“I’M a liver!” It’s a phrase that I find so meaningful. It shields me when the deviant external gets to the core. The learning here is that you stay the course, stay true, and stay your path. You may end with less but it is much, much more. Keeping the faith.
In my present life, I have the privilege of meeting women who define what the strength of womanhood is about. They have elevated the gender paradigm to a borderless state of mind which is a tribute to the inner strength of divine femina. That is what I celebrate.
Sujata’s Spacescapes
I HAVE seen superwoman Sujata Bajaj dart across from her base in Paris to Mumbai, to bring fresh perspectives to her creations. Tarana Khubchandani’s Art & Soul presents Sujata’s total departure from her Ganeshas and abstraction over the decades. Her magnum opus, Spacescapes, a solo after 17 years took center stage this March. It drew the art world to Jehangir Art Gallery which will host her bold and brilliant takes on the cosmic world till March 10.
Her colour pallet has a mauve-violet thumbprint of magnolias that light up the skies, her indigo hues bring iridescence to her spacescapes and her green hues wrap up the outer world to breathe life. Her vibrant reds and white dots that bring depth to black holes romance with her splashes across the shimmery metallic silver. Translated into immersive art you have three oceans of sky to perpetuate the colour process. From the conventional to the expanse of digital art is an amazing journey.
More about the artist whose art has zoomed to space while keeping her feet on terra firma, in the forthcoming column. I have the week to soak in the insights into “Hamari Sujata Bajaj” from her ardent collectors and the deeply touching support from her husband Larsen and daughter Helena. For those who are unable to make it to JAG, the exhibition moves to the gallery at Madhuli, Worli. For now, know that the women who launched her book that holds her celestial exhibition were a constellation of stars in the art universe.
Untitled in Life
MY growing-up years were nourished by the languorous beauty of the still village of Uccasaium or Uskoi, Goa. The fragrance of mogra drifted as the light streamed in and birds chirped. This was occasionally punctuated by the deep bellow of the cows that were being tended in the land near the well by the helpers. The petrichor when the beloved begonias were drenched with well-drawn water from copper “kousos,” the call of passersby across the “dhurig” or laterite wall, the gentle evening breeze. This equilibrium has fortified my soul for a lifetime.
Overlap Tug
I HEADED well in time for the book launch of 1924-born Gaitonde and missed the Yoda Press launch of “The Fearless” by Neeta Kolhatkar, at Mumbai Press Club, scheduled at the same time 6 pm. While the ambient CSMVS is always a delight, during the hour of wait my thoughts kept going to the distinguished panel of Justice BN Shrikrishna, Sr Adv Aspi Chinoy and director-playwright Ramu Ramanathan, the event moderated by Sanober Keshwaar at Press Club.
1924, the Year of Maestros
THE year 1924 has been the birth year of so many creative maestros. It has been a celebration of Puccini, and artists like Souza, Kishen Khanna and V S Gaitonde. A conversation with a leading Indian corporate patron of art keeps flashing back. She mentioned that there were just about two masters of art hailing from Maharastra, one being VSG. I mulled over this as just the day before I was reading about Gaitonde’s Goan origins.
The Expression of Silence
GAITODNE, the master artist hailed from this serenely sensual village of Uccasaium. His family, like a lot of Goan families, migrated at the turn of history and wound up in the commercial belly of Bomboi or Bombay now Mumbai. The pressures of the real world were taken in his stride. His alma mater was JJ and he pursued his work through thick and thin keeping sight of his raison d’être, driven by his passion to paint. It bothers me as I imagine that so many of these artists and their families lived so frugally. But for VSG that was the social context of shedding the outward to stay true to the calling. VSG sought solitude to align his purpose; the undiluted pursuit of his creative expression. My surmise is that the old art world accepted his conscious calling.
He said, “A painting always exists within you…you have to make yourself the perfect machine to express what is already there. Painting and Gaitonde are synonymous.”
VSG is now the toast of the art world, something he shunned in life. He chose to stay unfettered and dwell on what is priceless, immersing himself in his craft. It was as if he willed the hunger in his belly to keep his idealistic path of expression on the canvas, distancing himself from family and any other distraction, unsullied by material deprivation.
Celebration of an Unwavering Calling
“GAITONDE: Between Two Mirrors” – A comprehensive volume in English, on the life and work of VS Gaitonde, one of India’s greatest artists, is a tribute to the enigmatic artist by Chinha Publications. The book has an extensive collection of photographs and contributions. It gives us insights into the life of a person who upheld his privacy.
The importance of the subtle and balance of translation from Marathi to English was brought in by Sahitya Akademi awardee Shanta Ghokale. In her candour, she recounts how she was persuaded to take on the project and immersed herself into dimensions of the artist that she had never known. She was drawn by the poignance of VSG’s persona.
Decoding VSG
GAITONDE drew his boundaries, for him, it was all about his art. Silence was a state essential to his expression. His work left enough scope for studying his remarkable technique of calligraphy as if he intended the interaction to lead to discovery. Possibly he dwelt on the projection of “Asemic” or blurred, undecipherable syllables leaving the viewer to draw context and build on it.
“We might say that he (Gaitonde) was totally honest with himself and with others. There was not a shred of hypocrisy in him.”
