Remembering raza: madhya ma

At the Shridharani Gallery in Delhi there are a series of works that celebrate the power of thought, inventive ingenuity and emerging trends in art practices. From a brilliant ceramic sculpture to a kindled abstraction created with threads and acrylic the show is a testimony to modern day materials and moods and multiple leanings.

'Madhya ma' is the first exhibition of the Raza Foundation, which is an effort to provide platform to young artists of Madhya Pradesh.

"One reason for this is that Sayed Haider Raza one of India's greatest modernists in abstraction recognized the importance of young people in Indian contemporary art and continued to help them throughout his life," states Akhilesh an artist who lives in Bhopal and was close to Raza.

The exhibition comes at the cusp of Raza's birthday which falls on February 22. 'Madhya ma' then is a tribute to Raza's love for younger artists and the encouragement he gave to them whenever he came back to India on many visits from Paris. Curator Akhilesh, in 2007, curated a historic show of abstraction for Bodhi Art, entitled 'Roopadhyatama', which was a great success.Precisely 11 years later, Akhilesh proves he has the experience and the elean to pick out a number of artists who can be a palette of varied techniques and processes .

Perhaps top of the lot in this suite is the brilliant sculptural ceramic work of Arti Paliwal. The work embodies the power and passion of an artist who has indepth knowledge of the texturing of glazes and the mystery of weaving in human and natural textural nuances into the sculpted creation that has little nodes in the mushroom like creations worked upon in the chromatic charisma of turquoise in the Barium glaze. Yet another wonderful abstraction is the thread and acrylic work of Ekta Sharma. It has a geometry and symbolism that is both magnetic and magical.

Curator Akhilesh explains, he is presenting fifteen young artists of the state in Madhya Pradesh. "Curiosity in these artists is gigantic and the weaknesses of some youthful zeal. With all this, it is a yearning to do something. Madhya Pradesh is a big state with a geographical vision, and there are many artists who are doing better. It was not possible for everyone to be included in this exhibition."

Fifteen artists from the exhibition come from different parts of the state and they easily incorporate modernity and experiment with innovation in the art of innovation.

"They are curious to put themselves on the unknown paths of art, without hesitation," Akhilesh maintains. "They have the key to taking risks. They freely walk in rugged colors, do not hesitate to negotiate with the new shapes and enjoy the pleasures of the lines with elegance."

For the Raza Foundation this indeed is an exercise that brims on the beauty of thought and the strength of memory.Show runs till

March 11 2018.