M.F. Husain-watching zooms to the status reserved for top most art celebrities

One, from Husain's Hostage series: Selling like hot cakesAt 66, the momentum of his fabled output seems to have slackened. As M.F. Husain, India's top painter, himself put it: "I've been on leave for the last two years." And yet within this period, Husain's prodigiousness on canvas and celluloid could match even the most prolific of his contemporaries.In the last two years, Husain has completed a film each on the Ajanta frescoes, the potters' village of Garhi and on fellow-painter K.K. Hebbar. He has photographed and displayed the prints widely, some of which have drawn wide acclaim at London's prestigious Tate Gallery. And, largely unfazed by persistent criticism of the sameness of his canvases, Husain has churned out two major series - a series of oils called the Hostages and a watercolour series on Mother Theresa.But least visible to the public has been Husain's energetic wooing at the international marketplace of art, his last-ditch pitch at posterity. In what is easily the costliest promotion campaigns for a contemporary Indian artist yet, within a year of its launch, one million Canadian dollars have been spent on selling abroad.Husain exhibitions have been blitzed across the world, travelling through New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Colorado, Washington, Basle in Switzerland and Paris. Tokyo is next on the list and the hectic itinerary is just unfolding with expensive colour reproductions being splashed in international art magazines and thousands of Husain prints being retailed through art dealers.Husain-watching is zooming to the status reserved for the top most art celebrities. And by all accounts business is booming. Recently a single Husain oil from his Hostage series sold for a handsome $60,000 (Rs 4.20 lakh).Husain (top) Danielle (above left) and Sidney Lallouz: Effective marketingInternational Rush:Orchestrating Husain's escalation into the blue-chip art is a Montreal concern - Galerie Jourdan - spearheaded by a determined Canadian couple, Sydney Lallouz, 31, and his wife Danielle, 26. Their credentials as art impressarios are impressive. Within three years of their setting up Galerie Jourdan, they've handled series by Pablo Picasso and Maurice Chagal. Husain has become their current obsession.On a visit to India last year to discover for themselves the contemporary art movement in India, the Lallouzes ran across Husain's series on Mother Theresa at Bombay. Said Sidney of this exposure. "We were so overwhelmed, that we dropped all the other Indian painters, crammed in as much as we could of Husain's work in three weeks and rushed back to Canada."Armed with the Harry N. Abrahams publication on Husain, written by Richard Bartholomew, they presented their case before their Gallerie's high-powered committee of art critics and historians, whose choice is final. As Sidney explained: "With their reputation in art circles, when they select an artist for promotion, they make an important statement." In Husain's case the choice was keen and unanimous.Danielle, Sidney's elegant and attractive wife said: "We felt that without doubt that here was a living master, an artist with the best standards, who has kept his roots and not commercialised his art." She went even further to state. "Along with the Mexican painter Tamayo, Husain has pushed beyond Picasso."Big Money: Bursting with conviction and confidence the Lallouzes have so far put in over a million dollars (Rs 80 lakh) of their own money on pushing Husain - a figure mind-boggling to the Indian art scene. A sampling of the details is equally impressive.On each of the 10 exhibitions held so far, the Lallouzes have spent $25,000 (Rs 1.75 lakh). About $35,000 (Rs 2.45 lakh) have been lavished on Husain catalogues. Nearly 3,000 copies of Husain's lithographs cost $ 75,000 (Rs 5.25 lakh) and a further $50,000 (Rs 3.50 lakh) paid for making posters of Husain's paintings.But, the Lallouzes aren't worrying about their investment. "The painting we sold for $60,000 is just the tip of the iceberg," Sidney said. The response so far has been superb. Lithographs and posters retailing for $300 (Rs 2,100) and $320 (Rs 2,240), respectively, are selling like hot cakes.Said Danielle: "I've sold Husain to people who have never heard his name. His canvases speak for themselves. They are opinionated, concerned and humanistic. That's why we're so sure of Husain." And according to the Lallouzes calculations, they project to draw over $25 million (Rs 17.5 crore) with Husain. However, the couple quickly qualified their financial projections by saying that it was secondary. "For Danielle and me the major objective is to put Husain where he should be - in the hall of greats. I would like to go down in history as Husain's impressario. That's our artistic commitment, that's our labour of love."Unique: For Husain himself, the promoters and their offer came as a windfall. "It's sheer luck," said Husain, "Now-a-days for an artist to have a sustaining power, he needs a promoter. Here, gallery owners are like shopkeepers, they just provide the space, that's all. Even abroad Raza, Souza and I have been known for decades, but without solid promotion, you just cannot make a dent."Implicit in Husain's craving for the benefit of modern marketing techniques is an artist's anxiety of being washed adrift in the profuse flotsam and jetsam of contemporary art without sustained promotion. Said Husain: "It's not so much the buying and selling that matters so much. It's just that I want to carve a permanent image for myself on the international art scene."An artist's thirst for immortality is endemic. Only future generations will tell whether Husain's tense, staccato figures, his vivid, colourful and heavily symbolic canvases will endure. But for the moment, Husain and his promoters are laughing all the way to the bank.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 22, 2014 14:13 IST--- ENDS ---

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M.F. Husain-watching zooms to the status reserved for top most art celebrities

M.F. Husain exhibitions have been blitzed across the world, travelling through New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Colorado, Washington, Basle in Switzerland and Paris.

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