Husain in the city

The silk serigraphs of M F Husain’s works are being displayed at an exhibition in the city. Ramprasad Akkisetti, artist and curator, gives us more details

A travelling exhibition — M F Husain: Horses and Mother Silk Serigraphs, a collection of 29 serigraphs, has come to Pune after being successfully exhibited in New York, London, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore.

The show, which will be on till November 12 at India House Art Gallery, Balewadi, is displaying a limited edition of silk screen prints or serigraphs of a series of Husain’s works. The serigraphs have been created by master print maker, Anil Relia of Archer Art Gallery, Ahmedabad. Relia has spent many long hours understanding the master painter and capturing the brilliance of life and the raging emotions of his paintings.

Here’s chatting up Ramprasad Akkisetti, founder and curator at India House Art Gallery:

Husain and his works

“The silk scrolls show various emotions of Mother Teresa and the various motions of the horses. These large scrolls demonstrate Husain’s tremendous energy, raw power and physical vigour embodied in the metaphor of the horse combined with the equally powerful emotive energy of the mother and child, and the strength of nurturance and empathy that this metaphor stands for,” says Akkisetti.

Akkisetti, who is the managing director of Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Private Limited (CCBA), says that Husain’s works have had a deep influence on him.

“Husain was true to his skill; he was a great composer who knew what should be expressed and what should be suppressed in his canvases. The kinetic nature of his work greatly touches me at a very personal level. Husain is no more but his paintings have immortalised him. Only a genius can turn the complex into simple and that’s what is seen in his work,” he adds.

Need of serigraphs
An original piece of art work is coveted by all, so why exactly do we need serigraphs to recreate masterpieces?
Answers Akkisetti, “Serigraphy is a process, through which limited edition prints based on original paintings, are created. The original paintings have multiple colours such as greens, reds, yellows, blues etc. In serigraphs, there is a technique of extracting one particular colour at a time. For example, red to make one screen, followed by other colours. This way 17 different screens are made to create serigraphs of the original work, which is later signed by the painter.”

Now, as for why we need them, Akkisetti says, “Serigraphs are helpful because a legend like Husain would paint a particular painting only once, which makes it expensive and inaccessible for many. “However with serigraphs, these iconic and rare paintings can be accessed by many. The original paintings are expensive, hence even a museum finds it difficult to buy and exhibit. That’s when serigraphs come to aid,” explains the curator.

Modern art and its relevance

The number of artists doing modern and abstract art is increasing; at the same time, the gap between art and the admirers is growing too. When asked about it, Akkisetti remarks, “We have some artists around who throw some colours on the canvas and call it a modern art! The audience has to pay some crores to acquire it. Or simply leave it. I consider it drama! Accidents cannot be called an art. You cannot fool around with art.”

Artists like Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and so on were real, modern artists, who took something real and turned that into an abstract art. “Picasso would first draw a real woman, then exaggerate her features — he would make bigger heads or bigger bosoms and celebrate the womanness. In fact, Husain’s works draw lessons from Picasso. Both Picasso and Husain knew exactly how to draw real women,” he explains.  

ST  Reader Service
An exhibition titled M F Husain: Horses and Mother Silk Serigraphs’ is on till November 12 at India House Art Gallery, Sopan Bagh, Balewadi. You can visit it between 11 am-9 pm