Indian art: Meet the masters of popular aesthetics

These artists form the bulwark of the market and include well-known names with a consistent body and quality of work. To the public, they represent the face of Indian art without having to carry the b

Jul 02, 2016, 02:45 IST8 min

<em>Chasing the bloom</em><br /><strong>SEEMA KOHLI </strong>(b. 1960)<br /><em>Soham Hansa</em><br />Ink and acrylic on canvas with 24 carat gold and silver leaf<br />68 x 71 inches<br /><br />It is unlikely that Seema Kohli, who struggled to break the shackles of a conservative middle-class upbringing, could have foretold her success. Essential to Kohli&rsquos work, and central to it, is her choice of winged figures seemingly afloat over a universe consisting entirely of lotus blooms, rooted trees and quiet cityscapes.<br />&nbsp<br />If the artist&rsquos effervescent colours reflect her view of nature and mankind in organic harmony, the reason is the strife she sees around her. She hopes to arrive at a meditative-like quietness despite her busy palette. These are works that capture her inner struggles and insecurities, and she pays ode to the feminine principle without deflecting or indicting the male principle. <br /><br />Kohli has read the scriptures and most sacred texts and these imbue her works. Yet they remain secular, never sacred. Her winged women are a reflection of her wanting to break free from socially imposed norms, something she captures in her performance pieces and videos. These penetrating and perceptive artistic practices are underscored by a scathing commentary on perceived notions of propriety and ownership. <br /><br />Popular on the international art circuit, Kohli has, in recent years, begun to turn the figurative element of her paintings into bronze sculptures, cutting through the confines that artists find themselves slotted into.

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Chasing the bloomSEEMA KOHLI (b. 1960)Soham HansaInk and acrylic on canvas with 24 carat gold and silver leaf68 x 71 inchesIt is unlikely that Seema Kohli, who struggled to break the shackles of a conservative middle-class upbringing, could have foretold her success. Essential to Kohli&rsquos work, and central to it, is her choice of winged figures seemingly afloat over a universe consist

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The origins of mythSIDHARTH (b. 1956)GangaSilver leaf and mineral pigments on canvas72 x 216 inchesKnown for his use of organic colours obtained from minerals and vegetation and ground to his instructions in his studio, Sidharth&rsquos work has an almost epic quality to it. Often based on sacred texts, he researches extensively on his subject of choice, going back to consecrated myths as

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The world at homeVINITA KARIM (b. 1962)Emerald IslandAcrylic, embroidery on Dhaka muslin, gold and copper leaf on canvas59 x 57 inchesThe peripatetic artist, who has made Dhaka her home, is most at ease in her studio where she has brought the world to her hearth. Vinita Karim&rsquos gilt-leafed canvases are set around lands lived and imagined, in histories and geographies of her choosing,

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Hold me a mirrorMADHURI BHADURI (b. 1958)ReflectionsOil on canvas60 x 60 inchesThis Pune-based artist of impressionistic landscapes is imbued with a heightened understanding of colour. Almost painstakingly, she returns to her favourite scenes, tweaking their hues as she teases a response from reflections&mdasha favoured trope&mdashin which she finds her oeuvre, whether in waterbodies or r

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Feminine, feministKANCHAN CHANDER (b. 1957)Devi Nouveau 4Mixed media on canvas board48 x 32 inchesThe torso has been central to Kanchan Chander&rsquos work and she has imbued it with all that concerns her: The primal woman and its totemic attribution attenuated through the body proper. If these suggest a feminist viewpoint, it could hardly be wrong, even though Chander has been attracted

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The artist as satiristFARHAD HUSSAIN (b. 1975)UntitledAcrylic on paper12 x 9 inchesNo one satirises our highly sexualised society like Farhad Hussain. A keen observer of social trends, Hussain mocks our pet peeves and fears. His paintings are often staged to resemble a farce of the kind that theatre often depicts. Hussain&rsquos cast of characters revolves around the urban middle class, a

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Romancing the middle classNAYANAA KANODIA (b. 1950)Kadabari&rsquos JoyrideOil on canvas48 x 36 inchesWithin the gentle parlour relationships that she paints with her sardonic eye, artist Nayanaa Kanodia has established the changing nuances in society, often allowing the viewer to be voyeur as well as participant in her delightful cameos of social life in 21st century India. Kanodia&rsquos

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In a vanishing landSENAKA SENANAYAKE (b. 1951)RainforestOil on canvas48 x 60 inchesThis well-loved Sri Lankan artist has a huge fan following for his rainforest landscapes with their cheerful colours and dense vegetation amid which bloom anthuriums, birds-of-paradise and exotic tropical plants. What appears at first escapist is a documentation of a rapidly dwindling environment leading to

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Innocent lustTHOTA VAIKUNTAM (b. 1942)Telangana Woman with PotAcrylic on canvas41 x 29 inchesThis Telangana-based artist did not have to look far for his muse before chancing on his iconic figures that are so popular among his collectors. There is something immensely appealing about Thota Vaikuntam&rsquos Telangana doppelgangers&mdash voluptuous women in gaily coloured saris, their blouse

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The mortal immortalMANU PAREKH (b. 1939)Flowers from Heaven XIIIAcrylic on canvas100 x 80 inchesKnown principally as a landscape artist for his enduring ode to Benaras, Manu Parekh distills part of it in the manner of still-lifes or temple offerings. For Parekh, these have a subcutaneous erotic layer, a reference to fertility and lushness in nature, akin to human sexuality. Drawn to the i

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