Kultura is an early lithographic print of one of Tyeb Mehta’s recurring motifs: the trussed bull. For Mehta, the image of this great animal tied up and taken to the slaughter was a symbol of the nation, unable to channel its immense energies. The work also reflects some of Mehta’s artistic influences, including the monumental caves of Elephanta, Picasso’s Guernica, Bacon’s triptychs, and Henry Moore’s sculptures.
An opportunity to see Mehta’s work in person should not be missed. Kultura is currently on show in the exhibition Bearing Weight (with the lightness of being) curated by leading Indian curator and historian Roobina Karode at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saket, Delhi. The retrospective runs until 30 June 2026.
Tyeb Mehta is one of India’s most celebrated modernist artists. The violence he witnessed during the 1947 partition had a profound impact on him, reflected for decades afterwards in the raw and often brutal imagery of his paintings. His compositions are highly expressive, conveying their emotional impact through minimalist forms, diagonal lines and flat planes of colour.
Mehta’s early experiences and education had an enduring emphasis on his art. His family owned and operated cinema houses, which inspired his lifelong interest and experimentation with film. He also became fascinated with the iconography of the goddesses Kali and Durga, which he encountered during visits to his maternal grandparents in Calcutta.
Mehta was formally trained at the JJ School of Art, graduating in 1952. In Bombay, he became associated with the Progressive Artists Group (PAG), who remained his close circle. He travelled broadly, including to the UK and then to the US on a Rockefeller Scholarship, as well as spending time in Santiniketan as an artist-in-residence.
Over his five-decade career and posthumously, Mehta has exhibited broadly in India and internationally, including at the Venice Biennale. His work is held in several important collections, such as at the Peabody Essex Museum, Kiran Nader Museum of Art, and National Gallery of Modern Art, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007.
