Strokes Of Modernism

An ‘unfinished’ modernism

According to Sengupta, Raiba’s modernism remained “unfinished”, not because it lacked direction, but because it kept evolving with his experimentations. 

“Raiba’s practice, I would say, represents an ‘unfinished modernism’,” Sengupta remarks. “By that, I mean his work doesn’t fit into the fixed boundaries of what we generally define as modernism—where artists, their objectives, and their visions are neatly identifiable. In Raiba’s case, the fascination lies in this sense of ‘unfinishedness,’ not as a negative, but as a deliberate openness to experimentation — with materials, techniques, and ideas.”

Raiba’s art, Sengupta stresses, isn’t “frozen or fossilised” within a specific timeline. It has continued to evolve. His work also “opens up opportunities to look at other artists of his time, those whose works may not have been widely seen or studied, yet who made remarkable contributions”. According to Sengupta, through these artworks, we are encouraged to rethink and expand our understanding of what modernism in Indian art could truly encompass.