By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : Famous Indian painter M.F. Husain was the guest of honour at the opening of an art exhibition in New York.
Husain attended the inauguration of a group show titled 'Images and Illusions' at the TamarindArt gallery in Manhattan Tuesday.
"I love Manhattan, it is energy city," he was overheard saying. He is currently living in London, shying away from going back to India, where some Hindu groups have filed cases against him for painting Bharatmata (Mother India) in the nude.
Explaining Husain's visitation, Kent Charugundla, the owner of TamarindArt, said: "He is visiting New York for a few days. Though he never ever goes to another artist's show, he made an exception this time because our relationship goes back to the time I bought Husain's 'Lightning', a mammoth 12-panel, 10 ft x 60 ft work for Rs.20 million."
The work, Husain's largest, went on show at TamarindArt when the artist inaugurated the gallery in 2003.
TamarindArt puts up exhibitions representing both established artists and younger talents.
'Images and Illusions' showcases works by five artists from the Indian subcontinent — Pappu Bardhan, Chandrima Bhattacharyya, Pratul Dash, Chhatrapati Dutta and Mahjabin Majumdar. The show will run till Aug 11.