As a tribute to the Centenary of Mother Teresa, M F Husain and Kolkatta based artist Sunita Kumar will show 20 paintings each of the Mother in a show titled "20 -20 Paintings" at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London on June 30th, 2010. The exhibition will continue in Kolkata from Mid November for six weeks.
Husain and Kumar have produced an exhibition of sharp contrasts. Husain, who felt, “completely spent,” after a seven week stint at the Missionaries of Charity, has produced tough, bold images which depict poverty and death on large printed scrolls. Kumar, who is Mother Teresa’s biographer, gives her portraits a lighter more intimate touch. An image of a small bedroom where recycled oil tins were adapted into a postal sorting system; a fleeting glimpse of Mother Teresa at the back of a train carriage (she always put everyone else first); her great love for children; and the carefree moments of a Sister and helper playing happily together on a swing.
Optimism radiates from Kumar’s paintings, and through them she demonstrates above all, “my love for Mother…I wanted to portray her through my painting. I could not tell her what I wanted to say in words.” Mother Teresa encouraged her to paint, and asked her to capture on canvas Kalighat, the House for the Dying, whose inhabitants are portrayed in this exhibition in an atmosphere of peace.
M F Husain known as the Picasso of India was born in Pandharpur 1915, and self- taught as an artist. Husain also achieved success as a photographer. His photographs were exhibited at The Tate gallery in London. Then he ventured into making films and won the Golden Bear award at the International Berlin Film Festival in 1967. In 1971 he was invited, along with Picasso, to participate in the Sao Paolo Biennale. In recent years, he has become one of the most sought after artists at auction, with prices rising to $2 million for a painting.
