The tales on the wall – brunch feature

Art has the power to infinitely capture different aspects of the world around us. As an art collector and supporter of artists and arts education in India, I have seen a lot of good work. Some, however, are outstanding. Here are 11 artworks I consider works of genius.

1. Rajendra Dhawan, Untitled (1999)

Rajendra Dhawan’s untitled painting

Rajendra Dhawan’s painting is a deeply contemplative oil on canvas. His canvases are often impressionistic in nature, suspending the colour field with a sense of spirituality and timelessness. A classic work of abstraction, with the soft brush strokes and colour field of the work blending into each other, this canvas has been part of my collection for over 13 years. Dhawan’s training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts is evident in his masterful exploration of abstraction in the work.

“Rajendra Dhawan’s training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts is evident in his masterful exploration of abstraction in his work”

2. Himmat Shah, Head Series (2004)

Head Series by Himmat Shah

Himmat Shah’s work is characterised by his long- term engagement with materiality and texture, as evidenced by his work with terracotta and bronze. Shah’s versatility with materials and strong artistic language is present in this work from his Head Series, which I have had for 12 years. The strength of the work and the technique that the sculpture employs were defining factors when I acquired it. The work is emblematic of Shah’s studies in the series, encapsulating his mastery in the sculptural form while attesting to this artistic exploration of more philosophical and abstract themes. The bronze heads are studies of masculinity and materiality, simultaneously abstract and totemic in nature.

3. Riyas Komu, Flowering History (2005

Flowering History by Riyas Komu

Riyas Komu’s practice has encompassed several mediums, from painting and photography to installations. He has also painted a number of portraits. Flowering History depicts a young girl, whose face dominates the canvas, unlike traditional portraiture, which positions the subject’s body at a distance, either showing the full body or from the bust. The photographic quality of the framing of the young subject is evident in the unnatural close-up of her figure; however, Komu complicates our expectation from the work by highlighting the painterly aspects of the work. The innocence captured in the portrait is heightened with the reflectivity that the subject of the painting seems to hold.

4. Josh P. S., Begum Hazrat Mahal (2007)

Begum Hazrat Mahal by Josh P.S.

I acquired this striking monochrome portrait from Nature Morte. Begum Hazrat Mahal was the second wife of the Nawab of Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah, and a leading figure in the agitation against the East India Company during the 1857 mutiny. The painting pixelates the traditional profile of the Begum in a very modern form. It recalls digital art, which is rendered in the medium of watercolour on paper. Watercolours were often used to make broader colour fields in paintings. The artist presents the portrait of the revolutionary leader in monochrome, using the visual idiom of distorted pixels that come together to form the image to hint simultaneously at a historical figure in a thoroughly contemporary manner. The work exudes the sheer power of its subject.

5. M F Husain, A Lady Playing Sitar (1987)

A Lady Playing Sitar by M F Husain

Husain was one of the pioneers of modern art in India. This painting has been in our family for years, acquired from the Chawla Art Gallery. The painting depicts the Goddess Saraswati playing the veena, framed against calming hues of blue. Husain renders the figure of the goddess using a freehand manner of drawing and in vibrant colour, a signature style of painting and portraiture that was highly modern in nature. It beautifully captures the act of playing music, framed in a reverential and modern manner as both a depiction of the goddess with her instrument and a study of the playing of the instrument itself.

“Husain renders the figure of the goddess using a freehand manner of drawing and portraiture that was highly modern in nature”

6. Daniele Buetti, Does Everything Become Its Opposite (2009)

Does Everything Become Its Opposite by Daniele Buetti

Daniele Buetti is a Swiss visual artist who has worked in various media, including photography, video, sound, sculpture and digital. The work is an inkjet print on archival paper on PVC, perforated in a light box. I first saw this work in 2011 and acquired it from Arushi Arts. The text on the work, Does Everything Become Its Opposite, is rendered in monochrome and sepia tones with perforations through a light box. Buetti’s works often use popular images and photographs from older magazines and studio photographs. The text is posed as a statement, an existential utterance that is juxtaposed with the image of the woman seemingly asleep in the background. The text and its many connotations bring up the topics of life and death, beauty and ugliness. These visual and textual complexities add a dark side to the beautiful work.

