallat,
Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Mithu Sen, Praneet Soi and several others,
all between 30 to 45 years, have made their mark on the
contemporary art scene with their new age digital art, mixed media
compositions, installations and art photography.
Their works explore new territories that speak a universal
language -- transcending geography and sometimes traditional icons
because of their exposure to the West. Their ethos however
remained grounded in India.
Perhaps understandably, the veterans still remain the collector's
gems and the market's top-grossing heroes.
"The Indian art collector's fascination for pioneering names makes
the prospect for younger artists difficult," a senior official of
the Lalit Kala Akademi told IANS.
"Husain cannot be replaced. There will be only one Husain. We all
can follow him, use him as a role model on our roads to maturity,"
young artist Laxma Gaud told IANS.
(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)
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