S G Vasudev's art: The first ever retrospective opens in Bengaluru

A modernist master finally gets his due, writes Avantika Bhuyan

At the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Bengaluru a few days ago, nearly 300 artworks were in the process of being installed. The works encompassed a staggering range, from oils on canvas and sketches to copper reliefs and tapestries in silk — all produced by S G Vasudev, a prominent advocate of what is loosely referred to as indigenous modernism. Vasudev’s 55 years of work will finally be on full display at the first retrospective of his art.

The exhibition, titled “Inner Resonance — A Return to ‘Sama’”, appropriately enough, traces the full circle Vasudev’s trajectory has taken. A series of connected stories flows through each of his works. For instance, the vriksha, or tree of life, features from his 1970s copper relief works up to the Theatre of Life series of 2002. The tree is depicted as a peaceful haven in some; in others, the narrative is more dramatic, featuring trees reduced to stumps by destructive humans. Similarly, the He and She themes recur repeatedly, acquiring a meditative, dreamy quality in Vasudev’s ink-and-paper works and more striking tones in the tapestry. A fascinating aspect of Vasudev’s practice is that he works on different mediums simultaneously, each influencing the other.

Man and Elephant, tapestry in silk | Photo courtesy: NGMA Bengaluru

To highlight the various strands running through Vasudev’s vast oeuvre, curator Sadanand Menon presents nine recurring themes: Maithuna, Vriksha, Tree of Life and Death, Humanscapes, Earthscapes, Theatre of Life and Rhapsody. The works have been sourced from the NGMA and private collectors. “The retrospective of a prolific artist like Vasudev, who has been working for six decades, can’t just be a display of work. It also becomes a narrative of a nation, a region, a school and a style,” says Menon.

The exhibition takes the viewer back to the 1960s, when the Government School of Arts and Crafts, Madras, was led by the charismatic K C S Paniker. “The work of the students from that period is distinguished by the idea of line and surface. This was part of the DNA of the college, and is very clear in Vasudev’s work as well. He himself says that the line connects all his media,” says Menon.

The show also highlights Paniker’s deep influence on Vasudev, whose work veered towards a more local vocabulary. Like his peers, Vasudev, too, rejected the prevailing dichotomy between art and crafts. “Students were encouraged to interact with craftspersons. Paniker’s idea was that we extend our connect with art and craft so that it could earn us a living. I did batik work for a year, resulting in exhibitions that sold out,” says Vasudev.

S G Vasudev | Photo: Mallikarjun Katakol

In 1965, Paniker and a group of students broke away from conventional arts practice to create the arts village Cholamandal. Artists such as Vasudev, K M Gopal, Paramasivam, Jayapal, Arnawaz and S Nanda Gopal worked alongside craftspersons. “For the past 23 years, I have been working with a weaver to create tapestries in silk. I taught a carpenter how to work with copper, and he has been my right-hand man for 25 years,” says Vasudev. “Contemporary artists and craftspersons need to grow together.”

Tree, copper relief | Photo courtesy: NGMA Bengaluru

This retrospective is also significant for the light it shines on the Madras art movement. “Mainstream art history has bypassed not just the Madras art movement and Cholamandal, but most of South India. It is a kind of blind spot,” says Menon. He has tried to draw links between Vasudev’s work and the creative churn of the time. For instance, a certain romanticism in the work of Vasudev’s peers from the College has been highlighted. Menon then showcases the dramatic shift in Vasudev’s practice in the 1990s, marked by his move to Bengaluru.

This move resulted in friendships with people working on environmental causes, affecting Vasudev’s treatment of the vriksha. His tree acquired a more denuded form. He also began to explore the theme of maithuna, or the union of purusha and prakriti. “My works are connected to one another. I bring a series to a logical conclusion and then move organically to the next,” he says. This flow and rhythm, perhaps, stems from his interest in music — Carnatic, Indian classical and jazz. His latest series is titled Rhapsody.

Mountain, painting | Photo courtesy: NGMA Bengaluru

Literature, too, was a profound influence and Vasudev’s canvases and tapestries from the 2000s are a veritable stage for characters to “act” out stories. This again owes to his move to Bengaluru, where he collaborated with BV Karanth and Girish Karnad for art direction on movies such as Vamsha Vriksha and Samskara and designed masks for plays, including Hayavadana. As Vasudev says, “With influences such as craft on one side, and literature on the other, art tends to take a different shape.” 

‘Inner Resonance’ will be on view at the NGMA, Bengaluru, till September 30