Why Contemporary Indian Artists Work in Paint, Drawing, Bronze and Steel
Why do some contemporary Indian artists work across painting, drawing and sculpture? A look at Vikash Kalra's Artix 5.0 solo show and the rise of the…
Indian Modernism
Six artists.
One break
from the past.
The Progressive Artists’ Group tore up the rulebook of Indian art and painted what came next. This is its journal.
The Six
In the weeks after Independence, six painters in Bombay founded a group that refused both academic tradition and colonial nostalgia. Their break set the course of Indian modernism.
-
01
F. N. Souza
Raw, unsparing heads, nudes and cityscapes. The group's fiercest line.
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02
S. H. Raza
From Bombay landscapes to the bindu: colour as meditation.
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03
M. F. Husain
Horses, murals and colour at full volume.
-
04
K. H. Ara
Still lifes and the figure, set down in bold, flat colour.
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05
H. A. Gade
Landscape pushed patiently towards abstraction.
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06
S. K. Bakre
Painter and sculptor; the sixth voice of the original six.
From the Journal
All entriesPrimitivism in Art: Meaning, Examples and Indian Folk Roots
What is primitivism in art? Learn its meaning, famous examples from Gauguin to Jamini Roy, and how Vikash Kalra's simplified heads continue the idea today.
Indian Expressionist Painters: From F.N. Souza to Vikash Kalra
Expressionism in Indian art, explained: how F.N. Souza and the Progressives painted raw emotion, and how Vikash Kalra's painted heads carry the thread forward.
Progressive Artists’ Group of Bombay: Founders, History and Legacy
The Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay explained: six founders, the 1947 break from tradition, its legacy, and how artists like Vikash Kalra carry it on.
How to Start Collecting Indian Art: A Beginner’s Guide
A practical beginner's guide to collecting Indian art: where to buy, what to ask, and why artists like Vikash Kalra, who work in many mediums, are…
Vikash Kalra: One Voice, Five Mediums
One Voice, Five Mediums | Progressive Artists’ Group PROGRESSIVE ARTISTS’ GROUP VOICES FROM INDIA’S MODERN ART MOVEMENT ARTS & CULTURE AUGUST 2026 Vikash Kalra: One Voice,…
Vikash Kalra at Artix: A Solo Journey Across Paint, Bronze, and Steel
Vikash Kalra at Artix: A Solo Journey Across Paint, Bronze, and Steel
The Lonely Man- Primitivism and Simplicity
ents of folk art styles from different directions. It indeed looks like moving backward in time. You may call it whatever you want, call it modern,…
Analyzing Art with different artworks
Vikash Kalra and M.F. Hussain The painting on the right side is of M.F. Hussain. He painted the dream of Maya or Maya’s Dream as the…
Souza’s contemporary touch
Some of the great painters of the last century applied a very random and violent structural theme, where they have pronounced the undertaking feelings or the…