Mumbai art gallery pays tribute to Prodosh Das Gupta

Prodosh Das Gupta 19121991 was a sculptor at a time when it wasnt easy being one The profession involved neither fame nor fortune His wife Kamala also a sculptor had to give it up to look after the childrenmdashProdoshs younger son was the muchrevered fashion photographer Prabuddha Das Gupta Had my parents taken it up as a fulltime vocation I wonder what would have happened to us Das Guptas older son and photographer Pradeep Das Gupta saysAlthough the father and son did not end up spending much time togethermdashPradeep left home at 16mdashthere was no evading the patriarchs artistic influence What I find remarkable about his work is the longevity Permanence was essential to his art Its one of the reasons why a large chunk of his installations were made in bronze as opposed to steel or marble Although extremely difficult to mould it offered dynamism and subtlety and mystiqueOut of the shadowsTwentytwo years after his demise Das Guptas extensive body of work is far from losing its relevance Hes often hailed as Indias Henry Moore But unlike the popularity of the celebrated English sculptor memories of his Indian counterpart have ebbed and flowed from Indian consciousness Case in point Prodosh Das Guptas work was last exhibited in Mumbai in 1979Pic courtesyEstate of Prodosh Das Gupta and Akara ArtNow thanks to Puneet Shah founder of Akara Art Das Guptas works return to Mumbai on September 26 when his gallery will host In Quest of form and contentndashProdosh Das Gupta a solo exhibit of the pioneer of contemporary Indian sculptorThe 16 works on display will be part of the gallerys 10year celebrations The idea of having this show was in sync with our programming says Shah sitting in the cozy Colaba enclave The gallery is housed in Churchill Chamber opposite Taj Mahal Palace and was in the news in July for a fire that killed one resident Thankfully the gallery managed to save all their artworksTo Shah showcasing Das Guptas work is a good way to turn the spotlight on artists whose works deserve recognition We wanted to showcase artists who havent been given their due Shah says Das Gupta however wasnt one to hanker for validation Its true that he never put himself at the forefront He would work and allow his work to speakAristocrat 1990As with several artists Das Guptas genius is being recognised only posthumously There have been three exhibitions in the last decade across the country But they were always part of a larger show There has never been a solo dedication says Shah who got in touch with the Das Guptas who agreed to the retrospective in a heartbeatThe works span his lifetime If theres an installation from the 40s Pounding Corn 1949 youll also see another from the 70s Maternity 1979 says Pradeep who will be flying down to Mumbai from Delhi next week We had to apply patina to a few and have done so without tampering with the form and materiality says Shah While Genesis II 1982 and Egg Nest 1975 are from the original mould Aristocrat 1990 and Devil and Dame 1949 has a new castRemaining rootedBorn in Dhaka in 1912 Prodosh Das Gupta studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts and LCC Central School London and the Ecole de Grand Chaumier Paris after completing his initial studies in sculpture at the Government School of Art and Craft Chennai and the Lucknow School of Arts and CraftsPuneet Shah ownder Akara ArtWhile in Lucknow hed also studied music Its a fact that few are aware of Shah says His knowledge of music influenced his aesthetic Youll find a certain rhythm in the worksIn 1940 after returning to India he founded the Calcutta Group of artists along with artists like Rathin Mitra Nirode Mazumdar Paritosh Sen Hemant Mishra and Gopal GhoseThe ideology of the group was to break away from conventional styles and to move towards a more global aesthetic while still retaining their Indianness Shah says His works reflect this Though a great admirer of the concepts propounded by European masters Das Gupta was deeply rooted in the fibre of Indian philosophy Shah addsWhile Aristocrat 1990 has elements of Italian sculptor Ignazio Jacometti tall totemic elongated forms Mother and Child reclining 1976 is very Mooreish where he explores concave and convex shapesMother and Child reclining 1976 PicSuresh KarkeraFor Shah the most intriguing feature is the predominance of the cosmic egg shape in his compositions He used the embryonic form extensively which is also to indicate the crux of the universe says Shah His first solo exhibition was held in 1945 in Kolkata and was followed by several others at the Taj Art Gallery in Mumbai through the 1970s From 1957 to 1970 Das Gupta served as curator of the National Gallery of Modern Art NGMA New Delhi In 2008 the NGMA hosted a major retrospective of his works 17 years after his death in 1991 He has been an underdog on the artistic scene Shah says Hes one of manyInterestingly this will also be Akaras first show dedicated solely to sculptures And thats telling According to the Shah in the last decade the threedimensional artform is finding its space not only in galleries but in homes too Sculptures are dynamic and aweinspiring he saysCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates