DUBAI.- On 20 March, Stellar International Art Foundation hosted a reception and talk in the Mashreq Private Banking Lounge of Art Dubai to introduce its first publication MF Husain: The Journey of a Legend, featuring over 250 works from within the Foundation’s collection.

Officially launched in August 2014 at St. Moritz Art Masters, this publication is the first since the artist’s passing and features not only a biography of the artist, but insights into important series and groups of works from within the collection as recounted by author and curator Kishore Singh. This includes most notably, the famed Maria Collection, which had previously not been seen in its entirety.

Mrs. Anita Choudhrie introduced the Foundation and its relationship with the artist after an introduction by Robert Sheffield representing the Chairman’s office of Christie, Manson & Woods Auctions. She recounted the four year journey of bringing the publication to fruition, highlighting the artist’s personal relationship to the Foundation as an advocate of his legacy in the final years of his life.

A video recounting personal statements by Husain and Kishore Singh’s diligent research closed the presentation and gave insights on the artist’s life and work previously unknown to the public.

Mrs. Choudhrie lastly introduced plans for a substantial 2016 exhibition of MF Husain large-scale paintings from within the Foundation to coincide with Art Dubai next year.

Stellar International Art Foundation:
Stellar International Art Foundation was established in 2008 and took as its basis the private collection of the Choudhrie family.

Currently the Foundation comprises over 600 works by an array of Indian and Western Contemporary artists ranging from painting to sculpture.

The collection began in the 1970s when the Choudhrie family began to purchase works of art. This led to intimate relationships with some of India’s most important contemporary artists including M F Husain, Paresh Maity and Jayasri Burman.

At the point the Foundation was created, the collection changed direction to focus on Western and American Contemporary Art, selecting important works by the most important contemporary artists working today.

The Foundation seeks to promote artists within the collection through international exhibition, loans, publications and events.