Latest news with #MFHusain
New Indian Express
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Pablo Picasso to MF Husain: Gifting the recipe of art
Think art and the vision that instantly conjures up in one's mind would be of a canvas in a gilded frame, pronouncing its snobbery and pride from under the glare of the soft lights of a sanitised gallery. This may be true in most cases, for art does have its own settings. But there have been surprises that have broken this stereotype, time and again. Imagine walking into a bustling eatery in the bylanes of a small Indian town and encountering the artworks of the country's most famous artist. When MF Husain visited Kochi as a brand ambassador for Kerala Tourism, he often chose to eat his meals at Kayees, a popular biryani joint in Mattancherry. On the day of his first visit, he drew the leg of a goat on a piece of paper while sitting on the bench, to indicate to the puzzled waiter that he wanted a leg piece in his curry. He went on to complete the sketch of a goat and handed it over to the restaurant. He also presented a drawing of a camel as a parting gift, and today, the humble hotel proudly displays these invaluable gestures on its crowded walls. Another unusual place that features a painting by the iconic artist is the Lucky Tea Stall in Ahmedabad, renowned for its unusual location. The owner who purchased the land did so without realising that it was a cemetery. The knowledge did not prove to be a deterrent, and he went ahead with his plans, placing tables for customers amid the graves and coffins. The morbid surroundings soon became its unique feature, as well as its chai and maska bun. Husain was enamoured by the ambience and in 1994, gifted his painting to the owner, which still adorns its walls, adding its own charm to the 'dine with the dead' environment.
Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
How Subodh Gupta uses kitchen utensils to make art
(This is part of a series on Indian masters and the motifs that appear repeatedly in their works. Next: MF Husain's Horses) Subodh Gupta, the first contemporary Indian artist to cross the one-million-dollar mark in an auction in 2008, is renowned for his ability to transform quotidian objects such as tiffin boxes, milk cans and bicycles into monumental and thought-provoking art installations. Kitchen utensils, both old and new, have been a recurring motif in Gupta's art, used to comment on a range of subjects, from the political and socio-economic to the familial. Kitchen shelves to art Growing up in a railway colony in Khagaul, Bihar, some of Gupta's fondest childhood memories are from being in the kitchen with his mother. The artist vividly recalls the moment in 1998 when he first discovered the artistic potential of everyday utensils. 'As light suddenly entered the kitchen through the window, the shining utensils caught my eye. I brought all of them into my living room and began putting them together to create different forms. From then on, they became part of my art,' Gupta recalled. Sourced from shops, craft clusters, factories, as well as junkyards, each utensil tells a different story, Gupta said. 'Every single one of them is unique. They carry so many memories, including of those who once owned them. As an artist, if I delve into each individual story, I am bound to get lost. When I bring them together, I give them another life, another meaning altogether,' he added. Finding new meanings A graduate from the College of Art, Patna, Gupta has shaped kitchen utensils in diverse forms over the years, beginning with his first solo held at Chemould Prescott in Mumbai in 1999. One of his early works incorporating utensils was The Way Home (II) (2001), featuring a life-size white cow encircled with stainless steel utensils and bronze and chrome-plated country-made pistols. The work symbolised the changing political and economic landscape of India, and the political violence Bihar was witnessing in the 1990s. His installation UFO (2007) comprised brass utensils soldered together to resemble a flying saucer, which commented on 'notions of otherness'. Shaped like a mushroom cloud, his installation Line of Control (2008) served as a metaphor for conflicts and political tensions in Kashmir. Among his most recognised works made with reflective stainless steel kitchen utensils, Very Hungry God (2006) featured a life-sized human skull to symbolise the human condition and themes of consumerism and globalisation. Outside the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, meanwhile, is his banyan tree Dada (2007). Borrowing its title from the Hindi word for grandfather, the installation reflects on the theme of rootedness and growth, as well as Dadaism, the avant-garde art movement of the early 20th century. For My Family Portrait (2013), Gupta took utensils from his brothers and sister to design hanging kitchen racks. Different forms Gupta has also explored utensils as conceptual tools, painting them on canvases and also centring performances around installations. 'I'm also exploring abstract ideas and thoughts… It's like samudra manthan, something new emerges every time,' Gupta said. French curator and art critic Nicolas Bourriaud wrote: 'The material used in most of your work is a veritable conceptual trap that reveals a cultural gap. What appears luxurious in the West is part of the lexicon of insecurity over there: your work can be compared to a trader who transports material that is plentiful in one place and rare in another.' ('On Cultural Precarity: A letter to Subodh Gupta', 2008). Gupta, at present, is preparing for another performance art piece. To take place at the Bukhara Biennial in Uzbekistan in September, this piece will utilise traditional ceramic utensils to construct a large dome structure to explore the culinary and architectural links between Uzbekistan and India. It will also see Gupta, in collaboration with Uzbek chef Pavel Georganov, preparing a menu that will bring together Indian and Uzbek cuisine. He said: 'Art has a universal language, so do utensils and food… Here, I will be interacting with my audience as they become part of my work…'.
