K B Goel Critical Writings on Art 1957–1998

The mapping of the history and trajectory of Indian modern art is a project begun only in recent years and included in it is the recovery of lesser known names and moments from under the shadow of a few dominant ones. Within it, its conscience keeper—art criticism—has borne greater neglect and obscurity. One such voice, heard with considerable attention in its time, was that of the Delhi-based art critic K. B. Goel (1930–2018). Active from the late 1950s to the ’90s, his career broadly coincided with the modernist period. Active mainly as a reviewer, Goel also wrote lengthy reflective assessments, and his art writings stand out for an interpretative and often theory-based approach that is quite unique to Indian art criticism. Writing on some of the most definitive artists, movements, and styles of twentieth-century Indian art, he bears the distinction of successfully transitioning from his modernist training to theorize on the earliest postmodern developments in Indian art, such as installation art.