“I believe great artists are born before their time.” — Dadiba Pundole
At the book launch, I listened to several speakers provide insights into “Gai” or Gaitonde. I Listened. Was I missing something? Satish Naik, the editor mentioned two mirrors of Marathi and the global overview, hence the use of English.
Most of the speakers said that they had never known/met Gaitonde except Prayag Shukla from Delhi, who interviewed him in his early journalism days. He captured anecdotes that brought Gaitonde’s persona and how he made an inroad to the “recluse” by touching upon his cine interest. A relevant perspective was by Dr Nandkumar Lad, the orthopedic surgeon who attended to him during his accident. He highlighted that the bent posture, an occupational hazard of constant painting, was in his opinion also responsible for the Goan-origin Gaitonde’s condition. Dr Pheroja Godrej found Gaitonde aloof from the rest of the artists, during his visits to her collective and often wondered about it to the circle.
Post the line up of diverse speeches, I stepped on the stage to ask the editor Satish Naik, who spent decades bringing out the book. Why is there an omission of the Goan origin of Gai or Gaitonde? His dismissive response, “Gaitonde spent only six years of his life in Goa(Uccasaium). He was in Bombay for most of the time.”
https://www.goanobserver.in/2024/10/11/goa-the-call-for-belongingby-joanne-pinto-pereira/
Goan Origin
ASK any/every Goan who beams with pride at their roots and you will know that you can try to take Goa away from a Goan but never can. It’s an identity that each one is fiercely proud of, as was Gaitonde. Our origin shapes us, true, but importantly it is a factual acknowledgment that is essential to a comprehensive biography of the centennial. It is perhaps why in life VSG shunned the din. Most importantly we do what we are, so it is befitting that his body of work is truly represented in a holistic context.
The Gaitonde Wave
FROM all accounts, Gaitonde was in his element with his Progressive Group and got more “silent” over the years. He lived simply so that his artistic calling outlived what he deprived himself of in life. What is certain is that the painter was steadfast in his vocation to his expression on canvas and his struggles could not pin him down. The kind of unsullied journey that was a part of my blissful Goan heritage of yore.
It’s the question that oft comes to those in the creative sector when they state that they are an artist. “And what do you do for a living?” is not an unreasonable query. It’s another matter that the astronomical prices his works are now priced at from his pricing of a meager Rs1,500.
It reinforces the self-declared recluse who declared “I speak for myself….You have no right to publish it without my permission.” That was his world of art. The subliminal pursuit of the calling is unfettered by distractions.
Temperatures
HOW appropriately titled is Tomislav Topic’s exhibition! The mercury has been hitting a high of literally 35+ degrees over Europe. I got lucky. Had a sneak peek before the March 1, 2025 preview of the Berlin-based artist back from an XXL residency in North Goa. TT was immersed in finishing up the oils that had travelled in from his work studio space and needed a final touch to breathe and dry up before D-day.
The artworks were hung up on the brilliantly coloured walls that were a perfect foil or complement to the colours. From the ceiling hung translucent drapes their sheen indicative of the turn of temperatures in warm colours, a splendid touch of the curator.
The artist fist-bumped us and walked us through the gallery. He let us soak in the process, vital to his exuberant artworks. The palette reflects the brightly painted houses in Goa in primary and secondary vibrance with touches of pink and teal and plays around with these combinations.
Feel the “Temperature” of Tomislav’s canvas as he traverses from Berlin to Goa to Mumbai! Here’s my keepsake poster!
The warm, happy vibe of the interaction was a wonderful start for our Art gallivant.
Anant’s Abstraction
ANANT Nikam’s “Echoes and Reflections” is his journey through Madhya Pradesh in particular. He says he imbibed the influences of the tribal/folk art he internalized in the structure of his recent showing. His work and palate are the kind that lets you and the canvas breathe into a state of feeling at peace with yourself and the chaos all around.
Guormoni Das foreword, “Nikam’s reflections appeared before him, not as mere images, but as the faces of unspoken thoughts, shifting like shows flickering with the intensity of his inner contemplation…. He was both the creator and observer, weaving the narrative of his evolution — a journey through the ever-changing symphony of his own consciousness.”
In Memoriam To another gone too soon. The world of art lost visionary sculptor Himmat Shah on March 2. Known for his terracotta and bronze sculptures the artist was known to play with textures to narrate his tryst with the ancient and the contemporary.
A Must Binge
I TOLD the glorious Shabana Azmi at the inauguration of Spacespaces that I had slept at 3 am for two consecutive nights. She peeled into laughter as I gave her the “mast” thumbs-up for her mafiosi role in Dabba Cartel.
Did I say serendipity? I discovered the tranquil studio of Kalpana Shah while viewing the Tao inventory. The lady has created a striking new body of her orbs which fill the space with cosmic resonance. More of that as I read the brochure she gave me with “Love & Colour.” Did I say to wait for her to showcase this? Watch this space. Meanwhile, I have to catch up with Maqbool Fida Hussain at DAG. Yes, I went to bid adieu to the Souza: Chandra spectacular.
Woman’s Day Everyday
GIVE us this day our daily walk to meet the talk. Happy cha cha cha steps at the community space with Anca Abraham joining in after her team’s effort to preserve open spaces for recreation. Happy Women’s Day. Every day is a celebration of life.