The Delhi Art Gallery has been focused on representing artists who through decades of their work, have enriched and expanded the terrain of modern and contemporary Indian art. We have tried to assess their relevance, not only as individual artists, but also in terms of the response to the context of the time and space in which their presence was most felt. Last year, we presented the art viewing community comprehensive monographic books on artists Rabin Mondal and Sunil Das, that in combination with large retrospective shows, surveyed the various phases in their long artistic journey. This time we have zoomed in on a particular phase in the life of Laxman Pai that needed to be recovered in order to examine unknown facts and lost narratives that reconstruct a period of historical significance. ‘Pai in Paris’ is an exhibition conceived to investigate the ten years (1951-61) that young and dynamic Pai spent in Paris and showcased his art in London, Munich, Hanover, Rosenthal and New York as well. The catalogue-book provides an interface with the body of work that Laxman Pai produced in his early phase (1944-66) that was quite diverse and experimental. The period is historically relevant, as many Indian artists of young independent India travelled and resided in Paris for both, international exposure and acclaim. Some interesting documentation of the vibrant times has come to us through pictures and cutting recovered from the artist’s personal albums. I thank Laxman Pai for being generous with the archival material and sharing some of his memories and personal anecdotes of a whole decade spent in Paris, with us.
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