bhupen among friends

A tribute to the life of Bhupen Khakhar by friends:
Amit Ambalal, Jogen Chowdhury, Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Nalini Malani, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Manu Parekh, Madhvi Parekh, Gieve Patel, Sudhir Patwardhan, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Nilima Sheikh, K. G. Subramanyan, Vivan Sundaram

At The Museum Gallery
(Museum Gallery, Rampart Row, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400023)
&
An exhibition of Bhupen Khakhar's Drawings & Sketchbooks
At Gallery Chemould
From 29 Aug - 5 Sept, 2005

A Performance by Manoj Shah of Naushil Mehta's THE MESSENGER at 7.15pm
(Duration 10 Minutes) on Monday 29 August 2005

Selected works from both exhibitions will continue at Gallery Chemould, 7 - 30 September, 2005

This exhibition, Bhupen Among Friends has been put together to remember the artist Bhupen Khakhar through the associations of his many artist friends who have specially created works for this occasion. It seemed an appropriate appendage as we continue to commemorate this rare human being through the years to come.

One of the constants in Bhupen Khakhar's life was the companionship of his many friends. Bhupen had the rare ability of gathering friends and nuturing these friendships turning them into mutually interdependent relationships. With the passing of Bhupen, his many comrades lost a vital element in each of their lives.

Bhupen first participated in the inaugural show of Gallery Chemould in 1963, which led to a long association with the gallery of close to 40 years. It seemed therefore appropriate that we at Gallery Chemould hold this exhibition in memory of Khakhar.

The participating artists range from friends who had at some point or another worked very closely with Bhupen, forming what one would call an inner circle of friends. These artist friends were not necessarily from Baroda, where Khakhar lived, but from different parts of India.

A catalogue documenting the works of the participating friends/artists along with their memories of Khakhar will be published on occasion of this exhibition.

At Gallery Chemould: drawings by Bhupen Khakhar, which he gifted at various points of his life to his friends, will be exhibited. The collected drawings are not necessarily those gifted to artist friends alone, but also to his wider circle which included theatre personalities, poets, philosophers, and writers…various fields in the arts which keenly interested Khakhar and which he was a keen participant of.

Intimate viewings from sketchbooks will also form part of this exhibition.
A film on the artist by filmmaker Ein Lal will also be on view.