The human form has been under the scrutiny of artists since the time of cave paintings. While early man scraped the walls of their stone homes with geometrical figures, maestros such as Botticelli, and Michelangelo breathed life into their muses. F.N.Souza (1924-2002), co-founder of India’s Progressive Art Movement, and mystic expressionist, also obsessively experimented with the human form.
Milestone ten
Part of Akara Art’s ongoing tenth year anniversary celebrations, eleven works by Souza are on display at their gallery space. The Souza exhibition marks the second of the ten exhibitions planned this year, following a solo by eminent artist, Amrita Sher-Gil. “We are looking to display works of artists that have extensively contributed to the trajectory of Indian modern and contemporary art. Following Souza, we will display works by M.F. Husain, and S.H. Raza,” shared founder and collector, Puneet Shah. Akara Art intends to display work by all kinds of artists, from different eras. Shah is also enthusiastic about the works of young artists, Bhagyashree Suthar, Elizabeth Drury, and Utkarsh Makwana who are scheduled to show later this year. “Since Akara’s forte has always been a mix of modern and contemporary, we want to provide a niche for buyers who are looking at quality too, as opposed to solely signatures,” he said.
The ongoing show, Luminous Solitude, reflects Souza’s osmotic relationship with melancholy, and irony. His oil paintings explored the twisted nature of the human mind, and the distortion and troubles that often weigh upon society. Souza’s work was heavily inspired by his native land, Goa’s folk art. His style also amalgamated influences from the Renaissance period, European landscapes of the 18th century, and European Modernism, that used geometric forms and distortions to express emotion. “Like Picasso and cubist expressionist artists, Souza paints on the subjective canvas of emotions and ideas instead of objective reality,” writes author Veera Das. The eccentric painter predominantly drew heads, landscapes, and still-lives, using layers of different materials, oil paints, and ink.
Of angels and monsters
On a blank wall in the gallery space, Souza’s words on Colonial exploitation, and social hypocrisy, are displayed, “Renaissance painters painted men and women making them look like angels. I paint for angels, to show them what men and women really look like.” His grotesque forms, and disjointed canvases reflect the cynicism of the modern world, post two World Wars and the existence of dictatorship. The show includes two bright watercolour paintings from 1968, that demonstrate Souza’s experiments with space, and scale, moving away from large heavy paintings of heads made in 1961, and 1967. Souza’s distinctive fluid graphic style, displayed a range of moods: from darkness, melancholy, and aggression, to also eroticism, sensuality, and humour. By using a mix of abstraction and reality, the artist painted the shifting state of the human emotion. Writer, Conor Macklin, says in the exhibition note, “Souza saw abstract art as ‘like painting thin air’ and believed in his figurative work, he could be both faithful to the image and the inspiration. His works are both entirely personal, yet also recognisable at the same time.”
Women power
The division of moods is distinctive, in the works which are spread across the gallery’s three rooms. While Souza’s works from the 1960s, use obvious Renaissance palettes, his works from the 80s and 90s are far brighter, with tinges of lemon yellows, and sky blues. His stand-alone untitled still life indicates his exploration with colour after a long black-on-black phase. While residing in London in the 80s, Souza made a portrait of his psychiatrist neighbour, and his wife, where the man’s face is disfigured by multiple lines. Souza was clearly intrigued by relationship conflicts between men and women, and portrayed women as bold and central protagonists.
In a self-portrait from 1985, Souza recreated a photograph made by his close friend, Ajit Wahadane. In this one is made is aware of artist’s serious nature through his sombre expression, blended with rust, blues, yellows, and peaches. Souza’s sense of humour is highlighted through a quote on the adjacent wall reads, “The Jesuits who ran the school I attended knew I had a talent for drawing. Whenever there was a drawing in the lavatory, I was usually suspected of having done it. When I went to examine it, I would find it badly drawn: I would even correct it. I hate bad drawing.”
Luminous Solitude is ongoing at Akara Art, Colaba, until June 22.
