M F Husain exhibition to take place in Qatar

Dubai, Oct 22 (PTI) Qatar Museums on Wednesday announced an immersive exhibition having recourse to works by M F Husain, reflecting the iconic artist's vision of India as both an ancient civilisation and a postcolonial nation.

Organised in collaboration with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi, the exhibition will be on view from October 28 to February 7 at the QM Gallery Katara.

'The Rooted Nomad: M F Husain' captures the dual essence of Husain’s life, his deep connections to his homeland and his nomadic, cosmopolitan spirit, the museum said in a statement.

It reflects Husain’s vision of India as both an ancient civilisation and a postcolonial nation. "Drawing upon a reserve of mythologies, shared histories, literature and manifestations, Husain articulated his harmonised vision of a modern India through a lexicon of symbolic iconographies anchored in an artistic sensibility," said the statement.

The exhibition's inaugural presentation was at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2024.

Its Doha showcase is a "fully immersive, multi-sensory experiential project tracing Husain’s itinerant spirit and artistic pursuits from his formative years in India to his last years spent in Doha as a citizen of Qatar." It is created from images of more than 80 of Husain’s representative works interlaced with textual material that includes his photographs, drawings, poems, cinema posters, and rarely seen archival material.

“We feel honoured to present along with Qatar Museums an immersive on MF Husain, India’s most iconic artist whose inclusive and expansive artistic vision speaks to audiences across cultures," said Roobina Karode, Director and Chief Curator at KNMA.

"The Rooted Nomad aims to bring to new audiences the creative journey of the artist with his striking composite quasi-abstract language melding calligraphy, idealised motifs from ancient Indian reliefs and folk traditions, pictorially representing varied themes including the Mahabharata, Karbala and The Last Supper with poetic brevity,” Karode said. PTI CORR GRS GRS GRS