On the momentous occasion of the 100 years of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) coinciding with the artist S. H. Raza’s centenary, Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF) presented Zamin: Homelands, showcases a thoughtfully curated collection of the artist’s work between the 1960’s and 70’s. 

The exhibition title Zamin is inspired by one of S.H. Raza’s seminal works of 1971. It explores the concepts of belonging, separation, borders and territories through the artist’s landscapes. A monumental piece, the work marks an important shift in the artist’s practice when Raza was making several trips to India from Paris, increasingly returning to and identifying with the forest landscapes from his childhood in Madhya Pradesh. In the 50s and 60s it was the French landscape and the Post Impressionists that had been Raza’s area of study and inspiration. This is one of the first of the series of works which recalls the land of the artist’s origins, integrating symbolism and abstraction with his idea of an Indian cultural heritage.

The artist’s journey starts from a small town in Madhya Pradesh, where his father served as a forest ranger, then moving to Nagpur School of Art, after which he studied at the J.J. School of Art in Bombay and later moving to France after receiving a scholarship, until he decided to return to his homeland in 2010. 

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