Madras art comes to Delhi
One of the lesser-known movements of Indian modern art, the Madras Art Movement, is steeped in local folklore, mythology, architecture and history. Shedding light on it, by showcasing works of artists who can be credited for the evolution of this movement, is an ongoing group exhibition in the city, Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity.
The displayed works take a broad look at the vision that guided the artists to make way for a movement that’s often referred to as “the last platform for Indian modernism”. The exhibits aim to examine vocabularies of artists and sculptors such as DP Roy Chowdhury, KCS Panicker, J Sultan Ali, L Munuswamy, S Dhanapal, RB*
Bhaskaran, P Gopinath, PV Jankiram, S Nandagopal, AP Paneerselvam, Achuthan Kudallur, Alphonso Doss, C Dakshinamoorthy, C Douglas, K Adimoolam, and K Jayapal Panicker, among others.
“In the attention that was paid to the dominant art centres elsewhere in India, Madras remained a sideshow even though its contribution has been no less significant than the Bengal School or the Progressives,” says Ashish Anand, from DAG.
Within an ambience that was stimulating and catalytic, visual artist SG Vasudev negotiated a space for mythologies, legends and folklore. “My imagery is my ideograph, with each detail worked out intuitively. The stain, the blob and the stub drawing on the half dry painted surface are my means of expression,” says Vasudev, adding, “Whenever the Madras artists exhibitions were held, the artists would be excitedly waiting to open the huge cartons and have the works displayed. This was the kind of response we got from Delhi and Mumbai.”