Select works of Brij Mohan Anand to be showcased

Select artworks by late painter and illustrator Brij Mohan Anand (1928-1986) - an artist whose work registered a singular voice of protest against neo-imperialism, cultural indoctrination, nuclear warfare and the capitalist system - will be showcased at an exhibition here next month.
Titled 'Dissent and Discourse: The Art and Politics of Brij Mohan Anand', the exhibition will run as a collateral project to the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) that opens on December 12, according to a release here.
Curated by young researcher and writer, Shruthi Issac, the exhibition will showcase evocative pieces by the non-conformist Delhi artist in diverse mediums: scratchboard, oil, watercolour, ink and pencil and will explore the notion of dissent and its significance in public discourse, creativity and progress.

Issac said creativity and progress are necessary concomitants of dissent and India has had a strong tradition of accommodating dissent since the Vedic period.
"Our plurality and indeed our evolution and progress is the direct result of this accommodation. The exhibition is particularly relevant today when there is a debate over the significance and the need to allow dissent in Indian art and politics," Issac said.
Anand's surviving works are estimated at 1,500, ranging from scratchboards, landscapes, watercolours and sketches to commercial illustrations for books, posters, newspapers and magazines.
Anand's works and life have recently been the subject of a meticulously researched book, Narratives for Indian Modernity: The Aesthetic of Brij Mohan Anand (Harper Collins 2016) co-authored by biographer and writer, Aditi Anand and art historian, Dr Grant Pooke with a Foreword by Dr Alka Pande.