Punch-O-Tantrm show, Waterscapes 2013 Monsoon Regatta and more..

NEWS

A Quest for Cultural Nostalgia

Artisans Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai presents a photo documentation of public art in the pink city of Jaipur. The documentation and project have been curated by art historian, Khushboo Bharti. The show is titled,’ A Quest for Cultural Nostalgia’.

Khushboo has been looking at the murals works , sculptures in private and public places, on roads over bridges, railway stations, entry gates of the old city and other open air display spaces.The show also has video works on display of excerpts of interviews with artists, artisans and officials involved in the making of the artworks.

The show is on view till the 30th June 2013. For any further details please write to artisanscentre@gmail.com

Reviving traditional art

(Bishnu Prasad Mishra with his art works)

The Sri Sankara Hall, Chennai hosts the Rajasthan Crafts Fair each year bringing together artists and artisans from all over the country to display their works. Most of these traditional artworks and art style are slowly fading away owing to lack of interest in their preservation especially where these are family run units handed down generations. In an attempt to revive and save some of these dying traditional Indian art practices, the art fairs and crafts fairs take place all over the country.

Patachitra paintings are indigenous to Orissa and some of the exquisite techniques and art works are being presented by artist Bishnu Prasad Mishra in the Rajasthan Crafts Fair. Bishnu derives inspirations from temple architecture and statues of god and goddesses from the Jagannath temple which form the basis of his fine art works.

Bishnu’s Patachitras, which are on display at the Rajasthan Crafts Fair, include Krishna and Rasleela themes as well as innovative Buddha and Ganesha images. Delicately conceived in soft colours, they have traditional borders such as ‘dahania maachi’ and ‘goolai.’ They captivate with their melange of mythology and limpid colours.

The show is on view till the 30th of June 2013.

Waterscapes - 2013 and the Monsoon Regatta

(A photograph on display at the show)

The Deloitte Monsoon Regatta’s annual art exhibition titled, ‘ Waterscapes - 2013’ aims at highlighting not just the arrival and celebration of monsoon int he country but also the social and environmental message of the depletingwater bodies in the country due to pollution and abuse.

This is the fourth edition of the Waterscapes exhibition and it brings to light the beauty of the lakes, rivers, ponds, waterfalls and the ocean.The show is organized by the Yatch Club of Hyderabad and the artists and photographers participating in the show are, Sudhir Shivaram, Kalyan Varma, Arati Rao, Ganesh H. Shankar, Sandesh Kadur, and paintings by Thota Tharrani, C.L.D. Gupta, N.S. Manohar, J.M.S. Mani, Malikarjuna and S. Jayaraj.

The show is on view till the 7th of July 2013 at the Muse Art Gallery, Hyderabad.

The Punch-o-Tantrm show

Gaganendra Pradarshashala, Kolkata, presents a group show of fine art photography works by five Kolkata based executives. The group is named ‘Chhobiwala’ and the five photographers are Atish Sen, Arijit Talukdar, Bijit Bose, Soumya Bandopadhyay and Debarshi Duttagupta. 

The show titled, ‘Punch-o-Tantrm’ exhibits photographs based on various subjects such as environments, Kolkata streets, rivers, and various interlinked stories which play out in the visuals, portraying moods and replete with emotions.
The show previews on 28th June and will be inaugurated by eminent artist Sanatan Dinda at 4:00pm.

The show is on view from the 28th of June to the 30th of June 2013. For any further details please call : +91 98310 59450

FEATURE

Young artists find new ways to reach out to art lovers

Being an artist is hard if you live in Mumbai. Just take a walk on the footpath outside Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, and you’ll find street artists who can beat so-called contemporary masters at one-millionth the price. But some young artists continue to follow their passions in the face of stiff competition.

Aditi Rajpure is a 26-year-old dentist who makes time to put her emotions on canvas, in spite of her busy schedule. “I’ve been painting since childhood, but had to put it on hold when I started college,” she says. “Now, when I'm not extracting molars, I'm painting.”

