The Italian Embassy Culture Centre and KNMA hosted a two-day event celebrating M.F. Husain, aligning with the ‘The Rooted Nomad’ exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
The Italian Embassy Culture Centre, in collaboration with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), recently hosted a unique two-day programme that celebrated the artistic legacy of M.F. Husain, one of India’s most revered modernist painters. This event coincided with the ongoing exhibition ‘The Rooted Nomad,’ curated by Roobina Karode as an independent presentation at the 60th Venice Art Biennale.
The first day of the event commenced at KNMA Saket with a heartfelt welcome note delivered by Antonio Enrico Bartoli, Ambassador of Italy to India. Andrea Anastasio, Director, Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, was also present on the occasion. Askari Naqvi mesmerized the audience with his rendition of Soz-Khwani. Naqvi’s performance, a poignant blend of melody and narrative, brought to life the Battle of Karbala, a significant theme in Husain’s work, particularly in his 1990 masterpiece ‘Karbala.’ The artist’s emotive voice wove through the tragic tales of loss and sacrifice, creating an immersive experience that left the audience deeply moved.
From the Ancient Battle of Issus mosaic from Pompeii to Paolo Uccello Battle of San Romano, to Late Renaissance, Tintoretto’s The Battle of Zara, for the iconographic Hall of the Sala dello Scrutinio in Venice, battles and battlefield were an important subject to depict historical significance as a reflection of the classical ideals, the pursuit of moral virtue, representation of strength, political and social climate of its time. A theme like Karbala for Husain, is much beyond the Battle of Karbala, it is the ‘Karuna rasa’ and ‘Veera Rasa’ if one refers to Abhinava Gupta’s rasa theory, these emotions are primary components in the painting ‘Karbala.’
On the second day, the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre hosted an engaging conference and public talk featuring Prof. Chiara Rostagno and Roobina Karode, Director and Chief Curator of KNMA. The public talk focused on the role that equestrian battles have played in Italian and Indian art.
The event was a collateral event to ‘The Rooted Nomad,’ an exhibition showcasing a vast collection of Husain’s works, including ‘Karbala’ (1990), exhibited for the first time outside India. Organized by KNMA and curated by Roobina Karode, the exhibition is housed at Magazzini del Sale in Venice, running from April through November 2024. The exhibition aligns with the Venice Biennale’s theme of ‘Foreigners Everywhere,’ exploring the itinerant spirit of Husain and the idea of journeying as a metaphor for artistic transformation.
The restless itinerant spirit of Husain, the breadth of experiences he gathered and the evocation of multiple journeys, forms the central core of the many constellations of his works presented here, making us dwell upon the ideas of mobility, migration, moving across borders and beyond fixed boundaries. The exhibition attempts to unpack expanded notions on the ‘Yatra’ or journey both as a crux to civilizational ethos and artistic calling as well as a metaphor for transformation.
An early participation at the Venice Biennale in 1955, Husain was one of the first artists from India to present his works in Venice followed by him representing India at the Sao Paolo Biennale in 1971, alongside Pablo Picasso. Through the years, Husain articulated his syncretic vision of India as a richly layered cultural mosaic, both secular and sacred, unfolding in his kaleidoscopic imagery.
Kiran Nadar, Chairperson and Founder of KNMA, expressed her enthusiasm, saying, “This first-time 360-degree immersive experience created around an Indian artist who was known as a people’s painter will be a prime attraction. It unveils Husain’s dreams and desires through moving image and soundscapes—a labor of love for India’s most compelling modernist.”
“The vast expanse of India as one of the oldest civilisations in human history and a new born nation in 1947 with its independence from British Raj colonial rule, both unfolded obsessively in Husain’s art and his prolific oeuvre through the decades in his 95 years of active life. It is an honour to share his extraordinary vision in a wide range of media that he embraced, defying artistic hierarchies and misplaced perceptions about art as high and low or fine and popular,” rejoiced Karode.
‘The Rooted Nomad’ not only celebrates the artistic genius of M.F. Husain but also serves as a testament to the enduring cultural ties between India and Italy. As the world’s gaze turns towards Venice, this exhibition stands as a powerful reminder of the universal language of art that transcends borders and unites humanity in its shared experiences.