Hindustan Times
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
14 years after death, Husain remains on saffron radar
MUMBAI: More than two dozen rare paintings by M F Husain will go under the hammer on June 12, evoking a sense of déjà vu. The Indian modernist has, over the years, drawn the attention of saffron outfits, not so much for his artistic genius but his bold and controversial depiction of Indian gods and goddesses and, on one occasion, Bharat Mata (Mother India). It is this sense of outrage accompanied by protest that has returned 14 years after the artist's passing. The 25 Husains to be auctioned on June 12 have been caught in legal crosshairs. These paintings were secured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) as part of a case involving an unpaid loan of ₹236 crore by industrialist Guru Swarup Srivastava's Swarup Group of Industries. The artworks are part of Husain's 'Our Planet Called Earth' series and titled under the auction theme 'MF Husain: An Artist's Vision of the XX Century'. The price they fetch at the auction, at the Pundole Art Gallery, will contribute to the recovery of the loan default. Srivastava in 2004 had commissioned Husain to paint 100 works, for ₹1 crore each. The artist, aged 90 then, completed 25 paintings in the series. In 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a probe into the Swarup Group for alleged misappropriation of ₹150 crore from a ₹236-crore loan from NAFED. In 2008, a tribunal permitted NAFED to secure assets of ₹100 crore, including the Husain paintings. The artworks have been locked up in a bank vault since. Now, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, which has raised its voice against Husain's work before, has called for a ban on the June 12 auction. Claiming that Husain has hurt Hindu and national sentiments, the outfit has warned of 'strong public protest' if the auction goes through. A delegation of the samiti has submitted a memorandum to the office of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mumbai Police Commissioner and the District Collector, demanding a ban on the auction. The samiti and other right-wing outfits were particularly enraged and called for Husain's arrest several years ago, when he exhibited a painting titled 'Bharat Mata'. The artwork depicted the map of India as an unclothed female figure that bore the names of Indian cities on her body. Saffron outfits and activists vandalised Husain's shows in several India cities, and the artist eventually apologised for hurting people's sentiments, although he claimed the name 'Bharat Mata' had not been assigned to the painting by him. Nevertheless, a legal battle ensued and, in September 2008, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition against Husain, stating the painting was a 'work of art'. But repeated conflicts with saffron outfits and hundreds of complaints filed against him forced Husain to leave India in 2005. He died in London in 2011. 'He deliberately painted vulgar and obscene images of goddesses Saraswati, Parvati, Ganga and Yamuna, thereby gravely hurting the sentiments of millions of Hindus in the world. Over 1,250 police complaints were filed across India against these offensive depictions… Holding an auction of Husain's paintings is like indirectly supporting his previous anti-national and anti-social acts. Glorifying such individuals under the guise of 'artistic freedom' is unacceptable,' said the letter submitted by the samiti. Sunil Ghanwat, state coordinator of the Hindu Janajaruti Samiti, said, 'Legal action should be taken against individuals, organisations or galleries involved in displaying or selling such works. The dissemination of artwork that insults national or religious sentiments must be prohibited. Additionally, the insulting painting of Bharat Mata should be officially declared as anti-national and destroyed.' Asked if they had information that some of those controversial paintings were to be auctioned, Ghanwat said they were not protesting any paintings in particular; they were opposing the artist Husain. Dadiba Pundole from Pundole Art Gallery said, 'The court has ordered us to conduct the auction of Husain's paintings. It will be conducted as per schedule. If anyone has any objections, they are free to go to court.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How India's 'biggest art deal' buried MF Husain masterpieces in a bank vault
