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M F Hussain at 94: Artists Tributes and an Exibit by Sahmat in Delhi

by sacw.net, 26 September 2009

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A web video report from the BBC Urdu and a report in the Times of India on Husain at 94 show organised by Sahmat at Jamia Milia Islamia in New Delhi

A BBC urdu report on the Sahmat exhibition on 94 years of MF Hussain

The Times of India, 18 September 2009

On b’day, Jamia puts Husain on canvas

by Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN 18 September 2009

NEW DELHI: Marking the 94th birthday of M F Husain, Jamia Millia Islamia on Thursday hosted an exhibition of over hundred art works that portrayed the celebrated artist as seen by many of his peers. While one artist compared Husain with Hanuman for the strength shown by him "by living in exile’’, another compared him to a superhero.

The day-long celebration also witnessed screening of Gaja Gamini, Meenakshi and Through The Eyes Of A Painter, Husain’s first film that had won Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival in 1967.

Hosted at M F Husain Gallery of the university, the exhibition was organized by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) with focus being on the paintings that paid tribute to Husain. Paintings of eminent artists like Amitava Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, Habib Rahman, Manu Parekh, Samit Das, Subodh Gupta, Sudhir Patwardhan, Sunil Gupta, Tabassum Zaidi and art critic Richard Bartholomew, along with impressions from emerging artists and students were exhibited at the gallery.

On the occasion, SAHMAT announced it would gift the artist, who is in a self-imposed exile, For Husain at 94. The book, released by Jamia vice-chancellor, includes an interview of Husain along with pictures of the paintings showcased on Thursday.

Said photographer Ram Rahman, founder member SAHMAT, "The exhibition and the book is a tribute and a celebration of the work and life of Husain. It is a shame for the country that he has to be in exile. This is a message that irrespective of political game-plan, the creative community is still with him and holds him in high regard.’’

Rahman showed an unpublished family portrait of M F Husain taken 1993 at the National Gallery of Modern Art. Later, filmmaker and critic K Bikram Singh delivered a lecture on the work of Husain based on his new book on the painter. The day culminated with an Iftar outside the gallery.