The gallery promises to be a home to exhibition and auction previews, as well as viewings, talks and partner events with other leading galleries. “We are proud to inaugurate our versatile, state-of-the-art gallery space with an exhibition of works by Krishen Khanna. Our gallery’s location in the heart of the capital makes it easily accessible, allowing us to hold exhibitions, previews, talks and other art initiatives. Additionally, the gallery space will be used to collaborate with artists and partner galleries in Delhi, extending Saffronart’s continued efforts to support the arts,” says Hugo Weihe, CEO, Saffronart.
If the opening of a gallery is accompanied by a senior artist’s works, it is bound to draw a large gathering. Such was the case at the new Saffronart gallery. A number of art enthusiasts and art connoisseurs along with the friends and family of the artist were present at the show. Talking about the criteria for the selection of Khanna’s works for the opening show, Weihe says, “We thought it would be nice to start with a senior artist and the black and white merge well with the 3,000 square ft. gallery space.”
Surrounded by art enthusiasts at the gallery, Krishen Khanna cut a resplendent figure. The 92-year-old veteran artist, who has earlier produced a range of works on the themes of band musicians, waiters at roadside tea-stalls or dhabas, and labourers sleeping beneath trucks, has revisited some of his preferred tropes in his recent works. Primarily a self-taught artist, Khanna was a part of the Progressive Artists Group during the 1960s. His works are essentially figurative. He is also the recipient of Padma Sri and Padma Vibhushan among several other accolades bestowed upon him by various institutions.
Born in 1925 in Faislabad, Pakistan, Khanna was deeply affected by Partition of the country. Owing to this, the events surrounding Partition, and themes touching upon it, recur in his works. Talking about his artworks, Khanna says, “I went through Partition and some of the drawings relate to that event but there are other works that refer to the much larger part of Partition that has always been there like the Mahabharat for instance. There was the big division that took place between Kauravs and pandavas. Our Partition is a part of one cosmic event. ”
The artist also points that he time and again thinks about Partition. He says, “I went through Partition and I can’t help thinking about it. People talk about inspiration, but for me it is all about this event and how I am dealing with it. How do I handle this event is what reflects in my artwork.”
In this show, there are 24 monochromatic works by Khanna displayed at the gallery. Using charcoal as a medium, the monochrome drawings were painted by the artist in the past two years. Talking about the medium Khanna says, “Charcoal is made up of burned wood and if an artist is using such a frugal medium, it becomes an onus of the artist to use it judiciously. I have used charcoal in a very different way from other artists.”
Gayatri Sinha mentions in the catalogue of the exhibition, “Over nearly seven decades, it may be fair to say that drawing is a medium that Krishen Khanna has reserved for intimate memory, for reworking broader themes that underpin the structure of his work. The closest parallels would be stories retold and recounted in the tradition of the sub-continent by multiple clamant, that belong to the fireside narrative in a village chaupal as much as the grand epic. Within his practice there is no closure, however, because these narratives are a people’s legacy, handed down through time, complex in their reading of opposition and resistance.”
Founded in 2000, Saffronart is a booming auction house. It has catered to both Indian and international art markets. It has also organised large-scale exhibitions in modern and contemporary Indian art in Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, New Delhi and Singapore.
Among the events planned over the next two months at the new gallery is an exhibition of works by Ram Kumar, to be held in December this year.
The current exhibition is to go on till 13 November