Original canvasses of renowned artists provide visual delight to art connoisseurs in Guwahati

Stylistic forms, geometrical designs and abstract landscapes of vivid and muted colours were among the myriad original canvasses of renowned artists on display at an exhibition in Guwahati, providing rare visual delight to art connoisseurs.

M F Hussain's Devi, Horses, Gandhiji, Women with the Lamp and Lady with the Portrait, Akbar Padamsee's Half Moon, K K Hebbar's Mahim Darga, N S Bendre's Five Women, Bengali Lady and Village Scene, S H Raza's Suryoday, Beej, La Terre and V S Gaitonde's Greenscape were some of the canvases displayed at the event.

The exhibition titled 'Modern Indian Masters: From Assam and Elsewhere in India' showcases over 70 artworks by 20 artists.

The event commenced at Lalit Kala Bhavan art gallery at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra on August 11 and will continue till August 20.

The exhibition is being organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA), Gauhati Artists' Guild (GAG) and Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra.

Exhibits of artists from Assam, including Ashutosh Dev, Sobha Brahma, Benu Misra, Neelpawan Baruah, Hemanta Misra, Pranab Barua, Madhab Baishya, Pulak Gogoi, Gauri Barman and Hemangini Bordoloi, were also showcased. "The idea behind the exhibition was to popularise Assam's artists the way other Indian artists are known. We are presenting all artworks in a grand manner," LKA's editor-in-charge and curator of the exhibition Johny M L told PTI.

Johny said that each region in the country has its unique modernist art practices but "many artists seldom aspire to go beyond their geographical borders and make it to the national scene".

"Internationally-renowned artists have the advantage of being in the financial centres of the country but that does not mean that the visual language they developed was radically different from those of the regional modernists. It was just that the latter did not have the same exposure to the market," the art historian said.

GAG general secretary and joint curator of the exhibition, Kishore Kumar Das, said, "For the first time, original canvasses of renowned Indian artists, including those from Assam, have been put on display in the Northeast." LKA's conservation officer and art historian Dilip Kumar Tripathy said the exhibition will go down the annals of the art history of the country as the exhibited artworks are a testament to the artists' enduring creative vision.

Art critic Meghali Goswami said the artworks of 10 pioneering artists from Assam who have created a niche in the art landscape inspire a generation of artists, enthusiasts and collectors. "The legacy of the great masters and their artworks serve as vivid reminders of the boundless possibilities of human creativity," she added. LKA's coordinator-in-charge Maneswar Brahma said the exhibition has created immense interest among the art fraternity, particularly students, who are eager to view and understand the varied nuances of the style, form and creative sensibilities of the master artists.