THE OTHER PROGRESSIVES

A seminal exhibition at DAG Delhi showcases key works of the Madras Art Movement

- Aditya Mani Jha

L. Munuswamy's abstract paintings are among the more straightforwardly hypnotic works on display as part of Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity, at Delhi's DAG (on till July 6). Two works in particular-Elephants' (1959) and 'Fashion' (1963)-show us Munuswamy's singular grasp of line and space. The latter has a very Willem de Kooning colour palette. The female figure that emerges in 'Fashion' amidst the visual density and the text running horizontally and vertically, has a curiously contrived quality to it, the fashion industry's idealised vision of a consumer object. Even if we overlook the de Kooning influence, it's clear that Munuswamy's work represents modernity in full bloom in the Madras school.

The exhibition brings together the works of K.C.S. Paniker, Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury, J. Sultan Ali, S. Dhanapal, R.B. Bhaskaran, S. Nandagopal et al. Curator Ashrafi S. Bhagat's accompanying, eponymous exhibition book contextualises the Madras Art Movement, a "late phenomenon of modernity in South India within the national context". This is the second edition of the show, after the inaugural edition in Mumbai in 2019.