A Modernist & his lasting legacy

A rare retrospective of Tyeb Mehta shows how the artist's work still feels relevant, and allows a fuller understanding of what he's left behind

- SUGANDHA MUKHERJEE

IN ONE GALLERY at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), Saket, a blue bird hangs in the split second before it hits the ground.

Its claws look almost like a human hand, and a sharp diagonal line cuts across the canvas, making the whole painting feel tilted. If you stand there for a while, the bird almost seems to move. That feeling runs through Tyeb Mehta: Bearing Weight (with the lightness of being), the first large retrospective of the artist, organised to mark his birth centenary. Presented with the Tyeb Mehta Foundation and the Saffronart Foundation, and curated by Roobina Karode, the show, running till June 30, brings together more than 120 works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, film and rare archival material.

As you move through the exhibition, one thing becomes clear. Tyeb Mehta was deeply concerned with struggle. His figures are rarely relaxed. They bend, fall, twist or seem caught under pressure. The early works from the 1950s, including the Rickshaw Puller series, already show this. In one work, a bull appears placed on top of a rickshaw, its body heavy and strained. It represents labour, the burden of survival. The bull became a repeated image in Mehta's work which continued almost till the end of his life. Often tied with ropes or shown just before slaughter, the bull stands for helplessness and also endurance.

This tension between reverence and violence becomes even stronger in Koodal, Mehta's 16-minute black and white film made in 1970 for the Films Division of India. In a dark room in the exhibition, the film plays on loop. It shows scenes of slaughter along with everyday life and ritual. The word 'Koodal' means 'meeting point' in Tamil. In the film, different opposites meet, such as human and animal, faith and survival. Outside the screening room, visitors can see Mehta's handwritten scripts, letters and notes.