Flight of Art, Raja Ravi Varma Oleographs, and more..

NEWS

About women and nature

(A painting by Prabhat Biswas)

Dakshinachitra Art Gallery, Chennai presents a solo show of art works by artist Prabhat Biswas. He is a self-taught artist from Puducherry and has taken part in many solo and group exhibitions. 

The show displays his latest series of works, mainly figurative rendered in heavy textural relief on canvas, in oils and acrylics. The works depict a combination of women and nature
in a harmonious realm, symbolic of the earth and her femininity. For details, call: 98414 36149

The show is on view till the 17th of July 2013

Contemporary Artists’ Show

(A painting by Jayasri Burman)

The Gallerie Alternatives, New Delhi presents a group show of eminent and leading artists from all over the country. 

The show displays a wide impressive collection of paintings, drawings, graphic prints, and sculptures.

The works on display are by painters like, S H Raza, T Vaikuntam, Jayasri Burman, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Trupti Patel, Ramananda Bandopadhyay, Rajesh Rana, Manoj Kachangal,  Medha Sharma, Pintu Roy, and many more.

The show is on view till the 31st of July 2013.

Raja Ravi Varma Oleographs

(Oleographs)

Delhi based gallery, Art of the Earth, Lado Sarai presents an exclusive show of oleographs of the works of the legendary artist, painter, Raja Ravi Varma.

The human figures in Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings are mainly taken from stories of mythological references. The works are highly evocative and strong, with intense narrative strength like the original paintings.

Oleographs are coloured lithographs used to make copies of a particular painting or a print of a painting.The technique was used widely in the 1860s as a method of colour reproductions from an original. Raja Ravi Varma oleographs in this show display a fine quality and depth of colour.

The show having previewed yesterday, will be on view for the public till the 10th of August 2013.

FEATURE

On a flight of art

Merging different craft techniques of artists for his ongoing public project at the Mumbai Airport, Rajeev Sethi evokes the spirit of hospitality

(Rajeev Sethi with the ongoing public project)

Didn’t all those stories we grew up listening to make us fantasise about the strange vehicle Ravana abducted Sita in? Egged on by these tales and aided by films, theatre, TV, books etc., a distinct image of udan khatola got distilled in our heads. The original one, you bet, would have been a marvel in all respects and the imagined ones was also a delight but the 13 foot long and 6.5 foot high udan khatola, painted by Madhavi Parekh and sculpted by Rajeev Sethi, surpasses any imagination. Had Sita been flown to Lanka in this splendid machine, she would have probably not complained.

This September onwards, all those arriving and departing from the new terminal of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai will be able to view this artistic creation, which is part of a massive public art project led by Delhi-based Rajeev Sethi’s Rajeev Sethi Sceneographers Pvt. Limited. It’s interesting to note that though we severely lack in very many instances of public art, of late our airports have been striving to boast some.

Recently, Sethi unveiled ‘Udan Khatola’, ‘Touché’ and ‘Reappearances – Below the Tarmac’ in New Delhi before they were packed off to Mumbai where they would be mounted along with 177 other art works crafted in different parts of the country — Kashmir, Jaipur, Kolkata, Delhi. The project (funded by GVK) involving more than 1000 artists who have together created around 180 murals to be displayed in the upcoming space covering an area of over 4,39,000 square meters. Not the biggest but it does qualify as one of the biggest projects Sethi has undertaken in his career so far.

( Udan Khatola)

“There is no dearth of vision in this country. What’s more important is how you implement an idea. And in a country like ours where we have a luxury of committed skilful people, we can realise some of the most difficult visions. Machines would stay but I believe hands would always stay one step ahead,” says the scenographer, designer and Chairman of the Asian Heritage Foundation, adding that the art installation at Mumbai airport will evoke the spirit of hospitality. “It’s about what constitutes the sentinel of arrival and departure.”

Not just artists, but designers, architects, artisans and technicians have converged on this platform that seeks to interpret India on different levels. On board are varied craft traditions as well. From paper mache to khatamband, pinjarakari to terracotta sculptures, wood carving to Rajasthani miniatures, patachitra and madhubani, etc, the list is endless.

(Touche)

In ‘Reappearances — Below the Tarmac’, a huge terracotta skyscape that attempts to depict the airport as a virtual metropolis, potters of Molela, a village near Udaipur, have crafted mythical airplanes and whimsical flying machines. It is a significant departure from the customary votive terracotta plaques of gods and goddesses these artists make. While this art work evokes the cross-runway unique to the Mumbai airport, ‘Touche’ is inspired by the five elements and the five senses by which we perceive them. Hawa Mahal with all the beautiful jaali work melts into a pagdi or a turban.

And then, there is the magical ‘Udan Khatola’ crafted in papier mache and bamboo by a team of craftsmen led by papier mache artist Satbir Kajania. Enamoured of different techniques employed by tableau makers in Chandan Nagar during the puja and the interpretation of horse in different cultures across India, Sethi have incorporated these into the fold as well.

(Report and Photos by Shailaja Tripathi for The Hindu)