An artist and a Gandhian

From 1944-1962, potter-painter-photographer Devi Prasad taught art at the Gandhi ashram, Sevagram. Around 300 exhibits are being mounted in an exhibition today. They include a selection of his early Santiniketan paintings in 1938 and some of the last (from 2003-04,) made the last time he used his studio in Delhi. Prasad’s pottery also helped him bridge the tension between art and craft. “We call it ‘art’ when it has individualism, a signature style,” says curator Naman Ahuja. “A pot touches the lip. It has the mark of a ‘hand.’ Painting is readily considered ‘high art’. Devi Prasad made no such distinctions. His pottery was important to him.”