The Place We Call Home

Artistic renditions of Landour and Mussoorie
15th May 2023 – 15th July 2023
Curated by Surbhi Agarwal

The mountains have a unique call for each. Those in search of tranquility find solace in these mountains. Some seek the quaintness of small hill town. Others run away from the grilling big city life, and so forth. There are several who make it their permanent homes and in the end merge with these mountains. While some make it their temporary home for the summer months, seeking respite from the heat of the plains. Temporary or permanent, whichever it be, but Home it is to several artists. Some are professional artists while others enjoy the visual expression.
The exhibition, The Place we Call Home, is a group exhibition, in two sections. One, of those for whom Landour and Mussoorie were temporary home. These artists spent a few months or a few years here. Second, of those who were born and brought up here or those who chose to make it their permanent home.
The techniques and visual stories vary with each artist. Renowned Masters like Benode Behari Mukherjee who in 1952 moved to Mussoorie and painted several watercolour paintings depicting the beautiful mountain landscapes, but soon left for Patna. Nepali origin artist Ratan Roy who spent a few years in the 1970’s in Mussoorie and left several sketches, oil on canvas, watercolours etc. of Landour and Mussoorie town. Artist Amitabh Kumar who has created a global impact in the art world is born and brought up in Mussoorie. Likewise artist Vijay works on similar lines as his Grandfather who has left beautiful Garhwali murals on the walls of the town. Artist Vani Chandrashekhar spent each summer vacation in Mussoorie and has now permanently found a home in these hills which she captures intricately in her works. Shubhdarshini Singh who after several years of a successful career as a filmmaker experiments with several mediums in visual art. Mussoorie is renowned for its excellent Schools and hence the Tibetan artists from the Tibetan School who are trained in traditional as well as Academic realistic style leave works that speak of their home of school years.
With this exhibition we celebrate the 200 years of Mussoorie in the post Independence to the present times