It is good see the state playing a positive role in promoting one of our most prominent contemporary artists, KG Subramanyan. Such recognition was long overdue. So the National Gallery of Modern Art, showing some 350 works in a retrospective and EA Alkazi?s Art Heritage Gallery in New Delhi exhibiting his latest works is a very good way of presenting an artist as he should be presented, with private galleries and the state collaborating to promote good art.

An acrylic on canvas by K G Subramanyam

Also, the NGMA has chosen K Siva Kumar, a curator of vision, to curate the show. On the other hand, the eye of EA Alkazi is known to be among the best in the gallery world.

So KG Subramanyan, artist, teacher and theoretician could not have had a better presentation. In fact, the presence of many of India?s luminaries of contemporary art at the opening confirms our view. KG Subramanyan, or ?Manida? as he is endearingly called by his friends and students, is an artist who represents the most powerful current in our modern art.

He has his roots in the two leading institutions that have given birth to Indian contemporary art, Santiniketan and Vadodara, and his work spans the common spirit that binds the two: a close relation to the Indian peasantry and its cultural expression, especially our varied and irreverent folk art; an intimate knowledge of the world?s contemporary expression, notably French modernism and Picasso; and a critical if sometimes brutal sense of the macabre that comes across sharply as very modern black humour – the cruel jibe of the underdog of today who is to become the master of tomorrow and mocks at the mannerisms of the masters of today who are on their way out. And that touch of greatness, of being able to laugh at himself as easily as he laughs at others, a characteristic he shares with some of our best contemporary artists.

The exhibition at the NGMA highlights his versatility in many fields, though I missed his ?Shatranj Ke Khilari? (chess players) series that is one of his most significant, in this show. He comes out as an artist strong in drawing; a colourist working out sequences and textures with finesse; mastering the powerful linearity of the tribal art of the Santhal scrolls and carrying it beyond its limited perspective of merely being the vehicle of a narrative both magical and historical; and conversing on equal terms with global contemporary masters like Picasso (whose influence is visible in a number of works) and Indian masters like Ram Kinkar Baij and FN Souza (whose influence is there especially in his still lives). But what is important is that he is transparent about these influences and is able to transcend them in a style of his own that spans drawing, painting, relief, sculpture and even weaving with equal facility.

The exhibition has had an impact on the art market. Recently at least two galleries planning exhibitions have accessed works of his. Drawings on paper range between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000; small works on glass and plexiglass fetch anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000; while oils and temperas on board and canvas are in the range of Rs 1 lakh and above. I expect that as a result of the impact of this exhibition, which I believe will be lasting, the prices of his works ought to rise at least by 25 per cent in the coming year.

So much for the big collector. Characteristically, the artist has illustrated a number of books. The modest buyer can pick these up. They are: When God First Made the Animals, He Made them All Alike (1969); Robby (1972), the King and the Little Man (1974), Our Friends the Ogres (1974), Cat?s Night and Day (1979), Frog Life is Fun Life (1979), How Hanu Because Hanuman (1995), Death in Eden (1995), In the Zoo (1995) and The Tale of the Talking Faces (1998). Enterprising galleries and collectors ought to pick them up for they will one day be collectors? items. Investors in art must rise above snobbery and be able to look ahead into the future. And Manida is one of the best artists to help them do it.