Celebrating works of prominent artists, an ongoing exhibition traces development of Modern India through art and architecture
After showcasing a series of well-documented retrospectives of prominent artists, the ongoing exhibition, ‘Stretched Terrains: A String of Seven Exhibition” at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is a welcome departure. The show — both in thought and execution — takes viewers on an experiential journey where they will see how artists, architects, and a photographer responded to the societal and cultural milieu through their works.
“We had already done so many retrospectives and highlighted an artist’s artistic journey in a detailed manner that this time I decided to do it the other way round. The idea was not to draw precise boundaries, but to create room for fluid conversations and have counterpoints and juxtapositions,” says Roobina Karode, director and chief curator, KNMA.
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The string continues with ‘Delhi: Building the Modern’ that addresses the architecture of modern India that includes models, structural and engineering drawings, photographs of five architects Raj Rewal, Mahendra Raj, Kuldip Singh, Habib Rahman and Kanvinde, covering a period of two decades between the 1960s and 80s. This section is organised in collaboration with artist, photographer, and curator Ram Rahman and he in the curatorial note writes, “The iconic buildings such as the Hall of Nations by Raj (Rewal) at Pragati Maidan and Rabindra Bhawan by Habib (Rahman) are extraordinary experimentations, uniquely indigenous and remarkably global in nature.”
Through the photographs of Parthiv Shah in the exhibition ‘Sadak.Sarai.Sheher.Basti’, a playful and exciting aspect of Husain is presented. In the series of images, one can see Husain in different moods and actions — from reading a newspaper in a busy market to roaming the streets of Nizamuddin, and from listening to the poetry of a poet who lives near the dargah to drinking tea, watching the modernist master in his candid demeanour is a real treat.
The exhibition as a whole looks magnificent, but Roobina, who has also curated this exhibition, admits that it indeed was one of the toughest curatorial tasks she has ever laid hands on. “Curation is an interesting field because it gives you freedom to be courageous and try different things,” she says.
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