An exhibition of rare artworks - poems, paintings, lithographs, silkscreens - of M.F. Husain will be held in Kolkata in January.
More than 50 of his artworks, in the custody of half a dozen collectors, will be displayed in the exhibition, which aims to cover Husain’s works from 1975 to 2005. The city known for its cultural credentials have never witnessed a “Hussain exhibition of such magnitude” the exhibitors said.
The exhibitors, however, are not apprehensive of the activists who may try to disrupt the show.
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“I will go ahead with the show, come what may,” said Ganesh Pratap Singh, an art collector and the main exhibitor. Husain’s lithographs or prints made by drawings on limestone will be on display. Many of such lithographs will feature Mother Teresa who influenced Husain throughout his career spanning over six decades.
“The Mother-series which are to be displayed in the exhibition were drawn between 1980-1985. They are hand signed and numbered by the artist in pencil,” Mr. Singh, whose collection will also feature in the exhibition. Apart from those on Mother Teresa, Husain’s lithographs on Mahabharata will also be on display. The series consists of 11 lithographs.
The other unique work is fusing the two forms - poetry with silkscreen - where porous fabrics such as silk are used in printing images on paper. The work titled Poetry to be Seen was first published in Geneva and its forward was written by legendary novelist Mulk Raj Anand.
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“Composed in the 1990s it consists of 10 silkscreen drawings along with poems. His Varanasi series of silkscreen drawings, completed in 1973, consisting of eight works will be exhibited,” said Mr. Singh.
One of the key exhibits will be Husain’s “poems combined with lithography.” One among them, titled ‘20 Poem 20 Litho' consists of 20 lithographs along with equal number of poems. It was drawn in the 1990s.
However, there have been several protests disrupting exhibitions of Husain’s works in other States