More than 150 works of noted painter Manu Parekh, known primarily for his delightful expressions on the city of Varanasi, are all set to be displayed here in a retrospective that celebrates six decades of the master painter.
Titled "Manu Parekh: 60 Years of Selected Works" the exhibition will be on display at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) here and is being presented by Art & Soul gallery. The exhibition opens on March 12 and will run until April 15.
"This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of artworks spanning nearly six decades of a long creative career that demonstrates the depth and diversity of Parekh's practice. For this exhibition, the artist presents key series entitled Early Works, Rituals & Abstract, Animals, Still Life, Heads and Banaras Landscape.
"This show also includes a collection of drawings that illustrate his creative process. Manu Parekh is an important modernist known for his remarkable work related to the city of Varanasi that reflects upon his knowledge of the landscape, mapping significant sites of personal and social importance," said Adwaita Gadanayak, Director General, National Gallery of Modern Art.
Eminent architect Balkrishna V. Doshi will inaugurate the exhibition and painter Shri Sudhir Patwardhan will release the book "Manu Parekh - 60 Years of Selected Works".
"We see his exploration of ritual in the late 1970s, the legendary paintings inspired by the Bhagalpur blindings and his enduring fascination with the holy city of Banaras, which he has explored in great depth over many decades. The book also includes a late-career highlight, a monumental work of 'heads', completed in 2017, that is based on Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.
Through its exploration of the rich body of Parekh's work, this book provides unique insights into one of India's most important painters," the organisers said in a statement.
The book is said to examine the complete breadth of Parekh's career, from the 1960s to the present time. Over 250 of his works are included in the book, representing every important aspect of his oeuvre.
Manu Parekh is one of India's most inventive painters. His early work explored the relationship between man and nature, which according to him was an energetic link that had to be celebrated.
His paintings provoke viewers to take notice of the world around them through the emotion, pain and anguish expressed in the subjects of his paintings. His colours and forms exude a volatile energy that can barely be contained within the confines of the canvas, and become an extension of his personality.
--IANS
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