The 3rd edition of the Škoda Prize has announced its long-list of the hugely successful top 20 exhibition. The event to be held in February next year in New Delhi is an important platform for mid-career artists whose works stand the chance of getting considerable visibility. While the topper gets a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs, the two runners up get residency with the Swiss Art Council.
Among hundreds of entries, Kochi’s artist Zakkir Hussain has made it to the list. The criteria is that the candidate must have held a solo exhibition, and Hussain has already exhibited his works in several cities in the country.
The esteemed jury includes Anupam Poddar, co-founder of the pioneering Devi Art Foundation, and leading Indian artist Sheela Gowda. The jury will be chaired by eminent Indian art historian and critic Geeta Kapur. Launched in 2009 by Škoda Auto India and 70EMG, The ŠKODA Prize is supported by museums and cultural institutions of international repute.
Art critic Girish Shahane, who helms the art of the organisation, says that Hussain’s paintings were chosen for their ‘vivid colours’. “That has been a tradition with Kerala artists, they do use a lot of vivid colours,” he says.
Zakkir himself, however, feels that he is different from others in the sense he does not hold a romantic idea about colours. “I tend to use a lot of light blues, red and yellows. Now these are what advertisements use. They know the psychology of colours and what is most massy and eye-catching. I do the same,” he opines.
Zakkir likes to portray contemporary reality that is always in a state of flux.
While happy about the visibility that will come with the prize, Zakkir says that his greatest happiness is when he is able execute his ideas on his chosen medium. And commercially too, he has been in a happy space as his paintings swiftly get picked up at all his exhibitions.
Shahane says that this year’s edition has stood out for its depth, in terms of the sheer richness of the entrees it has received. “There has been a lot of innovation, with respect to the mediums used. Bamboo, aluminium, clay...have been some of them,” he says.