My piece on FN Souza's Figurative Art in Art India, Jan 2019
The Female Nude: Picture of Self-Possession
........‘the return to tradition’ in post-independence period re-establishes forms and conventions colonialism had disrupted and that this restoration (or should be), the most significant event in modern Indian art both in itself and as the instrument of cultural decolonization. The aforementioned move is best exemplified by the rebirth of Female Nude in FN Souza's art. Drawing from global art practice beginning with prehistoric art, he carved her 'Bold & Beautiful', and this representation lies coded a social revolution for contemporary human society.
That Souza’s art contains various possibilities of redemption is yet to be understood. If society is to become free, the answer lies with liberated men and women, the ultimate egoists. Contrary to her jaded erotic image, in Souza’s work, this nude is not exposed and vulnerable, but assertive and powerful. She is emphatically nude, not naked. Beneath the compelling line of Souza’s female forms lies his artistic vision that needs to be fully comprehended.
