
The unique cultural and linguistic identity of South India has always been a source of tremendous pride for the entire country. Tracing its artful genesis, DAG recently inaugurated its second edition of Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity, mapping the Madras Art Movement from its inception to its flowering in the second half of the 20th century.
The skilful curation of artworks by 32 stalwart artists showcased the elements that shaped the Madras Art Movement and the Cholamandal Artists’ Village. It spotlighted the dimensions this journey assumed through the pivotal role played by women artists in the Madras Art Movement, a late phenomenon within the national context.
The Government College of Fine Arts (the birthplace of the Madras Art movement) was set up in 1850, and flowered under the guidance of the first Indian artist-principal, DP Roy Chowdhury who did away with the colonial templates in the explorations of human forms. His gripping rendition of the sculpture When Winter Comes is a masterpiece: A startling expression of human artistry. Each wrinkle and fold in the pickled skin of the old man, and the overlapping toes of the forlorn figure weighed down by the sheer despondency of life linger forever in the mind of the viewer.
Shilpi Madan for Sunday Herald