‘Nabh Sparsh: Indian Women Printmakers,’ on view until September 12, brings together 150 Indian women printmakers; it offers a rare and compelling look at the evolution of printmaking through their eyes
Ever since the narrative of Indian modern art was wrested away from the government bodies by private players — who seized the epochal opportunity of the birth of the Indian art market in the wake of the country’s economic liberalisation in 1991 — most of the headlining acts in the field have come courtesy the private movers and shakers. That, of course, has not in any way, reduced the government institutions to passive bystanders. What it does mean, however, is that the government cultural institutions in the field of visual arts have increasingly found their role as industry leaders upended.
Yet, once in a while comes along an exhibition at an official national institution that underscores the heights that can be reached if some spirited individuals put their energy behind the government’s foray into the arts. The ongoing exhibition in New Delhi, ‘Nabh Sparsh: Indian Women Printmakers’, is one such moment of glory for the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). It helps to know that the new NGMA Director General, Sanjeev Kishor Goutam, is a reputed printmaker himself.
‘Nabh Sparsh’ brings together art works by almost 150 Indian women printmakers from across the country and across generations, featuring lithographs, etchings, aquatints, engravings, and more. This is the first such show not only at the NGMA, but at any museum or gallery of the country, which puts the spotlight on modern women printmakers in an exhaustive display. Goutam writes about the show in the accompanying catalogue: “It highlights the evolution of printmaking in India through the eyes of its women practitioners, offering viewers an opportunity to engage with their unique perspectives and artistic visions. As a printmaker myself, I am deeply moved by the transformative power of this medium.”
Detail from Hemavathy Guha's etching, Gossip. Photos courtesy of NGMA, Delhi
The exhibition, which opened at NGMA New Delhi recently and is on view through September 12, is designed for the serious art connoisseur as it is divided into two sections — one featuring works from the in-depth NGMA collection, including works by senior artists and stalwarts in the field, and the other, the ‘open call’ section, which comprises works by contemporary artists, junior in age and experience to the those in the first section. Works for the second section were chosen by a jury comprising Goutam and senior artists Kanchan Chander and Kavita Nayar.
The who’s who of Indian printmaking
The first section of the exhibition has the who’s who of Indian printmaking, featuring works by iconic names such as Devayani Krishna, Zarina Hashmi, Anita Das Chakraborty, Gogi Saroj Pal, Rini Dhumal, Naina Dalal, Jaya Appasamy, Anupam Sud, Shobha Broota, Lalita Lajmi, Kanchan Chander, Pratibha Dakoji and Shobha Ghare, to name just a few. There are other names that are not as well-known but equally deserving of accolades as their famous peers.
Anupam Sud (b. 1944) and Zarina Hashmi (1937-2020) perhaps don’t need any introduction and this exhibition is a great opportunity to see their seminal works in person. New Delhi-based Sud has always focused on the issues of female body as a repository of personal and human history in her etchings and aquatints, while Indian-American Hashmi, who was based in New York, made homelessness and the notion of home in the age of changing political borders her leitmotif in her woodcuts and graphic prints. A true delight are linocuts by Anita Das Chakraborty, who passed away in 2021, featuring a smorgasbord of daily life on the streets, with her characters — made in the artist’s characteristic thick lines — displaying strong emotions as they go about their chores. Rich in detail, they are some of the most arresting works on display.
Aarti Kashyap, Nature Can Repair Everything, woodcut.
While traditional and older prints remain black-and-white or two-toned, the ones in colour stand out due to sheer contrast. Some stunning works are Peeping Noses, a lithograph by Kanchan Chander (67); multiple abstract etchings and intaglio prints by Devayani Krishna (1910-2000), one of India’s earliest printmakers; semi-abstract works by Priti Tamot (69) that evoke renowned printmaker Krishna Reddy’s colour viscosity printing techniques; and modernist essays in realism rooted in Indian ethos by Rini Dhumal (1948-2021), among other examples too numerous to list here.
The highlight of this curated section is the special display of the works of renowned senior artist Gogi Saroj Pal, who passed away on January 27 this year at the age of 79. Her numerous etchings and lithographs are accompanied by her handwritten letters to her son, nicknamed Punna, while she was working at the Garhi studios in New Delhi. These letters, and her prints, which are perhaps not as well-known as her paintings on femininity and concomitant issues, provide a rare insight into the thought process of a woman balancing her identity as an artist and a mother.
Detail from Anita Das Chakraborty’s linocut, Morning Session.
Prints v/s paintings
The breathtaking array of works — in numbers and variety — belie the fact that prints have never got the same due as paintings. By any yardstick, making a painting is an easier process compared to making a print as the latter is physically laborious and involves access to a press, among other essential collaterals. While painters can paint in the comfort of their personal studios, printmaking requires working on a shared press in a communal studio. Artistic ingenuity is involved in the creation of plates but prints that are developed from those plates in multiple, yet limited editions, always bear a surprise element, quite like wet clay when inserted in a kiln gives surprising results upon removal from fire.
Dissatisfaction, a woodcut by Spriha Maurya.
Kanchan Chander, New Delhi-based painter and printmaker, who was part of the jury for the ‘open call’ section of ongoing show, says that printmaking has its own charm and it’s high time this medium got its due. She explains: “There is a misconception among collectors and galleries that it is somehow lesser than paintings which does disservice to the medium. Thankfully, it continues to be popular among artists as proved by the great variety of works on display at this exhibition. We need more efforts such as this exhibition.” Chander, who worked at New Delhi’s Garhi studios as a printmaker in the early years of her career and studied printmaking on a scholarship in France, adds that top artists of the world such as Pablo Picasso and F. N. Souza made prints, which attests to the challenge and subsequent satisfaction that the medium offers to artists. Prints make a great starting point for new and young collectors as they are relatively cheaper compared to paintings by the same artist.
Peeping Noses by Kanchan Chander, lithograph.
Hemavathy Guha, whose works are also part of the section from NGMA’s collection, says, “Printmaking, especially etching and woodcut, has its own charm. I worked in a printmaking studio for 15 years and also received a residency on printmaking at St. Michael’s Printshop, Newfoundland, Canada. The velvety effect which you can achieve through aquatint in etching and the rhythmic distribution of positive and negative space which I achieve in my woodcuts cannot be achieved in a canvas painting. I take time out to work in prints every year even though I work in other mediums as well.”
The attraction of the difficult medium has percolated to the newer generation as the effulgence of creativity in the ‘open call’ section shows. It helps that it is housed in a building different from the NGMA collection as walking a few metres from the latter to the former affords the viewer a break they need to be able to appreciate the generational shift.
Chander says that she was impressed by the quality of works submitted in the ‘open call’ section. Some works especially indicate that the artists are technically sound and mastering the medium as also creating good content, she adds. The variety attests to the fertile young brains of artists, essaying a wide range of topics — from femininity to life quotidienne, nature v/s urban life, interiors of homes and humans and the secrets they nurture, and much more.
Ketali, etching and aquatint by Neelam Sharma
Veteran artist Naina Dalal’s essay, ‘Women and Printmaking in India’ and another one by Pratibha Dakoji and Devraj Dakoji in the catalogue are must-reads for all those willing to understand the art, including its technical details. These essays give a comprehensive view of the arrival of printing technology in India in the 16th century, along with Portuguese missionaries, and its widespread adoption in the Presidency cities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in the 18th-19th centuries, to the evolution of the genre as an art form and its popularity among Indian students mid-20th century onwards. The e-catalogue is available on NGMA’s Instagram handle.