Nearly two dozen paintings by one of the world's most celebrated modern artists - once part of a record-breaking art deal - are set to hit the auction block for the first time next week. On 12 June, 25 rare MF Husain paintings will go under the hammer at an art gallery in Mumbai city, more than two decades after he painted them. This will be the first public glimpse of the paintings, locked away in bank vaults since 2008 after authorities seized them from a prominent businessman over an alleged loan default. "It's like the paintings have come full circle," says Dadiba Pundole, director of Pundole Art Gallery, where the auction is set to be held. Husain used the gallery as his studio for many of these works, part of an ambitious 100-painting series he never finished. Often called the "Picasso of India," he was one of the country's most celebrated - and controversial - artists. His works have fetched millions, but his bold themes often drew criticism. He died in 2011, aged 95. Titled MF Husain: An Artist's Vision of the XX Century, the 25 paintings at Pundole'a gallery offer a glimpse into his take on a transformative century shaped by leaps in technology, politics, and culture. Pundole has estimated that the auction could fetch up to $29m (£21m). This comes months after another Husain painting, Untitled (Gram Yatra), sold for an unprecedented $13.8m at a Christie's auction in New York, becoming the most expensive Indian artwork to be auctioned. The oil-on-canvas masterpiece had adorned the walls of a Norwegian hospital for almost five decades, forgotten by the art world, until the auction house was alerted about its presence in 2013. The latest paintings to be auctioned seem to follow a similar trajectory. Husain began working on them in the early 2000s, with great excitement and vigour, recalls Pundole. "When he was painting, nothing could disturb him. It didn't matter what was happening around him," he adds. In 2004, Husain sold 25 paintings to a Mumbai businessman as the first instalment of a billion-rupee deal. Kishore Singh, author of MF Husain: The Journey of a Legend, wrote about this agreement in the Indian Express newspaper. "He [Husain] wasn't jealous of fellow artists, but he was competitive," Singh writes, noting that Husain struck the deal soon after Tyeb Mehta's Kali [an Indian goddess] set a new record for India's most expensive painting in 2002, selling for 15 million rupees. Husain struck a billion rupees deal with businessman Guru Swarup Srivastava for this series of paintings. Media dubbed it "India's biggest art deal," catapulting the little-known Srivastava into overnight fame as a celebrity collector. But two years later, India's top crime agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), began investigating Srivastava's business, alleging he and associates had misused a loan from a government-backed agricultural body. The CBI alleged Srivastava diverted the funds into real estate, mutual funds, and Husain paintings. He and his company deny all charges; the case remains in court. In 2008, a tribunal allowed the government-backed agricultural body to seize one billion rupees in assets from Srivastava, including the 25 Husain paintings. In February this year, a court cleared the way for the paintings to be auctioned to recover part of the loan. And so, after years locked away in bank vaults, the 25 paintings are finally stepping into the spotlight. In a 2018 interview to author and journalist Tara Kaushal, Srivastava spoke about his stalled deal with the artist. "I had planned to pay Husain for the rest of the paintings by selling the first 25. But legal complications meant that, when Husain called me in 2008 saying the paintings were ready in London and Paris, and to pick them up at the agreed price, my funds were not ready. He understood," he said. Asked why Husain had chosen to sell his paintings to a person who almost nobody knew in India's elite art circles, Pundole says, "He didn't care. As long as his paintings were sold." There's no way to know how Husain felt about the failed deal or his unfinished 20th Century series - but the episode remains a striking footnote in his bold, eventful career. The 25 paintings in this series, vibrant acrylics on canvas, showcase Husain's bold style while reflecting key 20th-century events and social attitudes. One painting shows an unlikely group chatting on a bench, symbolising Husain's call for peaceful dialogue and coexistence among global powers. Another painting honours Charlie Chaplin while juxtaposing a rocket launch to highlight the contrast between social and economic disparities and massive state spending. Other paintings depict a world battling poverty, soldiers in trenches, and humanity confronting tragedies like World War Two, the Partition, and the Holocaust.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How India's 'biggest art deal' buried MF Husain masterpieces in a bank vault