Rajpure paints mostly for friends and acquaintances and her medium is acrylic on canvas or water colours on paper. She posts her work on Twitter (@misspinkpout) and can be reached there.

“I want to make this an alternate career by taking up freelance assignments, especially making bespoke painting for homes and offices” she says.

Another young city artist, Simran Kaur Walia, is a little more active with her work. “I took a commercial arts course at Sophia College and then started my own website, reflectionsonthewall.com, to retail my art,” says Walia. The 25-year-old was encouraged by friends and relatives to start her own venture. “My aim is to make art affordable,” she says.

Walia has held exhibitions in city five-star hotels before, with another one set to open in Boston, USA, in two months. You can buy her art online or get in touch with her on her Twitter (@ROTWarts) or Facebook page.

Art is not limited to just paintings, and Roanna Fernandes, 26, is exploring other media. She specialises in making beach jewellery and crafts. “I had my first sale at Candies in Bandra in 2009 and have been devoting whatever free time I have to my label Rosecraft,” says Fernandes. From customised wrapping paper and stationery to neckpieces and coasters, Fernandes makes it all. 

“I take up orders through Twitter (@JupiterSkye) and Facebook page and my my blog,” she says.

(Report by Sumedha Deo, courtesy Hindustan Times)

Khoj -Tate's collaboration, Ram Kumar Film, Ecology of Art and more

NEWS

Film on artist Ram Kumar

(Artist Ram Kumar)

Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh, will be screening a film based on the life of eminent artist and writer Ram Kumar, titled, ‘Nostalgic Longing’. The film has been directed by leading film director, Laurent Bregeat.

Ram Kumar’s art, portrays a kind of balanced polarity between joy and brooding resilience. a balance of contrasting elements like the spiritual and the materialistic and the participation of human hand in all these sensual instances.

Moving gradually from contrasting elements, like freedom and binding, Ram Kumar captures this duality and coexistence in life with precision and perfection over the years in his art.

The film is to be screened on the 30th of June 2013 at 11 30 am at the Auditorium, Government Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh.

The Art of Ecology

(My Plastic Halo - Show)

1Shanthi Road, Bangalore, presents a show titled, ‘My Plastic Halo’ which is a collection of installations and conceptual art works by artist Arasan Anandam on the theme of ecology that both make a commentary and positively respond to the current state of the environment owing to the impact of human activities in the post industrial world.The works employ digital fabrication for the conception of forms; using locally sourced environmentally friendly materials.The artist has a degree in Architecture with a background in Theory and History of Visual Arts.

Along with the display, there will be a talk by the two resident artists at 1Shanthi Road, along with their book release from 5 30pm to 6 30pm.

Christine Rogers is an artist from Nashville, Tennessee. She received her MFA in Studio Art from Tufts University in 2008. This is her first show in India.

Hanna Hollmann is an artist from Vienna, Austria. She focuses on drawing, printmaking and  works as a costume designer in theater. She has been working on projects, exhibitions, theater performances and animation films in different parts of Europe. 

The show previews on 28th of June 2013 at 6: 30 pm and is on view till the 3rd of July 2013.

The Confluence - 3 show

(Work by Jayanta Khan)

Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata presents a group show titled, ‘Confluence - 3’.

The show revolves around artistic expressions from different parts of the country, by artists , photographers and sculptors. On display in the show are an exquisite collection of artworks by leading artists in the country today along with upcoming artists.

The show sees participation from eminent artists like Prasanta Acharjee, Jayanta Khan and many from various other states in the country. The works on display are paintings in figurative style, oils on canvas, along with photography art. Also on show are sculptures in various mediums and installation works.

The show is on view till the 30th of June 2013.

Mughal Art Revisited

(Art work by Vijit Pillai)

The Raddison Blu, Hyderabad presents, a unique one of it s kind exhibition of art works by artist Vijit Pillai. The artist aims to bring back the essence of mughal art in a contemporary way in his new collection of art works, titled  ‘Mughal Garden’.

