If one writes history of Indian contemporary art, one third of its chapters will be filled with the contributions of three malayalee artists Riyas Komu, Bose Krishnamachaari on one side and Johny M L on the other side. These three artists are not only known for their contribution but also are famously known for their rivalry on personal, professional and ideological ground. Anyone associated with Indian art needs no introduction to any of these three important individuals.
Back in nineties and early two thousands, Bose with his flamboyancy, sheer hard work and brilliant networking capabilities emerged as a permanent fixture and influential figure in Bombay art scene and Page three business circuit. A generation of present day Indian contemporary artists also had emerged during that period and Riyas Komu, a junior of Bose in College was one among them. They both benefited a lot from the Art boom that took place between 2005- 2008. They made a strong presence in Indian art market with their paintings and friendships. They both had friendships across the spectrum - from businessmen to journalists to advance their interest in art. Unlike Riyas, who remained as painter and installation artist during that period, Bose also emerged as a strong curator with business acumen by organising many shows including 50 malayalee artists, female artists etc and also starting a gallery - Gallery BMB in Bombay. During those period, these two artists were everywhere in every major shows and awards across this country. As the art boom took a beating in 2008 and with the persuasion of the then cultural minister MA Baby, they decided to come back to Kochi to turn Kochi an international art centre by setting up a Biennale. Unfortunately in the beginning with their uncharitable remarks about celebrated Kerala artists/ practices and non inclusion of most of them in any of biennale activities, they turned a huge section of Kerala artists against them and their Biennale. Bose and Riyas were seen as outsider and facilitators of Bombay art market and 'market art' considered to be an anathema for idealist Kerala artists. A big resistance was unleashed in Kerala by artists and others forcing the artists of Kerala to take sides. There were some other reasons also said to be there for this resistance. One among them was the resistance to "Muziris historical project" that supported Kochi biennale, a project resisted by the custodians of traditional cultural narratives who opposed the project that wanted to celebrate the non hindu historical heritage of Kerala including Christian and Muslim heritage of Kerala. Finding the brand building and tourism potential of Biennale that can benefit the Muziris project spear headed by Benny Kuryakose, his project had extended a substantial monetary support to Bose and Riyas in exchange of using Muziris in their biennale title, for their big biennale plans when they were in deep financial crisis .
Another resistance it seems to have came from "Anti Baby lobby' in left politics of Kerala. But the biggest of all of them came from M L Johny, a prolific writer, curator, Journalist, Art historian, editor who launched many art journals and magazines and a fellow Malayalee from Kerala. It is said that Johny and Bose & Riyas had some huge personal tussle between them. But his attack also was from an Ideological ground against the "Biennale's corporate/market nature of art practice". This had generated a huge support for his crusade from a large section of fellow art community who were already resisting "biennale plans" in Kochi on ideological ground. In that hard fought battle, both the sides had established their strong influence in Indian contemporary art. Biennale became a huge success, so were the stature of these three Malayalees. Johny ML, who in the past had been supporting many emerging artists with favourable essays on their relevance in Indian art. He also had been curating many shows of important modernist Indian contemporary artists with establishments like Lalithkala akademe and doing the study of the state of Indian art schools and coming out with repot on it.
The rivalry between these two art groups but fortunately became beneficial for the Indian art by the launch of UAF an artists led art fair, a first of its kind in India curated by Johny ML. Unfortunately, for Johny this exhibition did not go well as the businessman who owned the fair failed him and the whole idea of UAF with his failure to honour many promises UAF put forwarded or idealised. Mean while Kochi biennale by bringing all the big time market capitalising artists into their block either by locating their art works in biennale or making them as curators slowly emerged a force to reckon with the possibilities it offered to world of tourism business, international cultural participation and organising alternate space for intellectual, literary and cultural activities within its gambit. With the success in Biennale, Riyas slowly expanded his foot prints from Bombay to Delhi by collaborating with the Delhi club - a strange combination of MSU baroda, Mumbai and north Indian art scene - lead by Vivan Sundaram and Ranjit Hosekote, a post modernist literary theorist/journalist turned art curator/ writer to establish "serendipity art festival" in Goa.
This corporate funded experiment was interesting, considering both Vivan camp and Ranjith Hoskote/ Nancy adajania group till then had been advocating and facilitating a bridge between western art market and Indian art market with their post modernist vocabulary, universalised idioms and curation, suddenly turned around to set up a facility for Indian classical and modernist art and aesthetics in Goa as serendipity festival. Post first serendipity festival, Johny's critical piece on Vivan's block of art and artists had indeed made a big discussion point during that period.
During this period Riyas also had established a gallery "Uru" in mattancheri as an alternate space for socio-cultural activities and exhibitions. Meanwhile Johny had curated few influential shows in Kolkata and is now setting up Orissa's first triennial in collaboration with NGMA and Orissa government(?). Keeping his historical fight with Kochi biennale on corporate/business model on ideological ground, the model is yet to be known in public. Meanwhile Johny is perhaps the only one art facilitator today who could remain an important figure of influence in both at left ruled Kerala lalith kala akademe, BJP ruled Kendra lalithkala akademe and Triennial of third front BJD ruled Orissa.
It is a very interesting factor that these three malayalee artist's rivalry or difference of opinion on many grounds including personal and ideological, something they never tried to sweep under the carpet, had contributed immensely for indian art and artists. Unlike the unsavoury group fights in Baroda art camps that had created many rifts and cartels for the tragedy of many emerging artists, this combative and spirited rivalry among these three malayalee artists but along with unsavoury fights also had precipitated a positive impact to art community by their various art initiatives and opportunities created in the process. While Riyas and Bose started of with postmodernist universal idioms that now also facilitate a modernist inclusivity of art, aesthetics and language that are rooted in Bombay, Baroda and Delhi Art circuit, Johny spear heads a strong modernist language and pan Indian aesthetic order (with a limited Bengal art emphasis). In recent times, their strong likes and dislikes for each other and their practices, if not completely but to certain extend have been defining the Indian contemporary art and aesthetics. One may like or dislike, agree or disagree with this inference or insinuation, but one will never be able to write contemporary Indian art history without a major portion dedicated to them.
This note is only a bird's view without much substance, but a detailed essay is in making and will be made available in a while.
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