Bhupen Khakhar's Tate Modern survey explores Indian everyday life and queer identity

Tate Modern in London presented a comprehensive exhibition of Bhupen Khakhar's work from June 1 to November 6. The show featured his distinctive paintings focusing on Indian daily existence, particularly his early 1970s 'trade paintings' like Barber Shop (1973) and Janata Watch Repairing (1972). These works display flattened pictorial spaces and visual curiosities, such as distorted reflections and inconsistent timepieces. Khakhar emerged in the late 1960s as part of a Baroda-educated generation rejecting Parisian influences. His later works openly address his homosexuality, with You Can't Please All (1981) serving as a public statement referencing Aesop's fable. After developing cataracts, his style became looser in paintings like In the Coconut Groves (1983) and Party (1988), showing more social interaction. The exhibition included six rooms with intensely painted walls and vitrines containing Khakhar's writings, creating a somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere. While representing Tate Modern's international programming efforts, the display might have been more focused on his trade paintings and 1980s works. The exhibition later traveled to Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle in Berlin, remaining on view through March 5, 2017.