When I meet Himmat Shah at Bikaner House in Delhi, I cannot guess from his demeanour — joking, laughing and gently flirting with the guests — that he has just turned 90. We are at Under the Mask, an exhibition that opened at Bikaner House last month before moving to Art Magnum. “I did all these drawings during the lockdown,” he says, pointing at the display of intricate non-figurative linear images in black ink and pencil on the walls. “It was difficult to step out to visit my studio in Garhi [20 km from his house in Jaipur], which is my daily routine, much like eating my breakfast.”
Himmat Shah’s Under the Mask | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
I can’t help but smile at the light-hearted expression on his face, as I move closer to the works. With over 300 drawings in the pandemic series, 40 originals are on display alongside smaller prints of the remaining art. “These drawings delve deeper into Shah’s understanding of the human spirit, of the ability to fight through difficult times, and to self-realise despite adversity,” says curator Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya. The exhibition is in collaboration with the Jaipur Centre of Culture and Arts.
Materials and the man
A large sculpture in bronze catches one’s eye. Part of a new series (the rest is on display at the JCCA), it is over eight feet tall and is a more abstract expression as compared to Shah’s earlier work that’s based on the human figure and face.
Himmat Shah’s abstract bronze sculpture | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Another big attraction is a series of over 20 photographs by Raghu Rai, who has documented Shah over the years. The stunning black-and-white images capture his artistic exploration and life outside the studio. Photographs of Shah working on his sculptures hang alongside shots of him trekking and exercising. One of the most imposing frames is where the photographer got the artist to pose alongside his new bronze sculpture.
Raghu Rai (left) with Himmat Shah | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The most unique exhibit of Under the Mask, however, is housed in a darkened room, where the spotlight picks out two vitrines with two sculptures carved in diamond. The tiny pieces are magnified by a projector. This is the first time that Shah — who has mastered many mediums in his career, from terracotta and stone to plaster of Paris — has worked with gems. Inspired by Jaipur’s local craftsmanship, he collaborated with diamond cutters for almost a year to complete the project.
Mukesh Singh, a young sculptor and student of Shah’s, who worked closely with the artist on the project, says, “I learnt much from the master artist for whom material is both a challenge and a gift of expression.”
A short film playing on loop in one of the rooms showcases the artwork housed at the JCCA. “We hope that people will also visit our centre in Jaipur, which has a large collection of Himmat Shah’s works to celebrate his 90th birthday,” says Monika Sharda, director of JCCA.
One of the sculptures is inspired by Hammer on the Square, a large drawing that Shah had executed early in his career. Depicting a hammer balanced on a square, it highlights key ideas of the artist’s works: fragility and the transience of existence, and the heightened relationship between ephemeral layers and stasis. Shah, who describes his work as spontaneous, has always had an intense connection to lost civilizations and cultures. Perhaps because he grew up in Lothal, Gujarat, surrounded by the remnants of a prominent port city of the Indus Valley civilisation.
Himmat Shah’s experiment with sculpting diamonds, Hammer on the Square | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The second sculpture, Wisdom Fruit, is inspired by the skyscrapers he saw in the West, which reminded him of conical fruit — and that are now becoming part of the Indian cityscape. To the artist, it represents the morphing of nature and the city.
Till August 14 at Art Magnum, New Delhi, and at JCCA till October 31.
The writer is a critic-curator by day, and a visual artist by night.