Moving away from the stereotype, Vijit aims to capture the essence and elegance of traditional Mughal art, but rendered in a more contemporary style. Taking inspiration from the miniature paintings and architecture of the mughal art, the artists juxtaposes photography and art to create a blend of two different mediums, paintings and photography. 

The result is unique and exquisite art works steeped in innovative techniques.

The show is on view till the 30th of July 2013.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)


FEATURE

Khoj-Tate in landmark collaboration

(Word. Sound. Power Project)

Khoj, the New Delhi-based experimental art studio, is going places. Come July 12 and the Tate Modern in London, Britain’s and perhaps the world’s foremost art gallery, will open a group exhibition that has been conceptualised as a “curatorial collaboration” with Khoj. ‘Word. Sound. Power.’ was put together jointly by Khoj’s resident curator Asmita Rangari, aka Andi, and the Tate’s Loren Hansi Momudu. The exhibition will be on show at the Project Space gallery until November, and then travel to Delhi in January 2014. 

The exhibition is a landmark in many ways. For, while the “east is east and west is west” mindset is largely a thing of the past, creative collaborations, at least at the level of organisations and not individual artists, are few and far between. More so since Khoj is not a government body like the NGMA, but a private art organisation that is non-commercial and led by artists .    

‘Word. Sound. Power.’ will feature eight artists, some emerging and some established, and four of them from India. The latter include Mithu Sen, winner of the Skoda Prize for Contemporary Indian Art in 2010; Amar Kanwar, documentary filmmaker and video artist whose works are at the Guggenheim; and Pallavi Paul, a young JNU student who has contributed two videos.

“The idea was to focus on the poetics and politics of language, and its relations with power,” explains Andi whose interactions with her curator-partner was limited to two weeks in September last when she visited London, another two weeks when Momudu was in Delhi, and “endless Skype chats”. Much of the interacting with artists and commissioning, too, was done over video chat. 

In keeping with the avant garde vein of the show, most works will be videos and performances. For instance, Mithu Sen will be reading out a new work called ‘I am a Poet 2013’ on the first five days of the show. 

In a similar vein is Jordanian artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s ‘The Whole Truth’, which deals with the politics of voice and speech, specifically the software used to identify and deny asylum to Somalian refugees in some European countries. 

Clearly, politically most of the art-works at the Tate will be edgy, with Amar Kanwar showing ‘A Night of Prophecy 2002’ — recordings of songs of activists from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, and Kashmir. In a similar vein is Saccha, a 2001 film featuring Padmashri awardee Dalit poet Narayan Surve.

(Report by Gargi Gupta, courtesy DNA)

Bireswar Sen, In-House Show and more

FEATURE

Natural Calamities and the Art of Future: Thoughts on Bireswar Sen 

When art speaks of harmonious life with nature we ignore. We prefer holiday packages and rejuvenation centers to the lessons of art. We like to read hotel menus than poetry. But then one day when nature strikes we accuse everyone for causing it except us. Art of Bireswar Sen was futuristic and it spoke of all what we lament today when calamities strike, but in a subtle and poetic way. JohnyML reveals the futuristic vision of Bireswar Sen.

(Artist Bireswar Sen)

Artists die but art lives on. Art lives on only when artists have very passionate lives and extremely truthful expressions. When a true artist works he/she does not think about the trajectory that the works would take in future. They may sit in somebody’s attic for many years till one day someone stumbles upon them, realizes the value of his finding and exposes it to the world. Art’s glory is not made for today but for tomorrow. That’s why art of the past allures us and projects us to future. Art of present, in that sense is just a preparation to create a past that would realize a future. Art incapable of creating a past will also be incapable of creating a future. Art that titillates the present dies in present itself. Endurance of a work of art is its ability to conjure up a future. The bottom line then is this: artists who are incapable of creating a futuristic vision dig their own graveyards in the present itself however glittering the plaques of epitaphs may be.

