Finding a new home

In what can be spoken of as a momentous meeting between two Jehangirs the CSMVS unveils an exhibition of works by Jehangir Sabavala at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery Titled Unpacking the Studio the essay exhibition will be in five chapters and includes 140 works dating from the 17th century to 2011 These works include a diverse set of exhibits including the late artistrsquos paintings drawings six sketchbooks archival photographs and so forth A brilliant legacy in a nutshell is what this exhibition opening on September 16 will beJehangir Sabavalas The Eye 2010 oil on canvaThe exhibition embraces the bequest of Sabavalarsquos artworks and materials such as his easel and diary notes by his wife Shirin Sabavala The museum invited poet and cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote who has written two books on Sabavala to curate the exhibitionThe Cobras 2010 oil on canvasCelebrating an artist who was known to work magic with light in his paintings Hoskote contextualises Sabavalarsquos work in the context of vibrant experiments in artmaking that were current in latecolonial and early postcolonial India especially Mumbai ldquoI argue that the paradigm shift that Principal Gladstone Solomon brought about in the curriculum of the Sir JJ School of Art where Sabavala studied in the mid1940s before he left for London and Paris was formative for the young artist I draw attention to the Rajput miniature and the Ajanta murals that went into the making of JJrsquos lsquoBombay Orientalismrsquo and which nourished Sabavalarsquos imaginationrdquo explains HoskoteA portrait of Jehangir Sabavala by Girish Dixit PIC COURTESY CSMVSWhen Sabavala returned from Europe in the 1950s he put up his first solo exhibition at the Taj Mahal Hotel at a time when galleries were rare and an art market was nonexistent Shirin recalls hiring a room at the Taj and her painterhusband trying to hammer nails into the wall to hang his works From trials like these his captivating Flight into Egypt sold for a record R3 crore at a Christiersquos auction in New Delhi last yearBut these figures are not what make this modernist whom Hoskote describes as ldquopilgrim exile and sorcererrdquo in his 1998 biography ldquoJehangir Sabavala always walked alone and did not join any group or movement He spent the early part of his career reconfiguring the European training of his youth ndash his impressionist expressionist and Cubist education He explored India and engaged with its complex everyday liferdquo says Hoskote The exhibitionrsquos first chapter will set Sabavalarsquos studio practice in the context of an evolving 500yearold history of the story beginning with the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer and even those ldquopoststudiordquo phase such as Andy Warhol Future chapters of the exhibition will dip into the CSMVSrsquo reserve collection of 19th and 20th century South Asian art to showcase Sabavalarsquos inspiration in Himalayan and Japanese artSabyasachi Mukherjee Director CSMVS says the exhibition is crucial for future art historians especially since the artefacts will be later moved permanently to a special gallery dedicated to the Sabavala bequest It also means continuing the museumrsquos tradition of modern and contemporary art ldquoAt a time when museums are changing all over the world we thought it was important for a cultural continuity This space within the museum for an important modern artist such as Sabavala will help us convey this sentiment to the publicrdquo says Mukherjee Shirin adds to this ldquoThe works were just lying about at the studio This way visitors can see Jehangirrsquos beautiful works in one placerdquo It looks like Jehangir Sabavala has just found a new homeUnpacking the Studio Celebrating the Jehangir Sabavala BequestWhen From September 16 1015 AM ndash 6 PMWhere Jehangir Nicholson Gallery CSMVSEntry Rs 70Call 22844484