Colonial Contestations: The Paintings and Writings of Mahadev Vishwanath Dhurandhar

Speaker: Shukla Sawant
In collaboration with: Shlok Foundation and the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai

September 5, 2015 | 6.30 pm
Auditorium, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai

The painter Mahadev Vishwanath Dhurandhar (1867–1944) was associated with the J. J. School of Art Bombay for over forty years; first as a student and then as an art educator and colonial functionary. A prolific painter who expanded his activities to writing on his contemporaries and also penned his autobiography in Marathi, Dhurandhar was a part of an intricate web of interactions that shaped the early 20th century art-world in India. Viewed often as a member of the comprador bourgeoisie, his legacy is however much more complex. The presentation will throw light on the strategies adopted by him to breech structures of colonial authority, through subtle contestations and participation in parallel publics that developed on the fringes of officially mandated art societies and institutions.

Shukla Sawant is a visual artist and currently Professor of Visual Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her research interests include modernism and contemporary art with a focus on South Asia; art in colonial India; print cultures and photography; postcolonial criticism and historiography. She has ten solo shows to her credit and is a founder member of the Indian Printmaker’s Guild. She was a working group member of Khoj International Artists’ Association for seven years and taught at the Fine Arts department of Jamia Millia Islamia (1989-2001) before joining JNU in 2001.