Bireswar Sen is one such artist who has survived time with his futuristic vision in art. He, in his works created a world where human beings co-existed harmoniously with nature. He did not look for the flamboyant and eye catching. Instead he looked for the liminal and sublime. Each time Sen put his brush on paper he transferred a part of his truth and existence in it. He did not paint for the posterity but the paintings themselves envisioned a future where people would long and crave for harmony with nature. Sen did not paint larger than life works like the Renaissance artists of the West. But equipped with a Renaissance mind he knew it was his mission to depict the larger truths of life. Sen was more like a poet; capturing the essence of the material as well as the ethereal worlds in limited words; words that emanate the colors and smells of life and throb with the heart beats of nature. And Bireswar Sen was a poet, or to be precise he was a man who loved poetry and taught poetry for a long time in his youthful days in the role of an English lecturer in Patna, Bihar.

It is interesting to look at the works of Bireswar Sen today, especially when we all lament over the death of thousands of pilgrims at the hands of nature’s fury in Uttarkhand. Today we are told that the calamities occur in these seats of Hindu Gods mainly because of human avarice. Pilgrimage and holidaying have become money minting industries today and to facilitate these we indulge in imbalanced development. Soil erosion due to deforestation and the resultant ecological collapse causes all hellish forces of nature to come out. And when that happens we look for those harmonious days when human beings had found the real harmony with nature. Art perhaps is not the answer or solution to calamities but art does contain clues and directions because the artists who have done such works are visionaries; a level higher than spiritual industry leaders, holiday makers, urban planners and the government itself.

Bireswar Sen’s works have the clues for getting human life out of the deluge of avarice. Born in 1897 in Calcutta in an illustrious family of barristers, scholars and writers, Bireswar Sen at a very early age itself was introduced to world art and literature. He did not know which of the breasts of Goddess Saraswati that he should drink most; literature or art? He drank equally from them and became an avid learner of literature and chose his career as a lecturer of English. But he maintained his passion for art by brining himself in the company of great masters like Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Kampo Arai and others. At the prime of his youth he met Nicolas Roerich, the Titan of world peace, philosopher and artist. Though he started off his painterly career as a follower of the Oriental style developed by Abanindranath Tagore, Roerich’s affinity for nature influenced him more than anything else in the creative world. He started painting with water color and gouache as his prime mediums and a pristine body of miniature format works came out as his oeuvre.

The places that have been washed away by flash floods and cloud bursts in Uttarkhand were also the places once Bireswar Sen haunted as a part of his journeys to experience the sublime. In the conventional sense he was not a landscape artist. His aim was not to chronicle the places the way Company School artists were doing at some point of time. Sen’s intention was to capture the immensity of nature and the diminutive significance of human beings in comparison with that. He drew them in papers not bigger than three inches. And often one needs a magnifying glass to study the details of his virtuosity. He was a romantic to certain extent because the works show the vastness and depth of nature, showing the fully glory of five elements and he always depicted his own surrogates in the form of sadhus, wanderers, bards, lonely people and so on. What are they doing there in the nature, one may ask. The answer lies in the body of Bireswar Sen’s works.

They do nothing; they do not construct buildings, hotels, pilgrim centers, yoga centers, restaurants, holiday inns, bars and anything that promotes tourism industry and real estate business. They just exist there doing what they are supposed to do. A wanderer wanders, a bard sings, a lonely man just looks at the immensity, a sadhu meditates, a mother goes back home with her child, a shepherd walks back leading his cattle to pen. These people are devoid of the deadly sins. They are attuned to live a life that the nature offers. And aren’t we trying to do the same actually after doing anything and everything that could prevent us from attaining that situation? If so, wasn’t Sen giving us directions through his works? In fact he was not. Instead he was seeing a future where people could go back to their original existence of simplicity and humility. But unfortunately we recognize this only when calamities afflict us, that too fade off as newer spectacles in the forms of tragedies and events take place and are transmitted to us as a part of our staple food.

