Last of the master: Final paintings of M F Husain
Nine paintings by the late M F Husain (1915-2011), described as his final major works before his passing, are on public display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 28 May–27 July 2014, writes SAJID RIZVI. It’s a poignant tour de force and a foretaste, interrupted, of what could or would have been a sumptuous feast of Maqbool Fida Husain’s creative expression had he not died in self-imposed exile in London....
African art collecting picks up
More African individuals and businesses are spending on or investing in art than a few years earlier, with the focus on contemporary art produced by artists on the African continent or in locations elsewhere , anecdotal evidence and art market trends suggest. There’s also an emerging trend toward restitution of historical cultural materials now outside Africa. At Bonhams’ sale 21 May 2014, entitled Africa Now and billed...
Victor Ehikhamenor’s Contemporary Magic
Chronicles of The Enchanted World is the title of a selling exhibition of a selection of paintings and sculptural installations by Victor Ehikhamenor, on display 21 May -19 July 2014 at London’s Gallery of African Art, writes SAJID RIZVI. Ehikhamenor’s reputation traverses disciplines. He’s an artist and photographer, raconteur and writer of short stories and, imminently (we hear), a novel.(1) There’s something...
Turner Prize: The 2014 shortlist
Tate Britain announced 7 May 2014 four artists, Duncan Campbell, Ciara Phillips, James Richards and Tris Vonna-Michell, have been shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2014. This year marks the 30th year of the Turner Prize, founded in 1984 to promote discussion of new developments in contemporary British art. The variety of media used by the four shortlisted artists this year reflects the diversity of work being made in the UK today,...
Madagascar, but not as your kids know it
Thanks to the ongoing Dreamworks franchise (there may be a fourth animated sequel soon), Madagascar is firmly and mirthfully on the world map, its mind-boggling menagerie embedded deep into the consciousness of children who’ll soon be teenagers, given the series’ debut in 2005, and surely will be taking their toddler siblings along a well-beaten path, writes SAJID RIZVI. But there’s another aspect to the art of...
London’s China Visual Festival
This year’s edition of the annual Chinese Visual Festival in London is in full swing, offering audiences opportunities to get up to speed with new talent and new trends in Chinese cinema, from the mainland to countries and regions contiguous in cultural or historical terms. Mainstream moviegoers, having been introduced to Chinese cinema through circuitous routes including Hollywood and Hong Kong, are only now beginning to catch...