VN Jyothi Basu believes artists should focus on producing and not exhibiting

Resurrection series, 1999, oil on paper

Veteran artist VN Jyothi Basu has emerged from a hiatus of a decade. Works of the legendary artist, who was a member of the Radical Movement that aimed to modernise art practices and techniques in India, are being exhibited at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke in the city.

Basu, who now lives and works in Kerala, told us over a telephonic interview that he may have taken a break, but he had never stopped creating art. He says, "My process is like that, that's the way I move. I may not have had an exhibition in a decade, but I have always been producing art. In that, there is time for silence, for meditation, going deeper into other areas, such as music for instance." And even football. He followed the FIFA 2018 World Cup from start to finish but, he's "not behind countries, but a fan of my favourite players". Messi is one name he parts with.

He also gets talking about music as a pursuit. One realises there's room for many arts in Basu's expansive mind. "Music is an important area for me. I sing, I play the flute. I dance also," he chuckles. "Sometimes I make my own music; they are connected to lines I listen to or the tunes I have heard. I do it for my own enjoyment, not for an audience. I listen to all kinds of music - Beethoven, Mozart, Kumar Ghandharva, and reggae too. I like Bob Marley."

Azaludin, 1996, charcoal on paper

Basu, who subscribes to the Marxist ideology much like his namesake, the late Communist leader Jyoti Basu, has an interesting take on his ideology. "I live in a world with my view and that world is very fresh." And this, Basu says, is connected to Ranjit Hoskote's view about his works. In Hoskote's words, Basu's work is "developed around the moment of the about-to". "In his world, in the blink of an eye, tree-trunks grow, rockets speed towards their targets, cities are built, planes are about to land, figures are about to take off into the sky, snakes are about to shrug off their skin, coded signals wink on, about to spell a sentence," Hoskote writes. We bring this up and Basu says, "I accept what he [Hoskote] says. And here's why: I feel the existing system is backward, they have a long way before they clear the smoke from their eyes. For them, my way is futuristic, for me, my way is the present."

With a journey spanning nearly four decades, Basu is one of those rare artists whose style is hard to pin. His works from the 1980s look nothing like those in the 90s or the others throughout the 2000s. We ask him about the charcoal sketch portraits that he made in the 80s and 90s. "After doing my post-graduation from Baroda, a confusing time began for me. I stopped painting, because I stopped enjoying it. But I would always keep a sketchbook with me. These sketches are of friends; I made friends wherever I went." These subjects share one thing in common - they are all reading a book. "They're all intellectuals. I was also an intellectual, before I became intelligent," he laughs. What's the difference, we ask. "Intellectuals are about acquired knowledge; there are intellectuals everywhere. Intelligent people are hard to find. That is what is inside you. A child can be intelligent."

Over the decades, Basu has taken many paths, including working as set designer for television channels. "I kept changing as a person, so my art kept changing too. In my student days, my works had influences of artists I admired. That was followed by a time of confusion - too many thoughts mixed up inside me. Then came my Resurrection series. I called it that because it was not part of a continuum, it was a fresh start, full of confidence, free from outside influences. This is a beautiful life, the one I am living now. I have never wanted my art to be 'this' or 'that'. Sometimes it was just led by the materials I could find." Now he has reached a stage where he doesn't need to subscribe to a philosophy, the artist tells us. "My aim is to grow as a person, I am not keen on exhibitions. But, many more works will come. Art is now not a separate pursuit. It is a part of me. I am the art and I am the artist."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates