05 September,2017 03:07 PM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
In his short life of 56 years, Raghubir Singh married Western modernism with his keen eye for capturing the Indian milieu in a manner that lent a unique touch to his photography
Ganapati Immersion, Chowpatty, Bombay, Maharashtra, 1989. Photographs copyright © 2017 Succession Raghubir Singh
In his short life of 56 years, Raghubir Singh married Western modernism with his keen eye for capturing the Indian milieu in a manner that lent a unique touch to his photography. In his words, his distinct style was, "on the Ganges side of modernism, rather than the Seine or East River side of it."
A pioneer of colour street photography, Singh died in 1999, but his prolific work continues to resonate with the art world. The fall 2017 retrospective of New York's Met Breuer, Modernism on the Ganges: Raghubir Singh Photographs, will feature 85 of his works in counterpoint with the work of his contemporaries, and with examples of Indian court painting styles that inspired him.
A Wedding Party, Jodhpur Jaisalmer Road, Rajasthan, 1988
What would be of interest to the city's art connoisseurs is the fact that Singh's work on Bombay in the early 1990s marked a turning point in his stylistic development. No wonder then that this picture of Ganesh visarjan, along with at least five other frames from the city, will feature in the exhibition, which will be on view from October 11.
