The exhibition Himmat Shah | Ninety and After: Excursions of a Free Imagination, showcases a selection of Himmat Shah's sculptures and earlier drawings along with recent drawings created between the years 2020-2021. In addition, it also features Himmat Shah's significant works from the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art collection, including sculptures, and archival content curated by the Asia Art Archive in India for the Anant Foundation for the Arts. This archival segment consists of photographs, exhibition posters, and documents that trace the rich history of Himmat Shah's artistic practice.
Conceptualised with the guidance of Roobina Karode, (Director and Chief Curator of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art) as Special Advisor to Himmat's practice, the exhibition brings to life the artist's inexhaustible creative spirit. In the exhibition note, Roobina Karode reflects,
"There are drawings which have anchor points in the referential world, but depart
from there as Himmat's creative imagination brings a freshness to his characters in
his portraits, animals, and still-life, alert to imperfect details and fleeting distractions
from the routine to a new transformed image.
What Himmat shares with us, the viewers, is the sheer power of a line or a
brushstroke and its potential to elevate the mundane into a magical moment;
immortalising a creative human act. At 92, with his depleting energy for sculpture
making that demands physical strength and vigour, Himmat, in his solitude, enjoys
dialogue with himself through the act of drawing. And the beauty of life continues to make meaning."
CREDITS
Exhibition Conceptualised by Mamta Singhania
Special thanks to the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) for artworks from their collection.
'Himmat Shah: Art as Experience' Video courtesy of Neha Karode
Exhibition:
Guest Advisor: Roobina Karode
Direction: Darpana Capoor
Exhibition Design: Prima Kurien
Exhibition and Programming Team: Aditi Chaudhary and Rachel Issac
Imaging and Design Team: Ankush Tiwari and Bellona Yumnam
Facsimiles: Dhruv Chand, Print Media
Photography: Harry
Lighting Partner: Aditya Singh, Decon Lighting Pvt. Ltd.
Logistics: Shripal Kumar and Brij Mohan
Production Team: Sanjay, Guddu, Tarun, Anand, Harvinder, Jitender, Vijay, Sachin, Satbir, Ravi, Imraan, Deepak
Publications and Creative Communications:
Texts by Roobina Karode, Adip Dutta, and Sneha Ragavan
Hindi Translation: Abdur Rehman Khan
Design: Reha Sodhi
Editing: Kadamboor Neeraj
Printed and Produced at Archana Advertising Pvt. Ltd.
Himmat Shah Archive curated by Asia Art Archive in India (AAA-I) for Anant Foundation for the Arts
Asia Art Archive in India Team: Pallavi Arora, Samira Bose, Noopur Desai, Sunil Kumar Mahawar, Sneha Ragavan