Earth Day reflections of Indian masters at Showkeen

Time of India

28-04-2025

Critic and Curator Uma Nair has been writing for the past 34 years on art and culture She has written as critic for Times of India and Economic Times. She believes that art is a progressive sojourn. She learnt by looking at the best shows in Washington D.C. and New York. As author her most important books are Reverie with Raza and Meditations on Trees by Ompal Sansanwal. LESS ... MORE
In a melange of materials and mediums Showkeen at Astaguru had within the secrets of form and the beauty of fictional and realistic resonance in works by India's contemporary masters.
From Himmat Shah's monolithic heads to Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi's surreal butterflies to Manu Parekh's Samudra Manthan to Krishen Khanna's set of sculptures, a relook at his Chola murals and his Band Wallahs there were also monumental sculptures of the Sacred Gaze by Thota Vaikuntam and a series of stirring sculptures of man and nature by master sculptor Dhananjay Singh.
Himmat Shah's exploration of size, shape, and form
Himmat Shah's stone works speak of the spirit of experimentation and exploration that marked his sculptural practice in the early 70s. The green spider marble is a vignette of an old work reworked in marble, not only does it echo the neo-plastic discipline, but also offers us spatial dimension. The beauty of Himmat's composition of a human head and a matrix of construction therein is a work that invites us to think of earth scapes and spaces even as the universe of planets and stars watch the world go by.'
Marble for Himmat Shah in his last years became his elixir.The Rajnagar White Marble and Bheslana Black Marble both became his loved medium and he chiselled pure abstract heads as he reduced his works to the beauty of simplicity in stone.
The Rajnagar Marble monolith turns into an abstract human head which reflects an outward classical and disciplined exterior.When Himmat went to work with his chisel he wasn't looking at furrows and texture but he wanted to carve smooth, undulating forms that echoed the natural world.
To create his marble /stone abstract heads of minimalist moorings , Himmat created preparatory maquettes and models.While he created the semblance of an abstract head it is the shape that tells us that he was exploring abstract values of poise, of curvature and the fluid flow of the human head.
Krishen Khanna La Pieta sculpture
Krishen Khanna had deep interest in Biblical stories, and La Pieta was one of his favourites. This sculpture made in London revitalizes and recontextualizes the Pieta a series he began in the 1960s. This return to the theme forms an entirely different yet unique perspective. This sculpture is more about humanity rather than divinity . Christ lies lifeless, prone and pale, his limbs uncomfortably collapsed at his side. The despondent, Mary is an example of emotional realism. Khanna drew attention to the fact that this loss is sadly all too familiar for some people.
We are reminded of Michelangelo Buonarroti's Pietà. Krishen reminds us that Pieta is an eternal masterpiece that over the centuries has written the evolution of the history of art and, in some ways, also of human feeling. Regardless of one's religious beliefs, it is practically impossible to contemplate this sculpture live without feeling deeply touched by it, feeling the awakening of emotions and feelings deeply inherent like any human being. At Showkeen , this sculpture states that Pietà is unique, both for the themes it deals with and for its own realisation.
Manu Parekh's Samudra Manthan
Modernist master Manu Parekh's Samudra Manthan is a masterpiece set in Benares as a modern story of conflict and contradiction and eternal myths.With symbolic representation Manu creates Mount Mandara that was used as the churning rod and Vasuki, a powerful snake, used as the rope as the central axis of this panoramic work. History says Lord Vishnu, in his Kurma avatar (turtle), supported the mountain. Manu brings alive the churning of the Ksheera Sagara (ocean of milk) to obtain the Amrita.This panoramic work was an exemplary work of contemporary character born of ancient myth.
Manu revels in the creation of a corollary of conversations by creating a work that reflects pursuit of immortality and the search for balance even in conflict.
Manu's penchant for contrasting contours and the the complexity of colours bring alive the Sanskrit shlokas chanted for the ritual offerings as well as obeisance by devotees at all hours of day or night.Manu's handling of the forms are about mood as well as the evocations of experience and memory this time set in a pulsating blue to mimic the oceans. In this majestic work t we sense not just the intonations of colour but also the inner and outer glow of his understanding of luminescent gradations that create their own corollary of conversations even as we think of bhajans and kirtan in the lyrics of devotion during praise and worship.
Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi's Swarm of Butterflies
Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi's study of a swarm of butterflies heralds a creation that draws our attention to the beauty of timelessness and the fragility of all things wise and wonderful, all creatures great and small.Colour is his elixir and contour is his ally.The power of this work is its intricate allure and his brilliance at capturing evanescent elegance in his narrative of life's lessons in the service of nature.
Despite its short span of life the butterfly for Phaneendra is an emblem of continuous service in the ecological system.His sculptural pair Transmutations too seeks to extol the paradigms of the solitary journey of man in his life.At Showkeen Phaneendra's butterfly canvases as well as sculpted installations of butterfly winged wonders drew praise from many collectors.
Dhananjay Singh's Tree series
National Award winning artist Dhananjay Singh created a series of works on man and nature, the tree being his metaphor over 3 decades. In his work I am Within You created out of stainless steel and bronze is a work of fine detailing , beautiful in composition, and a healing read in its totality. Dhananjay complements the frame with a fragment of a tender illustrated branch to our bond with trees, and reminds us that a tree is a lyrical object of nature, a silent companion who withstands the vagaries of nature.
In a subtle way he helps us to revisit Walt Whitman on democracy, identity and the paradox of the self, and his timeless advice on living a vibrant and rewarding life.
At once it's an immersion within the power of nature and its healing power. 'How it all nourishes, lulls me,' Whitman exulted, 'in the way most needed; the open air, the rye-fields, the apple orchards.' This work becomes a transcendent record of Dhananjay's communion with the natural world. What emerges is a celebration of the art of seeing.
Vaikuntam's magnificent Govardhan
Thota Vaikuntam's Govardhan is like a relic, it reaffirms that the Govardhan Parikrama is not just a ritual; it's a profound spiritual journey that immerses you in the divine aura of Lord Krishna's miracles. Encircling the sacred Govardhan Hill, this Parikrama is a timeless tradition performed by millions of devotees seeking blessings, forgiveness, and a deeper connection with the Supreme.Vaikuntam creates a single Lord Krishna with his flute holding up the hill with his little finger.The men and women and the four cows and the little calf all look up at him in devotion in concentrated contemplation as they soak in an unforgettable experience, filled with insights, rituals, and all the seamless, spiritually fulfilling moments.
Their festooned foreheads with the sandalwood paste and the bindus along with the Namam tilak on the foreheads of men all make for a tableau of a congregation that gathers to pay obeisance.Vaikuntam once said he loved the rituals because they belong to the heart of devotion.
This triptych reminds us that Govardhan is an act of reverence that commemorates Lord Krishna's legendary act of lifting the Govardhan Hill to protect his devotees from Lord Indra's wrathful storms.The kirtan sung and the chants and mantras all come back as you recall not just the manifestation of Krishna but the symbol of protection and love for his devotees.This tableau is a testimony to the opening of pathways to spiritual enlightenment. Muralesque and magnificent the canvas celebrates human congregations that come together to worship Lord Krishna and his many legends in the little place of Vrindavan.All these works at Showkeen celebrated Indian artistry and the roots of Indian history both mythic and modern.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.