Bhupen Khakhar
Encyclopedia
Bhupen Khakhar Bhupen Khakhar was a leading artist in Indian contemporary art. He worked in Baroda, and gained international recognition for his work.
in nature, concerned with the human body and its identity. A self-professed homosexual
http://www.nyu.edu/greyart/exhibits/asia/g6.htm, the problem of gender
definitions and gender identity were major themes of his work. His paintings often contained learned references to Indian mythology
and mythological themes.
The Khakhars were originally artisans who came from the Portuguese colony of Daman. At home they spoke Gujarati
, Marathi
and Hindi
, but not much English. Bhupen was the first of his family to attend the University of Bombay, where he took a B.A. At his family’s insistence he went on to take a Bachelor of Commerce and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Khakhar worked as an accountant for many years partnering with Bharat Parikh & Associates in Baroda Gujarat India. pursuing his artistic inclinations in his free time. He became well versed in Hindi mythology and literature, and well informed about the visual arts.
In 1958 Khakhar met the young Gujarati poet and painter Gulammohammed Sheikh, who encouraged Khakhar’s latent interest in art and encouraged him to come to the newly founded Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda.
, Berlin
, Amsterdam
and Tokyo
.
The artist’s work celebrated the day to day struggles of India’s common man. Khakhar’s early paintings depicted average people, such as the barber, the watch repairman, and even an assistant accountant with whom he worked. The painter took special care to reproduce the environments of small Indian shops in these paintings, and revealed a talent for seeing the intriguing within the mundane. His work has been compared to that of David Hockney
. Though he was influenced by the British Pop movement, Khakhar understood that western versions of Pop Art
would not have the same resonance in India.
Khakhar’s often openly homosexual themes attracted special notice. Homosexuality was something that at the time was rarely addressed in India. The artist explored his own homosexuality in extremely personal ways, touching upon both its cultural implications and its amorous and erotic manifestations. Khakhar painted homosexual love, life, and encounters from a distinctively Indian perspective.
In the 1990s Khakhar began experimenting more with watercolours and grew increasingly confident in both expression and technique. He found himself portrayed as “the accountant” in Salman Rushdie’s novel The Moor’s Last Sigh. Khakhar returned the favor by later making a portrait of the author that he called The Moor, and which is now housed within the National Portrait Gallery, London.
http://www.princeclausfund.org/en/what_we_do/awards/2000khakhar.shtml at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam
. Among other honors, he won the Asian Council's Starr Foundation Fellowship, 1986, and the prestigious Padma Shri
(Indian Government's award for execellence) in 1984. His works can be found in the collections of the British Museum
, The Tate Gallery
, London, The Museum of Modern Art
, New York, among others.
Works
Khakhar was a self-trained artist, and started his career as a painter relatively late in his life. His works were figurativeFigurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
in nature, concerned with the human body and its identity. A self-professed homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
http://www.nyu.edu/greyart/exhibits/asia/g6.htm, the problem of gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
definitions and gender identity were major themes of his work. His paintings often contained learned references to Indian mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and mythological themes.
Early life
Bhupen Khakhar was born in Bombay and spent his boyhood in the area called Khetwadi with his parents and three siblings. He was the youngest of four children, and his father, Parmanand, ran a small cloth shop. Parmanand drank heavily and died when Bhupen was only four years old. His mother Mahalaxmi was a schoolteacher, and she soon invested all of her hopes in her youngest child.The Khakhars were originally artisans who came from the Portuguese colony of Daman. At home they spoke Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, but not much English. Bhupen was the first of his family to attend the University of Bombay, where he took a B.A. At his family’s insistence he went on to take a Bachelor of Commerce and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Khakhar worked as an accountant for many years partnering with Bharat Parikh & Associates in Baroda Gujarat India. pursuing his artistic inclinations in his free time. He became well versed in Hindi mythology and literature, and well informed about the visual arts.
In 1958 Khakhar met the young Gujarati poet and painter Gulammohammed Sheikh, who encouraged Khakhar’s latent interest in art and encouraged him to come to the newly founded Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda.
Career
Khakhar’s oil paintings were often narrative and autobiographical. He began to mount solo exhibitions as early as 1965. Though the artist had been largely self-taught, his work soon garnered attention and critical praise. By the 1980s Khakhar was enjoying solo shows in places as far away as LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
The artist’s work celebrated the day to day struggles of India’s common man. Khakhar’s early paintings depicted average people, such as the barber, the watch repairman, and even an assistant accountant with whom he worked. The painter took special care to reproduce the environments of small Indian shops in these paintings, and revealed a talent for seeing the intriguing within the mundane. His work has been compared to that of David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
. Though he was influenced by the British Pop movement, Khakhar understood that western versions of Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
would not have the same resonance in India.
Khakhar’s often openly homosexual themes attracted special notice. Homosexuality was something that at the time was rarely addressed in India. The artist explored his own homosexuality in extremely personal ways, touching upon both its cultural implications and its amorous and erotic manifestations. Khakhar painted homosexual love, life, and encounters from a distinctively Indian perspective.
In the 1990s Khakhar began experimenting more with watercolours and grew increasingly confident in both expression and technique. He found himself portrayed as “the accountant” in Salman Rushdie’s novel The Moor’s Last Sigh. Khakhar returned the favor by later making a portrait of the author that he called The Moor, and which is now housed within the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Awards & honors
In the year 2000, Khakhar was honored with the Prince Claus AwardPrince Claus Awards
The Prince Claus Fund was inaugurated in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of The Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs....
http://www.princeclausfund.org/en/what_we_do/awards/2000khakhar.shtml at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam
Royal Palace (Amsterdam)
The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which is at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. The palace was built as city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the seventeenth century. The building became the royal palace of king Louis Napoleon and later...
. Among other honors, he won the Asian Council's Starr Foundation Fellowship, 1986, and the prestigious Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
(Indian Government's award for execellence) in 1984. His works can be found in the collections of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, The Tate Gallery
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, London, The Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York, among others.
Books on Khakhar
- Bhupen Khakhar, Timothy Hyman, Chemould Publications and Mapin PublishingMapin PublishingMapin Publishing is an Indian art book publishing company started in 1984 by Bipin Shah and Mallika Sarabhai. It publishes illustrated books on Indian art, culture and literature and is based in Ahmedabad.....
, 1998, ISBN 81-85822-55-7 - Bhupen Khakhar , A Retrospective, Timothy Hyman, The National Gallery of Modern Art and the Fine Art Resource, 2003
- A Man Labelled Bhupen Khakhar, Branded as Painter by Mahendra Desai (Identity People Publishing)http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006ERT7W/