New Delhi: A showcase of handwritten letters by artists and publishers is challenging the conventional assumption that the relationship between art critics and artists is transactional, strained and awkward. A sense of warmth and friendship filled the exhibition hall at India International Centre as grey-haired attendees read letters addressed to poet and art critic Keshav Malik. ‘The Written Canvas: Letters to Keshav Malik from Artists and Thinkers’ reflects the reverence, friendship, and collaboration between Malik and artists such as MF Husain, Nissim Ezekiel, and Jogen Chowdhury.
Organised by Art Konsult and inaugurated on 4 November by former Rajya Sabha member Karan Singh, it is on display till 9 November and celebrates Malik’s birth centenary. A Padma Shri awardee and critic for The Hindustan Times and Times of India , Keshav Malik cultivated a companionship with artists through his “perceptive and as always eloquent reviews”, wrote painter Jehangir Sabavala in one of the 300 displayed letters. “Personal letters have also been a source of social and cultural history, reflecting the concerns, ideas, and beliefs that shaped the events that happened at that particular time and place,” said Usha Malik, Keshav Malik’s wife, according to the exhibition catalogue.
“They are also a reflection of the values, the depth of understanding and biases of the individuals concerned. The exhibits here are a testimony to that.” A letter by painter NB Dikhole showed ho.
