Drawing has always been considered the foundation of all art with stalwarts such as M F Husain, Jamini Roy, Laxma Gouda and Manjit Bawa among others devoting time to the visual art form.
A curated showcase of drawings by over 100 artists from India, featuring works dating from 1947 to the present times is now on at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.
Hosted by Gallery Espace, the show titled "Drawing 2014: Seven Decades of Indian Drawing" has been co-curated by Prayag Shukla along with Annapurna Garimella and Sindhura Jois DM.
The "ambitious show" is part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Delhi-based gallery.
Along with works on single sheets of paper, artists' books, studies for other projects, multiples, laser drawings, animation and more are included in the exhibition.
Referring to the idea of the show, Renu Modi, Director, Gallery Espace says, "It was the legendary M F Husain who introduced me to the finer nuances of drawings and the intimate, small format nature of this genre has remained a personal favourite with me ever since."
The show "is a curatorial project that explores and showcases the visually exciting and historically-rich practice of drawing in India over the last 67 years,"
"The smoothness of a Jamini Roy drawing, the performative nature of Husain's own works, drawings by Laxma Goud and Manjit Bawa - these were part of my initial introduction to this genre" says Modi.
The gallery had in the year 1994 held its first show on Drawings.
Apart from the expansive show several outreach events that seek to reflect on the significance of drawings in art and other disciplines are also scheduled to be held in the city.
The show, says curator Annapurna Garimella is "a curatorial project that explores and showcases the visually exciting and historically-rich practice of drawing in India over the last 67 years.
