BySiddhi Jain
February 4, 2021 (IANSlife) Marking the beginning of the birth centenary celebrations of iconic Indian modernist master Sayed Haider Raza, the Raza Foundation is organising a series of events in February 2021 in New Delhi, Mandla and other cities.
Raza, who was born in 1922 in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla - a place that he carried with him during his decades in France, was awarded the civilian honour Padma Shri in 1981, the Padma Bhushan in 2007, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2013. A founder of the enormously influential Progressive Artists group, he combined western abstraction with Indian visual traditions and helped to create a uniquely Indian style of contemporary art. One of the Raza's signature motifs is that of the dot, or 'bindu'. He returned to India in 2010, and passed away on July 23, 2016.
An exhibition of original prints of Raza's art works and other artists from Madhya Pradesh in his birthplace (Mandla) is also on schedule, along with the annual 'Raza Utsav', a multi-arts festival and workshop in collaboration with Namami Art Foundation, Mandla.
"A new and revised edition of Dr Geeti Sen's seminal book 'Bindu: Space and Time in Raza's Vision' has been published by Mapin Publishing. A definitive biography by the renowned art critic Yashodhara Dalmia entitled 'Raza: The Journey of An Iconic Artist' is published by Harper Collins to be formally launched by the French Ambassador in the last week of February, " said the Foundation.
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Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in