New Delhi, May 7 -- All through Indian art history, there have been instances of artists as mentors to generations of young practitioners, ranging from Ramkinkar Baij and Nandalal Bose to K.G. Subramanyan and Jyoti Bhatt. An ongoing exhibition, A Show of Hands, at Jehangir Nicolson Art Foundation (JNAF) in Mumbai examines the role of another beloved mentor, Gieve Patel, who died in 2023.

Largely self-taught and primarily a figurative painter, his work explored urban landscapes, people on the margins and the impact of human development on the ecology. He was a doctor-as well as an artist, poet and playwright, and found wide recognition in each of these professions.

A Show of Hands is curated by cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote, who found...