Bireswar Sen was meticulous in documenting his works. He knew the size of his works is as insignificant as post card or even less, hence it was necessary for him to keep them together protected. Like a father, he made folders for each of his works and each folder contained a caption and other details. Past, for assessment demands distance and the distance is manifested in the present whereas future demands proximity to scrutinize the possible and the impending. While past is relief, future is anxiety, but a desired anxiety. Bireswar Sen’s works contain this anxiety and we go closer and closer to see his works. He continued working till he breathed his last in 1974. His works are now with the Bireswar Sen Family Trust that takes initiative to showcase his works in important galleries and museums.

NEWS

The In-House show

(A work by Rekha Rodwittiya)

Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai presents a group show of artworks of eminent and leading artists of India today. The show titled, ‘In-House’, features the works of various leading artists in the Indian art scene today.

The displayed works comprise of a vast stunning collection of paintings, in oils and acrylics, digital art works, sculptures in various mediums.

The participating artists are Amitava, Anirban Mitra, Chintan Upadhyay, Jagannath Panda, Manjunath Kamath, Reena Saini Kallat, Rekha Rodwittiya,  Sunil Gawde, Valay Shende, Shilpa Gupta and Vivek Vilasini.

The show is on view till the 8th of July 2013.

Soulink : Celebrating Life

(a work by Swati Pasari)

Sublime Galleria, Bangalore, presents a solo show of works by Swati Pasari. The show titled, ‘Soulink: Celebrating Life’ displays unique painting works and sculptures. 

Twenty six paintings and five sculptures are on display at the show.

The painting works are figurative in genre and vibrant in colour and form. The movement in the works depicts rural life and their festive scenarios. The abstracts in the show also portray a sense of colourful celebration on canvas. The sculptures on display are various poses depicting musicians.  

The artist intends to spread a positive message through her works.

The show is on view till the 29th of June 2013 

The Slice of Nature

(A work on display at the show)

Stupa 18 Gallery, New Delhi presents a group show of artworks exclusively based on Nature. The show is aptly titled, ‘Slice of Nature’ and displays some very unique interpretations of nature by several artists.

A variety of nature has been shown, the harmony of nature and mankind, the splendour of nature and the element of movement and freshness induced by nature has been vibrantly captured in the works on display.

The participating artists are, Asoka, Karim Khan, Ranjeet Singh, Ravindra Tomer, Rohan, Sanjay Prajapati, Sharmistha Dutta, Sutapa Saha and Tabassum.

The show is on view till the 15th of July 2013.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

Vandana Kothari, Mural Painting Workshop and more

PROFILE

The Language of Fragmented Truths -  Vandana Kothari

From time immemorial, humankind’s quest has been to perceive different planes of co-existence all at once. Amply demonstrated in the ancient cave art to space shuttles sent to find new life forms on distant planets, this urge is not merely a quest for knowing, but of experiencing parallel universes simultaneously.  Vandana Kothari through her art, pushes the borders of the known, and explores the unknown with similar zest and diligence, observes Sushma Sabnis.

(Artist Vandana Kothari)

Vandana Kothari is a multi medium artist. Having acquired her Master of Fine Arts degree from, Santiniketan, she has worked in a variety of mediums to quench her creative thirst. From acrylic and oil painting to large scale collage works, to photography, sculptures and installation works, Vandana moves with ease creating visuals and art works which are devoid of boundaries of conditioning. Her creative language metamorphoses from one dialect to the other effortlessly and speaks of precise experiences and acute observation.

Every once in a while one may come across such an unquenchable hunger for creating art. The urgency of expression and the skill controlled enough to not let the expression over power or over flow into a large mist of vagueness. Vandana’s work displays a kind of subtle harness over a subject being explored and the outcome is a soulful work of art which is meaningful to the viewer.

(The painting Cut-A-Part)

In her paintings, made usually in series formats, she uses oils, acrylics with enamel paints on canvas to aptly depict the dichotomy and confusion in today’s times experienced by everyone, with respect to social, traditional and political classifications. Her work titled, ‘Cut-A-Part’ displays multiple canvases painted with enamels and oils, where each small sized canvas is placed to form an unsolved jigsaw puzzle like formation. Upon closer observations, one can see bits and pieces of a female form, fragmented and broken placed randomly. What the artist brings to the viewer’s attention may not be actual mutilation of a female body, but how a troubled oppressed individual might actually be seen in her distorted mental and psychological state. 

