Inventing / Inverting tradition is the second of a three part exhibition on Indian Art from post-independence to the present day. Whereas part I focused on the Progressives, part II looks at Indian artists active from 1960s to today. Artists include Bhupen Khakhar, Jogen Chowdury and Rameshwar Broota all of whom contend with the notion of Tradition in a modern age.
The Indian artist lives in a country characterised by change and contradiction, where the old gives way to the new and diversity reigns. This meeting of tradition and modernity has inspired a highly individual response from all the artists featured in the exhibition.
Works include those by the self taught Bhupen Khakhar who, heavily influenced by Indian street culture, combines the subversive potential of pop art with contemporary Indian imagery to challenge traditional Indian art practices. Other works include the dreamlike line drawings of Jogen Chowdury as well as two early figurative oils by Rameshwar Broota, whose dehumanized figures demonstrate his concern with the contemporary human condition. [Price range: £1,000 - £250,000]
The Indian Art market has been growing rapidly over the last decade. However, its popularity has reached new heights in the last few years with auction houses now dedicating numerous sales solely to Modern and Contemporary Indian art and with prices for individual works now in excess of 1million dollars. In response to the demand Grosvenor Vadehra is the first gallery with premises in the UK and India.