UK’s Tate gallery gears up for late Vadodara artist Bhupen Khakhar retrospective

New Delhi

An international retrospective of artist Bhupen Khakhar, the first since his death in 2003 is set to begin at the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London tomorrow and brings together the artist’s works from across five decades and collections across the world.

‘Bhupen Khakhar: You Can’t Please All’, which is set to continue till November 6, is being sponsored by Deutsche Bank and has been made possible by the support of city-based Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) as part of its ongoing drive to promote the work of important Indian artists across the globe.

Curated by Chris Dercon, Director, Tate Modern and Nada Raza, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern the exhibition will also travel to Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle in Berlin in November 2016.

Renowned for his vibrant palette, unique style and bold examination of class and sexuality, Khakhar played a central role in modern Indian art but was also a key international figure in 20th century painting.

Khakhar’s works were shown at the Tate Gallery in 1982 as part of ‘Six Indian Painters’ and in ‘Century City’ in 2001.

Born in Baroda, the accountant-turned-artist was among the first to freely express his sexuality. The retrospective includes major works on canvas, luminous watercolour paintings and experimental ceramics created by Khakhar.

After completing an MA in Art Criticism at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Siyajirao University, Khakhar began experimenting with collages with his early paintings depicted the ordinary lives of workers and tradesmen, such as ‘The De Lux Tailors’ (1972) and ‘Barber’s Shop’ (1973).

His portraits captured the modern male subject with extraordinary pathos, echoed in the hollowed eyes and piercing gaze of ‘Hathayogi’ (1978) or ‘Man with a Bouquet of Plastic Flowers’ (1975).

As he gained confidence as a painter, Khakhar went on to combine popular and painterly aesthetics, absorbing diverse art historical influences with ease, from Indian miniature and devotional iconography to 14th century Sienese painting and contemporary pop art.

The retrospective show derives its name from his seminal work ‘You Can’t Please All’ (1981) that he painted following his time in Europe. Incidentally the Tate has acquired the iconic painting that depicts a life size figure on a balcony watching characters from an ancient Aesop fable.

This confessional painting signalled Khakhar’s self awareness as a gay man and suggests personal difficulties he faced at the time.

“We are extremely pleased to be part of this iconic Bhupen Khakhar show. His work is immensely significant in the pantheon of Indian art and we are delighted to be lending important works from the KNMA collection to the Tate show,” Kiran Nadar, Chairperson, KNMA said.

“KNMA is committed to showcasing the best Indian art around the world and also facilitate exhibitions of Indian artists to expose them to wider and more diverse audiences” she said.

The KNMA also exhibited a retrospective of artist Nasreen Mohamedi, which was also one of the inaugural exhibitions of the Met Breuer in New York.

Meanwhile, the Khakhar exhibition at the Tate features more than 70 works of the artist is part of the opening of the Tate Modern’s new extension, set to open later in June and is set to feature recent acquisitions from South Asia including works by Sheela Gowda and Sheba Chhachhi.

Khakhar was part of a lively community of artists and writers in Baroda where his home became a gathering place to meet and exchange ideas, even for visiting artists such as Howard Hodgkin and Dexter Dalwood.

The artist then spent six months as artist in residence at the Bath Academy of Art which cemented his links with contemporary British artists.

Also a writer and playwright, Khakhar was dedicated to storytelling and the illustration of the world in detail. He worked with Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie on a special edition of two stories for which the artist produced a series of wood cuts.

Towards the end of his life, Khakhar also made works that expressed his very personal battle with cancer. Works such as ‘Bullet Shot in the Stomach’ (2001) and ‘At the End of the Day the Iron Ingots Came Out’ (1999) show the realities of living with his illness in characteristically unflinching detail.

The final work in the exhibition, the small gold hued painting ‘Idiot’ (2003), expressively combines beauty, rage and irony as one character laughs at another’s grimace of pain.

PTI