Nearly two dozen paintings by one of the world's most celebrated modern artists - once part of a record-breaking art deal - are set to hit the auction block for the first time next week. On 12 June, 25 rare MF Husain paintings will go under the hammer at an art gallery in Mumbai city, more than two decades after he painted them. This will be the first public glimpse of the paintings, locked away in bank vaults since 2008 after authorities seized them from a prominent businessman over an alleged loan default. "It's like the paintings have come full circle," says Dadiba Pundole, director of Pundole Art Gallery, where the auction is set to be held. Husain used the gallery as his studio for many of these works, part of an ambitious 100-painting series he never finished. Often called the "Picasso of India," he was one of the country's most celebrated - and controversial - artists. His works have fetched millions, but his bold themes often drew criticism. He died in 2011, aged 95. Titled MF Husain: An Artist's Vision of the XX Century, the 25 paintings at Pundole'a gallery offer a glimpse into his take on a transformative century shaped by leaps in technology, politics, and culture. Pundole has estimated that the auction could fetch up to $29m (£21m). This comes months after another Husain painting, Untitled (Gram Yatra), sold for an unprecedented $13.8m at a Christie's auction in New York, becoming the most expensive Indian artwork to be auctioned. The oil-on-canvas masterpiece had adorned the walls of a Norwegian hospital for almost five decades, forgotten by the art world, until the auction house was alerted about its presence in 2013. The latest paintings to be auctioned seem to follow a similar trajectory. Husain began working on them in the early 2000s, with great excitement and vigour, recalls Pundole. "When he was painting, nothing could disturb him. It didn't matter what was happening around him," he adds. In 2004, Husain sold 25 paintings to a Mumbai businessman as the first instalment of a billion-rupee deal. Kishore Singh, author of MF Husain: The Journey of a Legend, wrote about this agreement in the Indian Express newspaper. "He [Husain] wasn't jealous of fellow artists, but he was competitive," Singh writes, noting that Husain struck the deal soon after Tyeb Mehta's Kali [an Indian goddess] set a new record for India's most expensive painting in 2002, selling for 15 million rupees. Husain struck a billion rupees deal with businessman Guru Swarup Srivastava for this series of paintings. Media dubbed it "India's biggest art deal," catapulting the little-known Srivastava into overnight fame as a celebrity collector. But two years later, India's top crime agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), began investigating Srivastava's business, alleging he and associates had misused a loan from a government-backed agricultural body. The CBI alleged Srivastava diverted the funds into real estate, mutual funds, and Husain paintings. He and his company deny all charges; the case remains in court. In 2008, a tribunal allowed the government-backed agricultural body to seize one billion rupees in assets from Srivastava, including the 25 Husain paintings. In February this year, a court cleared the way for the paintings to be auctioned to recover part of the loan. And so, after years locked away in bank vaults, the 25 paintings are finally stepping into the spotlight. In a 2018 interview to author and journalist Tara Kaushal, Srivastava spoke about his stalled deal with the artist. "I had planned to pay Husain for the rest of the paintings by selling the first 25. But legal complications meant that, when Husain called me in 2008 saying the paintings were ready in London and Paris, and to pick them up at the agreed price, my funds were not ready. He understood," he said. Asked why Husain had chosen to sell his paintings to a person who almost nobody knew in India's elite art circles, Pundole says, "He didn't care. As long as his paintings were sold." There's no way to know how Husain felt about the failed deal or his unfinished 20th Century series - but the episode remains a striking footnote in his bold, eventful career. The 25 paintings in this series, vibrant acrylics on canvas, showcase Husain's bold style while reflecting key 20th-century events and social attitudes. One painting shows an unlikely group chatting on a bench, symbolising Husain's call for peaceful dialogue and coexistence among global powers. Another painting honours Charlie Chaplin while juxtaposing a rocket launch to highlight the contrast between social and economic disparities and massive state spending. Other paintings depict a world battling poverty, soldiers in trenches, and humanity confronting tragedies like World War Two, the Partition, and the Holocaust.
