A retrospective on painter, art historian, writer, and pedagogue, Ratan Parimoo, was inaugurated on Thursday evening at Sir Cowasjee Jahangir Public Hall, National Gallery of Modern Art on Thursday evening. The parallel retrospectives of Parimoo (89), a Padma Shri awardee, titled 'Pioneer Abstractionist', and Naina Dalal, his partner and a master in etching, aquatint, collagraphy, and lithography, was inaugurated by actor Anupam Kher.
The show revisits Parimoo's abstract works from 1958 to 1973. The rare collection of more than 40 paintings, drawings and prints charts his early explorations inspired by Jain and Egyptian art, his embrace of gestural abstraction, and his pioneering experimentation.
As a co-founder of the Baroda Group of Artists under the mentorship of professor N S Bendre, Parimoo shaped an artistic climate that turned Baroda into one of India’s most dynamic centres of art. “At Baroda, I was encouraged to try modern Western techniques such as cubism, pointillism, and abstraction,” Parimoo recalls. “That’s when my journey towards abstraction began… I moved from a linear style into pure abstraction, emphasising brush strokes and gestural evocations of pure form.”
Running alongside Parimoo's retrospective is 90-year-old Naina Dalal's show, 'The Silent Fire Within', described as a sweeping retrospective of over 150 drawings, paintings, and prints by one of India’s pioneering women artists whose works are centered mostly around the struggles and emancipation of women in post-independent India. Explaining the title of her show, she said her journey as an artist has been long and arduous but satisfying. "Because I have followed my heart. I created art to give voice to my thoughts, emotions and identity. The title 'The Silent Fire Within' rightly captures the angst within me and my characters in my art.”
She added that her work speaks strongly about social evils and aggression against women which continues to this day. "During natural or man-made calamities, women, elderly and children suffer, but it is women who gather courage and hope to rebuild lives. Their fearless spirit has always inspired me,” she added.
The show is organised in association with the Ministry of Culture, and Gallerie Splash. Parimoo, Dalal; Daniel Quer Confalonieri, consul general, embassy of Argentina, Mumbai; Farhana Ahmed Chowdhury, deputy high commissioner, embassy of Bangladesh, Mumbai; Nidhi Choudhari, director, NGMA, Mumbai; curatorial advisor Girish Shahane; gallerist Jinoy Payyappilly, among many other dignitaries from the art world. The show will be on display till October 12. Entry is free. The art is for viewing and not for sale.
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