(The work - Journey of a Broken Chair)

In another painting, ‘Journey of a broken chair’, she presents a long vertical canvas, which acts as a scroll portraying the journey of a human relationship. The imagery is fine and explicit with details traversing time frames and the progress and digress of a human association, as a witness the artist keeps a broken chair, and one would be led to believe that the chair is the narrator of that highly evocative and emotionally binding visual fable.

Vandana’s fairly recent foray into collage work brings out the obvious global influences the artist has imbibed into her art practices over the years. Collaging offers the added advantage of texture, form, colour and freedom of portrayal unlike other traditional mediums. Vandana revels in this knowledge and her collage works are not just a celebration of the mastery over a medium by years of practice and intelligent usage but also a means to address the issues, her sponge like mind chooses to absorb and bring to the viewer’s attention these fragments and tiny mosaics of truths.

( The work - The Art of looking Sideways)

At one glance playful, at once painful or serious, these collage works bring out the facets of the artist’s persona and her thought processes. In one of her earlier collages from 2010, titled, ‘The Art of looking sideways’, a man sits in front of an easel, in profile and on the easel is placed a picture / painting of a female face looking at the viewer. The entire work seems to be made with a twisted sense of reality in mind and the artist seems to be bringing out the bigger irony of looking at things in life as a larger perspective but sideways. When confronted with the inability to see things straight, look sideways, is what she seems to be saying. The work also looks at the artist, in the studio space and with the work of art and their interactions within the space. The colours in this collage are muted with some portions hand painted and textured. 

(The work -  City of Turmoil)

(The work -  Trumpet Blowers)

In her very recent collage works, however one sees the artist move towards vibrant colours and more defined forms and intricate detailing. The pen lines of definition strike in many portions of the collage, such as the works, titled,’ City of Turmoil’, ‘Trumpet Blowers’, and ‘Life After Liberation’. There is a distinct sense of a language being perfected and spoken in eloquence in these works. City of Turmoil refers to the ideologies of perfect homes and castle like abodes being flattened out by floods, earthquakes and other such nature’s calamities and the picture perfect imagery being shattered to smithereens in the minds and hearts of the viewer. The work addresses human greed and a false sense of control over their lives. 

(The work -  Life After Liberation)

‘Trumpet Blowers’ is a statement about human vanity, and fall from grace, while ‘ Life After Liberation’ with the rejoicing forms in the collage engaged in merriment proves the freedom one could feel when the baggages of the past and egotistic conditionings have been lifted or demolished. One can see the influences of Matisse in the paper cut out works of the artist but in a language and concept completely her own.

(The sculpture - Kalpa-Vruksha)

Vandana’s sculpts with naturally occurring materials like wood, and natural bamboo shoots. Her sculpture ‘ Kalpa-Vruksha’ is installed at the Shilpi Hill Resort, Saputara, Gujarat. Made from natural bamboo, the artist has tried to emulate the ancient wish-fulfilling tree with large out-grown roots. Placed on a raised platform, this organic sculpture transports the viewer into imaginary parallel universes.

With an art practice which is accurate and flexible enough to speak in any medium of expression, Vandana’s art work forms a distinct and specific vocal visual language with a potential of evolving into further interesting dialects. One could expect a great deal of thoughtful and meaningful works from the artist in the future.

Vandana Kothari lives and works in Vadodara, Gujarat.



NEWS

Healing effects of Art

(A painting by Ritu Jain)

The Sunnya Kalashram, New Delhi presents a solo show of art works and a holistic experience of an art expression by artist Ritu Jain. The show is titled, ‘Manifest... Unmanifest’ for its complete oneness of approach to an artistic experience.

The whole exhibition has on display, paintings, which have a meditative quality in them, rendered in charcoals pencil on paper and acrylics on canvas, saplings and plants with seeds, hand works, meditative music and many such enchanting elements which engage the viewer and mesmerize them.

