Tyeb Mehta | |
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| Born | (1925-07-26)26 July 1925[1] Kapadvanj, Gujarat, India |
| Died | 2 July 2009(2009-07-02) (aged 83)[2] Mumbai, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Sir J.J. School of Art (1952) |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | Celebration Kali |
| Awards | Kalidas Samman (1988) Padma Bhushan (2007) |
Tyeb Mehta (26 July 1925 – 2 July 2009) was an Indian painter, sculptor and film maker. He was part of theBombay Progressive Artists' Group and the firstpost-colonial generation of artists in India, like John Wilkins who also broke free from the nationalistBengal school and embracedModernism instead, with itsPost-Impressionist colours,cubist forms andbrusque,expressionistic styles.
Among his most noted later paintings were histriptychCelebration, which when sold for Rs 15 million ($317,500) at aChristie's auction in 2002, was not only the highest sum for an Indian painting at an international auction, but also triggered the subsequent great Indian art boom;[3] his other noted works were the 'Diagonal Series',Santiniketan triptych series,Kali,Mahishasura (1996).[4] He stayed and worked inMumbai for much of his life, except for three spells at London, New York, andSantiniketan, each having a distinct impact upon his work. He received several awards during his career including thePadma Bhushan in 2007.[5][6][7]
Tyeb Mehta was born on 26 July 1925 inKapadvanj, a town ofKheda district, the Indian state ofGujarat.[8] He was brought up in theCrawford Market neighbourhood of Mumbai, populated byDawoodi Bohras. At 22 years, during thepartition riots of 1947 in Mumbai, while staying at Lehri House, Mohammed Ali Road, he witnessed a man being stoned to death by a mob, this he not only expressed in a drawing but it was to have lasting impact on his work, leading to stark and often disturbing depiction of his subjects.[5][9]
For a while initially, he worked as a film editor in a cinema laboratory at Famous Studios, inTardeo, Mumbai. Later, he received his diploma fromSir J. J. School of Art in 1952, and was part of theBombay Progressive Artists' Group, which drew stylistic inspiration from WesternModernism, and included greats of Indian paintings such asF.N. Souza,S.H. Raza andM.F. Husain.[10]
He left for London in 1959, where he worked and lived till 1964. Thereafter, he visited the New York City, when he was awarded a fellowship from theJohn D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund in 1968.[11] During the years the artist spent in London, Mehta's style was influenced by the expressionist works of Francis Bacon, but while in New York his work came to be characterised by minimalism.[12] He made a three-minute film,Koodal (Tamil for 'meeting place'), which he shot at theBandra slaughter house, it won theFilmfare Critics Award in 1970.[11] He also remained an Artist-in-Residence at theSantiniketan between 1984–85, and returned to Mumbai with significant changes in his work. Common themes of his works were trussed bulls, the rickshaw puller, from here he moved to theDiagonal series, which he created through the 1970s, after accidentally discovering it in 1969, when in a moment of creative frustration he flung a black streak across his canvas.[5] Later in life, he addedFalling Figures made in 1991, based on his experience of witnessing the violent death of a man in the street during thePartition of India riots of 1947,[13] Besides adding several mythological figures into his work, highlighted by the depictions of goddessKali and demonMahishasura.[14]
Tyeb Mehta held the then record for the highest price anIndian painting has ever sold for at auction ($317,500 USD or 15 millionIndian rupees) forCelebration atChristie's in 2002.[15] In May 2005, his paintingKali sold for 10 millionIndian rupees (approximately equal to 230,000 US dollars) at Indian auction houseSaffronart's online auction.[16] A reinterpretation of the tale of demonMahishasura by Mehta showing goddessDurga locked in an embrace with the demon sold for $1.584 million.[17][18][19] In 2008 one of his paintings sold for $2 million.[20]
In December 2005, Mehta's paintingGesture was sold for 31 million Indian rupees to Ranjit Malkani, chairman of Kuomi Travel, at the Osian's auction. That made it the highest price ever paid by an Indian for a work of Indian contemporary art at auction in India at the time.[21]
Mehta's were the first works by a contemporary Indian artist to sell for over a million dollars, and indicated a burgeoning interest in Indian art by the international market; as a result, Mehta became a cultural hero.[20]
Tyeb Mehta spent most of life in Mumbai and later in life stayed atLokhandwala,Mumbai. He died on 2 July 2009 at a Mumbai hospital following a heart attack.[22] He is survived by his wife, Sakina, their son, Yusuf, and daughter, Himani and a number of grandchildren.
He received a fellowship from theJohn D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund in 1968, also in the same year, a gold medal for paintings at the first Triennial in New Delhi, and in 1974 the Prix Nationale at the International Festival of Painting inCagnes-sur-Mer,[20] France, theKalidas Samman, instituted by theMadhya Pradesh Government, in 1988, the Dayawati Modi Foundation Award for Art, Culture, and Education in 2005,[20] and thePadma Bhushan in 2007. His film 'Koodal' was awarded the Filmfare Critics' Award in 1970.[23]
Mehta's work has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England, and theHirshhorn Museum. A career retrospective is scheduled for later 2009 at theNational Gallery of Modern Art, in New Delhi.[20]
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