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Birthday Book at
740 Madison Avenue, was the scene for Mohan Samant's eleventh
one-man show, on Sunday, March 30. The setting was exceptionally
pleasant for an art exhibition, the atmosphere being unusually
uncommercial. The wine, delicate tea sandwiches and confectionery
served, created a delicious state of mind, in which to absorb
Samant's paintings.
Depite the socially
aggressive environment abounding at almost all openings, the
watercolors distracted on enough to forget such priceless gems
as, “My God! I didn't realize you were Indian.” “I'm
from Bloomingdale's. Do you think Bombay is art-minded?”
Bombay-born Samant
graduated from the Sir JJ School of Arts, studied under the
traditional Indian artist, Mr. Palsikar, and first came to the
United States in 1959, under a John D. Rockefeller grant.
His style has changed
considerably over the years and this exhibition presents a major
development. Most of his work is thought provoking and very
often, a definite statement. Soft grays and blues provide a
fine base in many of his paintings, with one sharp color striking
a contrast. There is a quality of fine etching, compounded with
a mass of contour lines.
Particularly remarkable
is the painting titled, “Nobody is Watching,” which
captures the precise balance of the urgency in clandestine lovemaking.
“In the Worship of the Stud” is so explosive, it is
bound to make any machismo-oriented individual uncomfortable.
“First Lesson in Water” communicates the eagerness
and anxiety involved in any first lesson.
Samant was surrounded
by people at Birthday Book, which is not surprising, for he
is an intriguing person. An excellent sarangi player (an art
he studied seriously at a whorehouse in Bombay), a playwright
and a collector of cockatoos which fly freely in his Manhattan
loft. Samant is a fountain of ideas. His exhibition is but one
aspect of his talent and one cannot help being happy it is being
recognized.
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