Excerpt from Asia Society website

Asia Society presents a landmark exhibition of works by members of the Progressive Artists' Group, which formed in the aftermath of India's declaration of independence in 1947. The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India examines the founding ideology of the Progressives and explores the ways in which artists from different social, cultural, and religious backgrounds found common cause at a time of massive political and social upheaval. Works in the exhibition — spectacular paintings from the 1940s to 1990s — underscore how these artists gave visual form to the idea of India as a secular, heterogenous, international, and united.

The exhibition comprises important works from the Group's core founders—K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre, H. A. Gade, M. F. Husain, S. H. Raza, and F. N. Souza — as well as later members and those closely affiliated with the movement: V. S. Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, and Mohan Samant.

The exhibition is organized by guest curator Dr. Zehra Jumabhoy, Associate Lecturer, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and Boon Hui Tan, Director of Asia Society Museum. An illustrated catalogue featuring essays by leading scholars of Indian art and modern history will accompany the exhibition.

Exhibit info