'Contemporary Now' puts Indian art on display

“How could that be art”—that was the reaction Chennai-based artist Maanas Udayakumar often encountered in his early years.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Now featured among 37 contemporary artists from India at the ‘Contemporary Now’ exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi here till September 17, the 31-year-old recalls how his work was “not accepted as art” by many.

Art experts say Udayakumar's loose brushwork in varying shades of grey—breaking down traditional forms into quick, rudimentary strokes—can be located within Abstract Expressionism, the mid-20th-century art movement.

In particular, Udayakumar's work recalls Franz Kline, one of the most important yet problematic Abstract Expressionists. During his lifetime, Kline's paintings were often dismissed as “something done in a moment.” Only later did art historians reveal that each work was extensively planned before his house painter's brush touched the canvas.

His oeuvre was eventually recognised as “groundbreaking,” paving the way for post-minimal practices—and, by extension, for artists like Udayakumar.

“When things were tough, I didn't let it bother me. I just kept making art that excited me, that I thought was relevant to what's happening today,” Udayakumar told PTI.