An Artist’s Quest: K.K. Hebbar- A Retrospective

Retrospective Exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi November 22 to October 22, 2011

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India is organising the retrospective exhibition of one of our seminal modern artists K.K Hebbar that coincides with his birth centenary. The exhibition titled ‘An Artist’s Quest: K.K. Hebbar- A Retrospective’ will be inaugurated on 22nd November, 2011 at 6:30 pm by Shri Jawhar Sircar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Shri Krishen Khanna, eminent artist will be the Guest of Honour. This is the eighth retrospective organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art as part of the endeavour to showcase the lifetime achievements of the artists who have contributed their life in the field of art.

Curated by Ms. Rekha Rao, well known artist and Ms. Rajani Prasanna, art historian and also the daughters of Shri K.K Hebbar,the exhibition brings a large body of Hebbar’s drawings and paintings from every period of his life and traces the development of his thoughts and art through the years. The exhibition is extensive and includes important works from different stages of his artistic development – from the early realistic and representational period to the great abstract paintings of the later stage.

K.K Hebbar (1911-1996) was born in Karnataka. He received his diploma in painting from the Sir J.J School of Art in 1938 and he taught art at the school for a short period between 1940-1945. He later went to Europe and studied art at the Academy Julian in Paris. During his stay in Europe he was exposed to some of the best works of western art. It is on his return from Europe that Hebbar’s body of works began to take a definitive shape.

Hebbar was prolific in his output and won many awards including the National Award by Lalit Kala Akademi in 1956, the Padma Shri Award in 1961 and Padma Bhushan in 1989. He served as the Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi (1980-84) and was the President of the Bombay Art Society in 1990. He died in 1996 at the age of 85.

Hebbar’s repertoire includes depictions of landscapes and metaphysical spaces; however, majority of his work pertains to human beings- their interactions and conflicts, their suffering and resilience. He was particularly drawn to the unprivileged and simple rhythms of rural life. Dance and music provided him with boundless inspiration, reflected in graceful sketches and paintings that picturised the abstract core of the subject.

The exhibition also underscores the integral link between music and art. Both forms of creative expression search for an innate rhythm that defines the essence of the expression. In Hebbar’s art the search for that quintessential rhythm sublimates the image from mere representation to a metaphysical experience.

During the exhibition there will also be screenings of documentary films titled ‘A Tryst with K.K Hebbar, Artist and Innovator’ and ‘K.K Hebbar- Palette to the Human Heat’ at the NGMA auditorium daily at 11.00 am and 3.00 pm.

The exhibition was first inaugurated at the NGMA, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Hebbar’s home state and in continuation of paying homage to this great artist this retrospective exhibition is being showcased here at NGMA, New Delhi and will thereafter be exhibited at NGMA, Mumbai during the month of January, 2012. ---PIB