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‘A Show of Hands': Celebrating the generous mentorship of artist Gieve Patel

All through Indian art history, there have been instances of artists as mentors to generations of young practitioners, ranging from Ramkinkar Baij and Nandalal Bose to K.G. Subramanyan and Jyoti Bhatt. An ongoing exhibition, A Show of Hands , at Jehangir Nicolson Art Foundation (JNAF) in Mumbai examines the role of another beloved mentor, Gieve Patel, who died in 2023. Largely self-taught and primarily a figurative painter, his work explored urban landscapes, people on the margins and the impact of human development on the ecology. He was a doctor—as well as an artist, poet and playwright, and found wide recognition in each of these professions. A Show of Hands is curated by cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote, who found a mentor in Patel as a teenager. The two shared a deep friendship for nearly four decades. The exhibition feels like an intimate, soulful remembrance while also being a celebration of the values Patel held close. The first edition of this show was held at Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi last year, and has now opened in Mumbai, which not only served as the artist's home but also his muse. Also read: Looking back at the intertwined legacies of Tagore and Ray According to Puja Vaish, director, JNAF, the showcase is a tribute to the institution's longstanding ties with Patel. 'Jehangir Nicolson had purchased a seminal work by Patel, Statesmen on a Floral Rostrum (1972), from his solo show at Pundole's Gallery, and it later featured in JNAF's inaugural exhibition in 2011," she explains. Hoskote approached the design of the exhibition and the narrative based on the specifics of space. 'I have designed this avatar [of the exhibition] as a Fibonacci spiral, starting out with a tightly-linked set of works with Gieve's at the centre," he explains. The show then opens out in a whorl of works by other artists responding to Patel's values, spaced along a rhythm of close and distant, 'which approach and stand back from Gieve's perennial themes of the wounded body, trauma and transcendence, the tension between the vulnerable and the inviolate, the replenishing yet mysterious presence of water, and the joys of friendship." The show features works by senior artists Nilima Sheikh, Anju Dodiya, Ghulammohammed Sheikh, Atul Dodiya, Ranbir Kaleka, Jitish Kallat and Sudhir Patwardhan. Two photographs taken by Atul Dodiya, placed at diagonally opposite ends of the exhibition, bring the persona of Patel as a gentle, affable and considerate man to life. Dodiya has also contributed Laughter (2024), which echoes the deep sense of humour of the artist while infusing aspects of mememto mori—an acknowledgement of the meaningful life Patel lived. Also read: Books: Upamanyu Chatterjee is master of the absurd in his new collection Another work that stands out is Marine Drive (2024) by Sudhir Patwardhan, which revisits the close bond that the two doctor-artists shared. It shows them sharing a relaxed evening on Mumbai's sea-facing promenade. While the camaraderie that Patel shared with his fellow contemporaries in Mumbai is well known, what comes across as interesting is his influence on the younger generation of artists. This is evoked through works by Aditi Singh, Biraaj Dodiya, Areez Katki, Sujith S.N., Ratheesh T. and Mahesh Baliga. Areez Katki met the senior artist in 2019 at a printmaking workshop and residency in Mumbai in which they were both participants. He was drawn to the organic nature of Patel's Daphne sculptures. 'That work was extremely compelling for me, not just as a reference to mythologies but also due to the tension held by bodies in the process of escaping danger. I appreciated how Gieve had represented the narrative of Daphne as a figure from whom autonomy, freedom of movement and feminine concerns around safety were brought to the fore," he says. In the exhibition, Katki is presenting Daphne (after Gieve Patel) , 2021, a cotton embroidery work made on a dhurrie rug, which represents his own take on the same character from Greek mythology. Thirty-one-year-old Biraaj Dodiya's parents—artists Anju and Atul— shared a close friendship with Patel. She has wonderful memories of dinner table conversations involving her family, Gieve and his daughter Avaan, and the Patwardhans. 'Often this would be after an opening of an exhibition or a lecture. There would be laughter, and discussions about art, cinema and literature. Gieve was a wonderful storyteller, and had a great sense of humour," she reminisces. Also read: Planner: 5 events to shake things up this week Her set of works made specifically for the exhibition, titled Sleep Chorus I-VIII (2024), is a series of painted steel sculptures, the forms of which reference ancient Egyptian, Japanese and Ethiopian headrests. The pedestals are inspired by medical stretchers—motifs she has worked with in the past as well. 'I was thinking about Gieve's life as a doctor, poet and painter. There is a tactile quality in both nurturing patients and in the act of painting. The faded worn surfaces of rexine pillows in doctors' clinics in Mumbai suburbs is where all kinds of heads rest and find respite. I was also thinking about the idea of healing. I place that in context of Gieve's sense of openness to people and their lives," she says. One of Sujith S.N.'s works, Dialogue (2024), a large watercolour on paper, shows a figure at the bottom of a waterfall. It references one of Patel's well-known paintings, Gateway (1981), which is currently in the permanent collection of Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts. 'I was inspired by Gieve's works as a response to the evolving urban landscape of Bombay. But my work is more like a dreamscape, which embodies the aspirations of many who migrate to the city for better opportunities," he says. Mahesh Baliga too has contributed two works: they are small but hold deep personal significance. The first, Two Poets (2021),shows the late Aveek Sen engaged in conversation with Patel. The other,Pakhi Babu (2018-2019), is especially dear to him as Patel had singled it out for appreciation at one of Baliga's shows. Hoskote attributes Patel's appeal among younger artists to his clarity of thought, and his refusal to follow dogmas or chase trends. He feels that they appreciated the precision and pertinence of his advice. As a young poet, he remembers having asked Patel about the direction that he should take. 'He told me, 'You should go deep down to where things are broken'. It took me a number of years, and a lot of growing-up, to recognise the wisdom of this advice. It allowed me to see and practise for myself the art of listening and healing, of attentiveness and repair," says the curator. Show of Hands | In Memoriam: Gieve Patel can be viewed at Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation Gallery, Mumbai, till 25 May. Anindo Sen is an independent writer.