Art lovers are in for a treat.  For the first time ever, a special collection of 37 artworks by Hemen Mazumdar (1894-1948) is being exhibited publicly.  Held at Singapore Management University’s (SMU) de Suanto Gallery, the exhibition entitled Hemen Mazumdar: The Last Romantic was officially opened on 22 January by Guest-of-Honour, Ms Chang Hwee Nee, Chief Executive Officer of the National Heritage Board of Singapore.

The exhibition marks the 125th birth anniversary of Hemen Mazumdar, a well-regarded and towering figure of Indian modern art.  Coming from a relatively wealthy landowning family, Mazumdar had dropped out of school at the age of 16 and fled to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to pursue his passion for painting.  He devoted his entire artistic life to a battle against the vision of the Old Bengal School and the orientalists, in favour of a universal language of art.

[Photo: A collection of 37 art works by Hemen Mazumdar is being exhibited publicly for the first time at SMU's de Suanto Gallery.]

At a time when it was considered ‘unpatriotic’ to adopt western concepts of art, Mazumdar, who was self-taught with the help of art books he sourced from overseas, fought to represent Indian women through academic realism.  Women became the sole and profound source of inspiration.  He created a genre of Bengali beauties that captured the imagination of the contemporary Bengali public because of the novelty of their intimacy and their immediacy.  They were not impersonal figures learned from art schools but palpable, breathing and real women – most often, a recognisable Bengali housewife, caught in a familiar, pious posture prior to offering worship to a deity.

[Photo: Professor Lily Kong addressing the guests at the private opening event of the Exhibition.]

The exhibitions held regularly at the de Suanto Gallery, along with participation in the annual Singapore Night Festival, is part of the SMU’s overall efforts to integrate the University into the larger community.  “Although SMU is better known for our specialised management, social sciences and computing disciplines, arts and culture are very much embedded into SMU’s DNA, partly because of our location – in the arts and culture precinct of the civic district”, said SMU President, Professor Lily Kong, at the private opening event.

“What we strive to do is to expose our students to different cultures, languages, arts and so forth, even if it is not their major.  Through these educational programmes, we hope that our students will have that well-rounded education that we have designed for them,” she added.

[Photo: Professor Nirmalya Kumar, Dr Caterina Corni, Guest-of-honour Ms Chang Hwee Nee and Professor Lily Kong opening the exhibition on 22 January 2019.]

On the name of the exhibition – The Last Romantic, SMU Professor of Marketing Nirmalya Kumar, who is the driving force behind this exhibition (and owner of most of the art pieces in the collection), explained, “Because none of the artists before and after Hemen were able to capture the essence of femininity as he did... because through his women portraits we can feel and touch their emotions and feelings.”

Graced by about 60 distinguished guests, including Special Guest, Dr Della Suantio Lee, Chairperson of the DS Lee Foundation and wife of the late Dr Lee Seng Gee, the event also saw the official release of a commemorative book on Hemen Mazumdar, containing essays by leading Indian art academics, such as Partha Mitter, Sona Datta, Venka Purushothaman and Zehra Jumabhoy.

Curated by Dr Caterina Corni, Hemen Mazumdar: The Last Romantic runs between 23 January and 17 February 2019, Tuesdays to Sundays, 12pm to 8 pm (closed 5 and 6 February) at the De Suantio Gallery, SMU School of Social Sciences, 90 Stamford Road.  Admission is free.

[Featured photo (top of page): Professor Nirmalya Kumar, Guest-of-honour Ms Chang Hwee Nee, Professor Lily Kong and Dr Caterina Corni at the opening the exhibition on 22 January 2019.]

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