Primitivism and Modern Indian Art Features Over 70 works by Most Significant Figures of Art in India, Including Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, Ramkinkar Baij, and Madhvi Parekh
DAG announced the US debut of Primitivism and Modern Indian Art, an exhibition bringing together more than 70 works by Indian painters to explore the influence of primitivism and its motifs in non-Western contexts.
Opening March 14, the exhibition is curated by Dr. Giles Tillotson, a leading scholar in Indian art and architecture and a former reader in history of art, and chair of art and archaeology at the University of London.
The exhibition, on view through June 6, showcases works by recognized Indian masters, using vastly different interpretations of the genre to demonstrate the breadth of primitivism in India.
“The works featured in Primitivism and Modern Indian Art defy any common visual link with each other, demonstrating each artist’s own language of expression,” said Ashish Anand, CEO and managing director of DAG. “However, taken together, the works explore the evolution and overarching language of primitivism within art practice in India.
Primitivism and Modern Indian Art explores how a range of Indian artists incorporated primitivism into their own work in the 20th century, attaching a different range of values and meanings in the Indian context based on their artistic practices. The exhibition also explores the key elements that defined the primitivist style in modern Indian art, including a shift away from intricate and traditionally “sophisticated” stylistic elements, as well as the incorporation of visual elements drawn from folk art. The exhibition also demonstrates how Indian artists sought inspiration from primitive imagery drawn from within Indian culture.
Three featured artists — Rabindranath Tagore, Sunayani Devi, and Madhvi Parekh — were self-taught artists, who came to primitivism and included it in their work outside of a formal artistic education. Other artists who had formal art educations at elite institutions — including Amrita Sher-Gil, George Keyt, and Jamini Roy — were trained in what was considered a more sophisticated style in the 20th century, but actively chose to adopt a more ‘native’ form of practice. The exhibition also features work by modernist sculptor Ramkinkar Baij and painter J Sultan Ali, both of whom chose to incorporate singular elements of primitivism in their work.
Other artists featured in Primitivism and Modern Indian Art who created a unique visual language drawing from primitive imagery include M F Husain, F N Souza, K G Subramanyan, Jogen Chowdhury, and Rabin Mondal.
Primitivism and Modern Indian Art is accompanied by a comprehensive publication and is currently on view at DAG’s Mumbai gallery.
ABOUT DAG
DAG (formerly known as the Delhi Art Gallery) was established in 1993 in New Delhi, and over the past 25 years, has built a reputation for the quality of its collection that represents the expanse of Indian art practice. This extensive collection charts a historic continuum, from the early works of academic artists trained in Bengal and Bombay, to modernists from Baroda, Delhi and beyond, and includes artworks by some of India’s most celebrated artists, including Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy, S H Raza, M F Husain, Tyeb Mehta, F N Souza, Avinash Chandra and Chittaprosad. With the aim of taking Indian modernism to a wider audience, DAG now has gallery spaces in the historic Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, and the iconic Fuller Building in Manhattan, New York, in addition to its gallery in Delhi. It regularly participates in international fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Armory New York, Art Dubai, Masterpiece London and India Art Fair.
