Untitled 

Curator: This striking, though currently untitled mixed-media piece is by the celebrated Indian artist, M.F. Husain. Editor: It has an immediate raw energy to it. The juxtaposition of these vivid colours with the almost crude application is so striking, isn’t it? There's a street art vibe; is it reminiscent of Jean-Michel Basquiat or is that just me? Curator: It certainly holds that spirit of contemporary figuration, engaging with line and form so directly. Notice how the very texture becomes part of the image. Look closer at the individual marks making up the shapes of both the figure and what looks to be an abstract figure besides him. The hand of the artist is very present here. Editor: Yes, there’s a tension in this artwork between representation and sheer materiality, almost collapsing any sense of deep space. That scribbled technique, together with the raw mixed media, brings attention to its status as a material object, rather than simply a picture, even verging towards Arte Povera aesthetics. One starts considering the artist’s immediate world, his cultural environment. It's very urban and globalised. Curator: I agree. This aligns with Husain's broader practice; even while internationally influenced, it always returned to exploring South Asian themes, merging the personal and the political with great force. This may be abstract, but the formal approach itself has substance, even depth. The very means and mode are laden. Editor: But where do we see Husain, the celebrity artist in it? Perhaps the piece gestures to the accessibility of art. He became somewhat of a pop icon within the Indian art world, and this raw, seemingly 'unskilled' style, is in fact immensely communicative. Perhaps in that light the painting asks where and how art functions as a popular tool in mass-culture. Curator: It has certainly provided an insightful window into how to read Husain’s complex interplay between tradition and the contemporary. It gives you a great sense of the cultural intersections defining much of his work. Editor: It leaves me eager to further investigate both the immediate construction, the hand and materiality, together with the artwork's relationship to a larger art industry, cultural backdrop and to global politics. Thank you!