Santiniketan Society, Rutuja Padwal, FICA Fellowship and more

NEWS

FICA invites Research Fellowship 2013 applications

FICA (The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art) New Delhi, calls for applications for the FICA Research Fellowship 2013. The Fellowship is a collaborative effort of the Department of visual Cultures and the PhD Program in Curatorial/ Knowledge, Goldsmiths, University of London, Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) and Delfina Foundation, London.

The aim of the Fellowship is to provide an opportunity for intensive research in the field of visual arts/ culture, and encourages the exploration of innovative models of cross cultural dialogue and development opportunities to curators and researchers. 

The recipient will be chosen by a jury comprising independent scholars in the field of visual arts and members from Goldsmiths, Iniva, Delfina Foundation and FICA. 

The deadline for the application for this fellowship is the 6th of July 2013.
In case of any queries email : info@ficart.org 

Razzle and Dazzle of Art

(Painting by Rutuja Padwal)

The Artists’ Centre Art Gallery, Mumbai presents a solo show of paintings by artist Rutuja Padwal. The show titled ‘Razzle Dazzle’ showcases works rendered in a figurative and realistic style. 

Rutuja, Mumbai based artist with a degree from the Thane School of Art, presents her collection of portraitures. The works are rendered in acrylic and oils on canvas and are inspired by the artist’s interest in music and her favourite music legends. Some of the works display portraits of strangers and her own siblings. Rutuja tries to capture the essence of the sacred feminine in some of her works. The works are thickly layered and the textural effects and vibrant colours make the works a unique perspective. The relief work adds to the play of light and shade on the canvases.

The inaugural function is to be held on 10th of June 2013 by film, and theatre personality, Suchitra Pillai at 6: 30 pm.

The show is on view from the 10th of June 2013 to the 16th of June 2013.




Fluid Forms of Water Colours

( Painting by Maneesha Doshi)

‘Site‘ an emerging art space, a gallery and a residency/studio situated in Vadodara, presents a group show of water colour works by its students on the 17th of June 2013. The show titled ‘Fluid’ is an attempt to keep the focus on the medium of expression of the works. The movement of water colours often can indicate the mental and physical planes of the processes of making the work, as they tend to record much without scope for instant erasures like other mediums.

This spontaneity ironically requires a calculative precision and control over the volatile medium. The flexibility and flow of the medium creates new forms and denotes new meaning to the entities formed.

The show intends to map these various ways in which a single medium can be manipulated and ‘allowed’ to flow, documenting the intricate processes. 

The show is to be inaugurated on the 17th of June 2013 by Geeta Goradia ( MD Jewel Consumer Care Pvt Ltd)  at 6:30 pm.

The show is on view for the public from the 18th of June to the 22nd of June 2013.

Commemorating the Indian Railways

(Photographs at the exhibition)

The Piramal Gallery, at the NCPA ( National Centre for the Performing Arts) Mumbai, presents an exhibition of photographs related to the Central Railways, to commemorate the completion of 160 years of the Indian Railways. The show is organized by the Central Railway and was inaugurated by the General Manager Central Railways, Mr B P Khare on the 6th of June 2013.

The show displays selected photographs from the archives of the Indian Railways and one can see the actual formation of the network of the railways from pre-Independence times to date. The photographs of leaders of the country and other well known names and their connection to the railways is also on view.

The show is on view for the public from the 7th June 2013 to the 16th of June 2013.


(News Reports by Sushma Sabnis)



FEATURE

Wyoming University of Arts in SSVAD

On the 19th of November 2010, Santiniketan Society of Visual Art and Design, commonly known as SSVAD came into being with the intention of promoting art and culture, as well as engaging with participants from around the world. Talking of its objective, SSVAD’s secretary Jogen Chowdhury had stated, "The centre has been conceived with the view of offering an ideal working platform for artists with various facilities, especially for the young and upcoming artists of Santiniketan” 

Ex-students from Kala Bhavana, and other art enthusiasts are offered studios to pursue their creative work at a nominal fee. International workshops are conducted once in a while with faculty members from foreign universities. In August 2012, a group of artists and researchers from japan, Korea, China and Thailand had visited SSVAD and a significant cultural exchange took place. 

On the 30^th of May a group of Art students from Wyoming University of Arts, accompanied by their teachers, Prof. Mark E. Ritchie and Prof. Leah Hardy have reached SSVAD. This is the first time an American team has landed at SSVAD to do a residency programme. The members of the art society, including the secretary of SSVAD, Jogen Chowdhury along with President and Vice-President Prof Janak Jhankar Narzary and Prof R. Siva Kumar welcomed them. In the evening an informal gathering was arranged where members and ex-students working in SSVAD caught-up with the guests and discussed art in India and America.  

The nine female and six male young art practitioners, headed by Mark and Leah, cycled around Santiniketan in an attempt to absorb an artistic atmosphere, so different from theirs. They encountered Ramkinkar Baij’s iconic sculptures, K.G. Subramanyan’s murals and K.S. Radhakrishnan’s Terrafly in Kala-Bhavana. However they could not witness how students worked in Kala-Bhavana, which was almost deserted because of the summer holidays. 

The American students also participated in a Dokra sculpture workshop an expert Dokra sculptor was invited from a nearby village to demonstrate the non–ferrous metal casting which uses the lost-wax-casting technique. The American students were fascinated with the 4000 years metal technique as they made small figures with them. The students were also entertained with a Ranbir-kapoor movie. This, for some of them was their first encounter with Bollywood. On the 2^nd, they left for Bishnupur, the small township famous for its old terracotta temples. This experience allowed the young American students to explore the exquisite craftsmanship practiced in this ancient temple town. The temples crafted by the artisans of the region, induces one to fall in love with crafts, and art in general. While the American art scene is becoming screen-based, where tangibility is becoming an optical reality, where one touches not the three dimensional object, but its two dimensional representations, a delicately carved monument offers a change of air. The students were touched by the friendliness of the Indians, and confessed that in India artists are treated with greater warmth than in America. 

With new experiences, and diversity in their backpacks, the students of the Wyoming University of Arts will be leaving soon, but the teachers plan to stay back and work with terracotta. By the second week of June, an exhibition of their works will be on display, as the artist couple prepare to leave for US.  

( By Siddharth Sivakumar)