From the moment India achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, through the global economic boom of the 1990s, a revolutionary art movement emerged. The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) presents
Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence, an exhibition spanning three generations of Indian painters who changed the way we think of Indian art. Over 70 works by 23 leading artists were selected from PEM's Chester & Davida Herwitz Collection -- internationally recognized as one of the largest and most important assemblages of modern Indian art outside of India. They are presented alongside conversational groupings of key works by well-known artists from around the world including Paul Cezanne, Marc Chagall, and Andrew Wyeth, lending context to the development of this movement in the wider world of modern painting. Midnight to the Boom will be on view at PEM from February 2 through April 21, 2013.
During this time of enormous political and cultural upheaval, artists working in post-independence India were able to express their individual artistic visions, transcending the limits of the region's traditional art forms. From the 1940s to the 1990s, they responded to art from around the world and across time, developing original themes, techniques, and means of expression. The movement's proponents -- among the most influential, M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, and Nasreen Mohammedi -- faced a particular challenge: how to convey their individual concerns and remain true to their roots, while entering into a wider discourse based on modernismâs universal principles of experimentation.
"This exhibition reflects the reality of an interconnected global art world, and the way non-Western artists have participated in art movements at home, and as part of the overall unfolding of the world's art history," said Susan Bean, Guest Curator. "With Midnight to the Boom we offer a new framework for appreciating and interpreting modern Indian art."
HOURS: Open TuesdayâSunday and holiday Mondays, 10 am-5 pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
ADMISSION: Adults $15; seniors $13; students $11. Additional admission to Yin Yu Tang: $5. Members, youth 16 and under and residents of Salem enjoy free general admission and free admission to Yin Yu Tang.
INFO: Call 866â745â1876 or visit our Web site at www.pem.org.