L. Munuswamy’s abstract paintings are among the more straightforwardly hypnotic works on display as part of Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity , at Delhi’s DAG (on till July 6). Two works in particular—‘Elephants’ (1959) and ‘Fashion’ (1963)—show us Munuswamy’s singular grasp of line and space.
The latter has a very Willem de Kooning colour palette. The female figure that emerges in ‘Fashion’ amidst the visual density and the text running horizontally and vertically, has a curiously contrived quality to it, the fashion industry’s idealised vision of a consumer object. Even if we overlook the de Kooning influence, it’s clear that Munuswamy’s work represents modernity in full bloom in the Madras school.
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