Dhoomimal Gallery is showcasing the art works and archival material by F.N. Souza curated by Vinod Bharadwaj and Brij Sharma. As the name says Souza – City of Women, you will see the most popular artworks of nude women. His artworks are provocative and he does so like no other Indian artist does. There is nothing genteel about his works. He is totally uninhibited yet so endearing and so full of candor, grace and originality. That’s the common thread whether one is contemplating his life, his art or his writings. Thus, to understand the sexuality, mystery, eroticism and beauty of Souza’s women one needs to have wide-open eyes, not a narrow and puritan mind.
People may seem to think erotica was founded by Hugh Hefner and that the Playboy magazine is the oldest of its forms, but if we go back hundreds of thousands of years, we would find erotica is as natural an emotion or element of nature as depicted in the sculptures and carvings of Khajurao and many other examples of gods and goddesses in erotic forms have actually been part of Indian history. Then why today we have such suppression.The idea of an evolved society is to have the capability of thinking, even discussing and then channelizing the thoughts.
Letters written by Souza are not easy to come by, though he was a prolific correspondent. Vinod Bhardwaj had perhaps the finest set of them where Souza commented freely in his now-dismissive-now-sarcastic style about the work of his contemporaries offering cogent arguments to support his beliefs. Francis Newton Souza’s work is the strongest among all equals. Souza is the face of Indian Contemporary Art internationally. From landscapes to nudes, still life to strong heads, Souza’s done it all.
When: On till April 30
Where: Dhoomilal Art Gallery, CP