7. Subodh Gupta, Untitled (2009)

Subodh Gupta’s untitled artwork

Subodh Gupta is known for his eclectic contemporary artistic practice. This painting is a relatively small canvas and the tones are darker than Gupta’s other works. The painting is acrylic on canvas, depicting cooking vessels framed against iron bars that creates a feeling of confinement. It has an otherworldly quality to it, heightened by the clash of the real and the painterly on the canvas. The caged utensils evoke questions of tradition and modernity. Gupta has often evoked the idiom of steel and cooking utensils, framing them away from their regular domestic settings, which makes the utensils undergo a change in meaning. The work drew me in when I first encountered it, and has continued to be an important fixture in my collection.

8. Shibu Natesan, Girl From Nepal (2008)

Girl From Nepal by Shibu Natesan

Shibu Natesan’s work is characterised by a deep engagement with critical realism through a transformation of our everyday life into metaphorical works of art. Natesan is inspired by media and popular culture, adding humorous interventions as his artistic touch. I had acquired this work from the Vadehra Art Gallery, and it has been a part of my collection for about seven or eight years now. The painting is a happy portrait of a young child, but also represents a different cultural ethos in its frame.

“Shibu Natesan’s work transforms our everyday life into metaphorical works of art”

The photo-realistic nature of the work is evident in the manner in which Natesan employs his palette, the figure painted against a dark background. The work plays with our expectations of ‘realism’ itself that demands a loyalty of representing the truth of the image. Natesan’s experiments with critical realism are evident in this work through his insertion of his artistic intervention with the expectations of realism from the image.

9. Navin Thomas, Continuum Transfunctioner Vol 7 (2011)

Continuum Transfunctioner Vol 7 by Navin Thomas

Navin Thomas is an experimental contemporary artist whose work has explored sound, electro-acoustics and their effect on natural ecologies. I acquired this work in 2012. Thomas’ practice has engaged deeply with sound and its various iterations, from spending hours recording audio from the street to making automated sculptures that function as music boxes and have the ability to play sounds when activated. An avid collector of electronic ‘junk,’ Thomas works with mixed media and often employs sound material and vintage technology into his functional sculptural works. This sculpture is made of wood, copper brass and black mirror, with a text engraved onto the instrument: ‘Satiate in Oblivion’. The statement references a state of bliss where one is unaware of one’s immediate surroundings, and is an invitation for us to enjoy the music box and its instrumental masterpieces.

10. Avinash Veeraraghavan, Realm of the Senses (2012)

Realm of the Senses by Avinash Veeraraghavan

Avinash Veeraraghavan is a contemporary artist whose work draws from the visual language of popular culture and digital imaging. Realm of the Senses is an embroidered work, done with glass beads on black silk and organza. The diptych shows the image of a woman in bondage with a mouth gag, contrasted deeply with the resplendent glass beads on dark material. The work primarily uses cream and skin-coloured material that is contrasted with the dark of the organza, with a lustre on the work that is enhanced by the use of black beads. The materiality suggested by the artist’s use of black silk and organza immediately reminds one of luxury and pleasure. The use of glass beads to render the image of the bound woman highlights the sadomasochistic themes of the work.

11. M F Husain, Shalini and Sanjay Passi Wedding Cards (1993)

Shalini and Sanjay Passi’s Wedding Cards by M F Husain

My final pick for the list is a more personal one: wedding cards designed by M F Husain. The cards were made in 1993 especially for my wedding, with four separate cards for the four functions that took place during my wedding. These cards hold an especially important place in my life, as I reminisce about the wedding as well as the artistic rendering of my nuptials that were imagined and brought to life by the renowned artist.

Shalini Passi is an art collector and founder of Shalini Passi Art Foundation and Mash, a digital platform dedicated to design

From HT Brunch, July 12, 2020

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