The show intends to deliver a sense of warmth and have a healing influence with the elements on display, and the art too by capturing the silence and its rhythms which sink deep into the viewer.

The show is on view till the 29th of June 2013

Mural Painting Workshop

(Mural Art Workshop)

Gayathri Art Galore, Chennai, calls out for participants for a unique workshop on making murals. Murals are any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall ceiling or other larger permanent surfaces. This kind of painting incorporates the architectural elements into the mural and homogenizes the visual with elegance.

Earlier religious institutions used to be resplendent with mural art depicting scenes of prophets and seers and religious leaders as a reminder of the lives of the saints and their virtues. Nowadays, the art form is being revived into residences and office spaces with a renewed vigour to preserve this dying art form.

This unique workshop aims to bridge the gap by demystifying the art of mural painting in a systematic way. The workshop is the only one of its kind which delivers a professional 3D Mural art result.

The mural workshop costs Rs. 1000/- for the materials required and guarantees a professional output form the participants. The workshop is on till the 26th June 2013, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm For further details please call: +91 9445183477

A triad of abstraction

(A painting by Krishna Pulkundwar)

Mahua Art Gallery, Bangalore presents a group show of art works by three established artists from around the country. The show exclusively displays works made in the genre of semi abstracts and abstracts. 

In an attempt to express their inner most thoughts and experiences the three participating established artists bring to the viewer an array of abstract art works.

The participating artists are, JMS Mani, Tapas Ghosal and Krishna Pulkundwar. Pouring in their canvases the creativity of abstractions, the three artists blend and weave an intense tapestry of the formless and the formed abstraction.

This show is on view till the 30th of June 2013.

The Summer Show

( A painting on display)

Kohlart Gallery, New Delhi presents a  show for all art lovers around town. The show is a group exhibit of young and upcoming artists with their eclectic mix of artworks on display.
The show is titled ‘Summer’ and aptly captures the young energetic tone of the show.

The works of the artists touch on subjects which speak of their eagerness to go for instincts, human, animal and other living species of the living moving world and nature. The works are mostly figurative in style and some have semi abstracts on display.
Charcoal, oil, acrylic on canvas can be seen as the medium of rendering.

The participating artists are, Prittam Priyalochan, Akash gaur, Tanaji Shet, Prashant Nageshkar and Karma Tenrab.

The show is on view till the 30th of June 2013.


(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

Nalini Malani Fukuoka Laureate, Madhu Jain, Vision Beyond show and more

NEWS

The  Vision Beyond Show

(Vision Beyond show)

Galerie Sara Arakkal, Bangalore, presents a show of a group of young, emerging artists’ works from Hyderabad. The show titled, ‘Vision Beyond’ previewed on the 15th of June 2013 and displays art works and sculptures by the young artists.

The participating artists are, Glower Paul, Lester Anthony Paul, Gangadhar Mukkinapallyniga, Prasanta Bandyopadhyay, Ravikumar Chunchula, Ritu Bhattacharya, Santosh Kotagiri and Soumitrimayee Paital.

The works vary in mediums and styles bringing forth like a tapestry the vivid imagery and variety of techniques explored on canvas and other substrates by these emerging artists.

The show is on view till the 30th of June 2013.

Colours of Nature 

(a painting in rock minerals by Madhu Jain)

Annexe Art Gallery, New Delhi, presents a solo show of art works by artist Madhu Jain, titled ‘Colours of Nature’. The show displays mesmerizing art works by the artist in a variety of mediums, focusing on her mastery over most of them.

Colour of Nature is a collection of her works on rock pigments as well as sumi-e (ink brush) technique which is a Chinese art of painting. This kind of art centers around painting of nature and its various aspects, and beauty. Her works and mastery over diverse mediums can be seen in the show.

The topic she chooses to paint on for this show, centers around Nature, as an inspiration and how nature plays a pivotal role in mankind’s existence and future. She subtly addresses the issues of the environment and how it is being abused by mankind in the name of progress.

