dalreen ramos dalreen. ramos@ mid- day. com Although he grew up alongside two very academic siblings, Manohar Mhatre was always in love with art. And while everyone took to accountancy and engineering, as was the norm eight decades ago, his parents left him to decide his career path.
His father even introduced him to VS Adurkar, the first Indian director of Sir JJ School of Art, leading him to flourish as a student.
This evening, the 89- yearold will see the opening of his retrospective at Bycullau2019s Nine Fish Art Gallery.
The exhibition in association with Dot Line Space has been curated by Gourmoni Das and is titled Manohar Mhatre: the Progressive and the Personal u2013 An Untitled Legacy. It comprises 60 works that showcase the artistu2019s evolution. In the mid- 50s, he began with drawings on the female form. In the following decade, he ventured into figurative, figure distortion and abstract works in oil. Then, he experimented with non- objective paintings and impressionist portraits, too. For the past 15 years, Mhatre practises a style he calls u201c progressive freestyleu201d where he introduces fabric into abstract art.
Mhatre carries a legacy of a movement that has been integral to the artistic fabric of the city u2014 one which Husain, Souza, Raza and Ara espoused u2014 The Bombay Progressive Artistsu2019 Group. u201c Our work conveys many subjective thoughts which the younger generation can easily learn. At the same time, the group broke the rules around traditional art forms, without being bothered about their image in society and did not fear that their art stands out from the traditional paintings and drawings,u201d he shares.
A memory that Mhatre particularly cherishes to date is that of when he worked as deputy director at Weaveru2019s Service Centre. He was tasked with creating an u201c exclusiveu201d saree for Indiau2019s late Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. But even with such an outstanding oeuvre, Mhatre has one regret. u201c The availability of space has always constrained the size of my paintings. But I do believe that my feelings and thoughts are always reflected in the depth of the colours, the lines and shapes.u201d As for his retrospective, the artist has a suggestion for attendees.
He wants them to stand in front of each painting and really try to grasp what it wants to say. Mhatre says, u201c This is partly why I prefer not to title my works. I donu2019t want viewers to be biased.u201d AT Nine Fish Art Gallery, The New Great Eastern Mills, Byculla East. ON Today, 7.30 pm onwards to February 26, 10.30 am to 7.30 pm CALL 8655042300 A colourful legacy One of the last remaining artists of the Bombay Progressive Artistsu2019 Group, Manohar Mhatre, readies for the opening of his retrospective art All of Mhatreu2019s works are untitled
