Delhi gallery hosts retrospective on Silpi Chakra artists

Works by artists associated with Delhi’s Silpi Chakra collective including Satish Gujral, Amarnath Sehgal and J Swaminathan were on view at the newly renovated Dhoomimal gallery.

The retrospective show titled, ’Outliers, Rebels, Disruptors: Delhi Silpi Chakra - 70 years on’ featured artists who actively engaged with the Silpi Chakra as members, founders, office bearers, and associates over the years.

The exhibition has been conceptualised by FAQ Art (an organisation that provides guidance to help navigate the global art ecosystem), and curated by Eka Archiving (an organisation that works towards preservation of culture.

Founded by artists like B C Sanyal, Kanwal Krishna, K S Kulkarni and Dhan Raj Bhagat, whose lives were ripped apart by partition, the Chakra became a haven of free thinkers and new ideas in the stilted cultural milieu of the 40s New Delhi, a gallery statement said.

The Delhi Silpi Chakra was formed on March 25, 1949 with an objective of offering artists in Delhi a platform and association that would encourage “new ideas”.

Their slogan was “Art Illuminates Life”. The Delhi Silpi Chakra, unlike the Bengal School or the Bombay Progressives, did not share a stylistic ideology. Instead, it shared “a desire to make art accessible to the masses, and create a democratic platform for ideas and culture to flourish”. “Exhibitions were held in ‘mohallas’ of Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Jantar Mantar, and the grounds of the Masonic Hall. Eventually the Silpi Chakra settled at 19-F Shankar Market.

“The group functioned as an art training centre, with regular classes taken by established artists. At the same time, it became a space to promote younger artists,” Dhoomimal gallery said in a statement.

The exhibition also features artists B C Sanyal, J Swaminathan, K S Kulkarni, Ram Kumar, Rameshwar Broota, and Sailoz Mookherjea.