Madhu Jain’s works are mostly figurative in style and have a dreamy lyrical quality to them.

The show is on view till 26th of June 2013.

Celestial Six shine

(a painting by T Vaikuntam)

Dhoomimal City Gallery, New Delhi, presents six artists’ works of art in a show titled, ‘Celestial Six’. The show displays six eclectic oeuvres of artistic expressions by eminent artists.

The 25 works on display have been rendered in various styles using subtle colours and execution of expert brush strokes. The show brings to the fore the art works of artists, Bratin Khan, Jagdish Dey, Niren Sen Gupta, Ramesh Gorjala, Shyamal Mukherjee and Tota Vaikuntam.

The styles vary from figurative to semi abstractions and are rendered in acrylics and oils on canvas.

The show is on view till the 30th June 2013.

Monsoon Show at Crimson Art Resource

(A painting by Sujata Achrekar)

Crimson  - The Art Resource, Bangalore presents a group show with the works of 9 artists from all over the country. This is Crimson’s annual monsoon art exhibition and sale for the 20th year. The show comprises of works in the form of paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures.

The participating artists are, Nishant Dange, Sujata Achrekar, Jyoti Hattarki, T M Azis, Shamendu Sonawane, Rajiba Lochan Pani, Nagesh Goud, Anwar Khan and JMS Mani making this show an eclectic mix of art works and sculptures from upcoming and established artists alike.

The show is on view till the 30th of June 2013.


(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Nalini Malani awarded Fukuoka Prize 2013

(Fukuoka Laureate Artist Nalini Malani)

Nalini Malani, leading Indian artist has attained an international reputation for her large-scale spatial art, combining paintings and installations, takes on the recent history of the Indian Subcontinent, and keeps consistent focus on such  daring contemporary and universal themes as religious conflict, war, oppression of women and environmental destruction.

A graduate of the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, she received a French government scholarship and went to Paris to study art. Since her return to India she has been based in Mumbai. In 1987, she organized Through the Looking Glass, the very first female-organized exhibition for female artists in India, for which she attracted considerable attention. In the 1990s, she presented her first installation work, and also unique exhibitions as the City of Desires, where the general public were invited to watch her at work, and discuss the creative process. Reacting against the growing threat of Hindu Nationalism in India, she opened up a new field of expression in the conservative Indian artistic scene. She has exhibited at the Asia Pacific Triennial (Brisbane, 1996) and at the New Museum (New York, 2002) and was also invited to a number of international art exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (2007) and dOCUMENTA (Kassel, 2012), and has been active as a central figure in Indian contemporary art exhibitions abroad. Her work was often introduced in Japan, when she came to Fukuoka Asian Art Museum on a residency program in 1999-2000, and participated in the Artist File 2013 at the National Art Center in Tokyo.

(Nalini Malani with her work)

Although she uses modern representational techniques such as installations, her art conveys a dreamy quality and a familiar warmth, because of the strong influence on her work of such traditional folk arts as glass painting, shadow play, kaleidoscope lantern and Kalighat paintings with divine images. The central motif, however, is her response to the serious problems and contradictions which the world faces, including religious conflicts caused by fundamentalism, war and nuclear power, violence and oppression towards women, and environmental destruction. By thus accumulating diverse images, she creates multilayered narratives which cannot be reduced to a simplistic dualism between good and evil. Having chosen these difficult themes of the problems of the contemporary world, she has created ambitious works of art and applied innovative means of expression, but at the same time has maintained her roots in Indian tradition. 

As part of the Fukuoka program, Nailini Malani will present a lecture for the public titled, ‘For a More Progressive Society – The Potentials in Our World and Arts’ in the presence of   a few panelists. The lecture is to be held on 14th September 2013 at ACROS Fukuoka, where she will share her idea and thought on her specialized field in works.  

The lecture will be held at 5:00pm to 7:00 pm on 14th September 2013.

(Courtesy www.fukuoka.org)