Contemporary Indian Art was an exhibition held from September 18 – October 31, 1982 at The Royal Academy of Arts in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The exhibition featured two sections, I. The Gesture, and Motif, which was on view from September 18 – October 5, 1982, and II. Stories, Situations, which was on view from October 9 – 31, 1982. The exhibition was co-curated by

Akbar Padamsee Akbar Padamsee (12 April 1928 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian artist and painter, considered one of the pioneers in modern Indian painting along with S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza and M.F. Husain. Over the years he also worked with various mediums ...

Richard Bartholomew Richard Lawrence Bartholomew (29 November 1926 – 11 January 1985) was an Indian art critic, photographer, painter, poet, and writer. Early life Richard Bartholomew fled from Tavoy (Dawei), Burma (Myanmar), where he was born, during the Seco ...

, and

Geeta Kapur Geeta Kapur (born 1943) is a noted Indian art critic, art historian and curator based in New Delhi. She was one of the pioneers of critical art writing in India, and who, as ''Indian Express'' noted, has "dominated the field of Indian contemp ...

. The exhibition was part of the ''Festival of India,'' a six-month showcase for Indian culture and art co-sponsored by the governments of the United Kingdom and India. Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

remarked at the opening, ''The links between our two peoples have always been unique. That is why this artistic celebration means so much to us, and to them.''

Concept

The exhibition is a retrospective on the development and evolution of contemporary Indian art practices. The Festival Advisory Committee worked with major museums, galleries, and institutions, as well as private collectors and artists, to loan the final 133 artworks in the exhibition. The two separate installations of the exhibition, 'The Gesture, and Motif' followed by 'Stories, Situations', were created to highlight two different categories of artists working in or from India.Contemporary Indian Art: An Exhibition of the Festival of India. Mumbai: Vakils, 1982. The former category includes artists whose work have an emblematic quality with figures that are highly stylized. The second category includes artists whose work is more focused on story telling. Part I of the exhibition was focused on exploring the history of movements among contemporary Indian artists, including modernism, abstraction, and aestheticism. These diverse artists and their practices were mostly united by an expressed interest in what the curator Geeta Kapur called the "revealed motif" or when the image itself transcends the specific historical conditions of its production. The second part of the exhibition concentrated on works made primarily by a younger generation or artists. The work of nearly all of the painters and sculptors in 'Stories, Situations', is either figurative or episodic, and often reflects the details of the artists everyday lives. Many of the artists were also filmmakers and their work in that media could have influenced their focus on narrative in their paintings as well.

Participating artists

45 artists were represented in the exhibition, with 133 artworks on display. Artists in the exhibition were A. Ramachandran, Adi Davierwalla,

, Anupam Sud,

Arpita Singh Arpita Singh (''née'' Dutta; born 22 June 1937) is an Indian artist. Known to be a figurative artist and a modernist, she made her canvases to have both a story line and a carnival of images arranged in a curiously subversive manner. Her artis ...

, Bal Chhabda,

Bhupen Khakhar Bhupen Khakhar (also spelled Bhupen Khakkar, 10 March 1934 – 8 August 2003) was an Indian artist. He was a member of the Baroda Group and gained international recognition for his work as "India's first 'Pop' artist." Works Khakhar was a sel ...

, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Biren De, Dhruva Mistry, Francis Newton Souza, G.R. Santosh, Ganesh Pyne, Gieve Patel, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Himmat Shah,

Jagdish Swaminathan Jagdish Swaminathan (21 June 1928 – 25 April 1994) popularly known as J. Swaminathan was an Indian artist, painter, poet and writer. He played a role in the establishment of the Bharat Bhawan, a multi-art complex in Bhopal, in 1982, and ser ...

, Jeram Patel,

Jogen Chowdhury Jogen Chowdhury (born 19 February 1939) is an eminent Indian painter and considered an important painter of 21st century India. He lives and works in Santiniketan. He graduated from the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata and subsequentl ...

, K. Laxma Goud, K.C.S. Paniker, K.G. Subramanyan, Kanai Kunhiraman,

Krishen Khanna Krishen Khanna (born 5 July 1925) is an Indian painter known for his abstracted figurative artworks depicting street scenes of the country. He is a self-taught artist whose paintings showcase Indian idioms and human values. Notable works by Khan ...

, Krishna Reddy, Latika Katt, M.F. Husain, Manjit Bawa,

Manu Parekh Manu Parekh is an Indian painter, known for his several paintings on the city of Varanasi. Reported to be influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and Ram Kinker Baij, Parekh is a recipient of the 1982 Lalit Kala Akademi Award. The Government of Ind ...

, Meera Mukherjee,

Mohan Samant Mohan Samant (1924 – 2004) was an early Indian modernist painter and member of the Progressive Artists Group. He was also a lifelong player of the sarangi, an Indian bowed string instrument. Early years Samant was born Manmohan Balkrish ...

, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Nagji Patel,

Nalini Malani Nalini Malani (born 19 February 1946) is an Indian artist, among the country's first generation of video artists. She works with several mediums which include theater, videos, installations along with mixed media paintings and drawings. The su ...

, Nasreen Mohamedi,

Ram Kumar Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

, Ranbir Kaleka, S.H. Raza,

Satish Gujral Satish Gujral (25 December 1925 – 26 March 2020) was an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist and writer of the post-independent era. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, in 1999. His ...

, Sudhir Patwardhan,

Tyeb Mehta Tyeb Mehta (26 July 1925 – 2 July 2009) was an Indian painter, sculptor and film maker. He was part of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group and the first post-colonial generation of artists in India, like John Wilkins who also broke fr ...

V. S. Gaitonde Vasudeo S. Gaitonde (1924 – 10 August 2001), also known as V. S. Gaitonde, was an Indian painter. He was regarded as one of India's foremost abstract painters. Gaitonde received the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1971. Early life ...

, Ved Nayar, and

Vivan Sundaram Vivan Sundaram (28 May 1943 – 29 March 2023) was an Indian contemporary artist. He worked in many different media, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation, and video art, and his work was politically conscious an ...

References

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