Immerse in this art exhibition in Mumbai that celebrates Jivya Soma Mashe's influence on indigenous Warli art

Untitled (Train), 2000, is an example of Jivya Soma Mashe’s modernism

Taking a line for a walk, is how Paul Klee famously described his artistic style. Jivya Soma Mashe would do the opposite. His lines and etchings would capture the observations during a walk through Dhamangaon village in Thane's Palghar district. Opening today at the Subcontinent Gallery, the exhibition, Jivya Soma Mashe: Life is Movement will feature five examples of his accurate and witty turn of phrase that took Warli art into the modern age.

Untitled (Film Crew in the Village), circa 1985

For many, Jivya Soma Mashe remains the progenitor of contemporary Warli art. "These days we encounter Warli art everywhere, on walls. But it was not meant to be. It was created as a ritual for special occasions. Jivya gave it the vocabulary we recognise today," shares Keshav Mahendru, gallerist, Subcontinent.

Untitled (Rainbow), 2009. Pics Courtesy/Subcontinent Gallery, Mumbai

Born in 1934 in Dhamangaon village in Palghar, Maharashtra, Mashe bore the brunt of poverty. His rise in the early 1970s coincided with Indian traditional art forms finding its voice.

Into the modern age

Mahendru explains that the typical painting is called a Chauk with a devi/devta at the centre. "It did not have a narrative tradition. What Jivya began is the creation of smaller stick figures, and to set them in motion," he says.

Jivya Soma Mashe. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

As such, life in the village featured in the Padma Shri awardee's works. "He codified the art into practice for others to follow," adds co-founder Dhwani Gudka. Mahendru quips, "He gave it representational power, rather than simply depicting mythology."

Jangarh's peer

In many ways, Jivya Soma Mashe's art blazed the same path as another contemporary Gond artist, Jangarh Singh Shyam. While Jangarh's mercurial rise lent his art a touch of myth, Jivya's works evolved over time. Gudka points to the incursion of technology into the pastoral life that he portrays.

Keshav Mahendru and Dhwani Gudka

"We have a monumental work, Wedding Train, spanning eight feet of cloth. The painting shows a train, guard, and station. Another painting, showcases a film crew in the village." The gallerists discovered that Jivya had portrayed a crew of documentary filmmakers from The Films Division of India on their visit.

"Usually, we urban residents are the viewers, watching life in the village unfold in documentaries. He turns it around, and shows us what the film crew is doing," Mahendru points out.

Gudka admits that the gallerists had to source the collection of five works slowly over a decade. "If Shakespeare added words to the English language, Jivya added forms and narrative to the Warli art language, and inspired generations of artists to come," says Mahendru. One of them, Mayur Vayeda, will join the gallery on August 22 to speak on how this moment shaped his own contemporary journey. It seems the movement continues.

Till August 30; 11 am to 6.30 pm
At Subcontinent Art Gallery, Apeejay Chambers, Fort.