Think Small Show, DJ Memorial Photography contest winners and more..

NEWS
Art workshop for enthusiasts

(Kavita Jaiswal's workshop on art)

Epicentre art space, New Delhi, presents an interactive art workshop conducted by contemporary artist Kavita Jaiswal. The workshop is designed for anyone who dabbles in art and wishes to take it further than just a hobby.

To be conducted every Saturday and designed for anyone over 18 years of age, Kavita will help the participants master the art of sketching and drawing, painting etc. The workshop focuses on textures and tonal variations gradually moving on to composition etc

Kavita is an accomplished artist based out of Delhi. She has had many solo and group exhibitions to her credit and has won many awards for her excellent works.
The workshop Fee: Rs. 2,000 for 4 classes. The workshops are to be conducted in the month of August, on every Saturday only.

For further information please call :+91 9811405102.

Shiven Shiv Sadhana

(A painting at the show)

Jehangir Art gallery, Mumbai presents a solo show of works by the eminent senior artist Arun Kalwankar. The show is broadly based on spiritualism as a concept and displays  works rendered in oil and acrylic on canvas, and mixed media on canvas. 

Artist Arun Kalwankar is a J J School graduate and has had many solo and group shows. His devotion and reverence for Lord Shiva has inspired him to create an entire series on the deity and how as an artist he interprets him, in this show called ‘ Shiven Shiv Sadhana’. 

The show is on view till the 5th of August 2013.

The Think Small Show

( A work by Nayanaa Kanodia at the show)

Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi brings a second edition of small format works by some of India's finest artists. 'Think Small' series features works by 30 leading artists and focuses on the power of small artworks by artists from different generations of contemporary Indian art. The scale of works provoke the artists to present their aesthetic works within a limited space without compromising on their individual style. Artists have taken up the challenge and present a wonderful collection with works  24" x 24" in size. 

The participating artists are Yusuf Arakkal, Ranjeeta Kant, Sujata Bajaj, Suraj Kumar Kashi, Chandra Bhattacharjee, Paresh Maity, Shipra Bhattacharya, Anjolie Ela Menon, Sanjay Bhattcharya, Samir Mondal, Shobha Broota, Akkitham narayanan, Jayasri Burman, Manu Parekh, Maya Burman, George Martin PJ, Sakti Burman, S. H. Raza, Sharmi Chowdhury, Senaka Senanayake, Maite Delteil, Kishor Shinde, Apurva Desai, Meghansh Thapa, Rini Dhumal, Thota Vaikuntam, Farhad Hussain, S Harsha Vardhana, Nayanaa Kanodia and Binoy Varghese.

The exhibition will commence on 2nd August 2013 and is on view till 14th September 2013.

Artistic Creations Show

(A painting at the show)

Gallery Third Eye, Bangalore, presents a two persons show titled, ‘Artistic Creations’.

The group show will feature the works of Prakash Deshmukh and Satwant Sayan. 

The show  focuses on the vibrancy, sensitivity, and the depth of Indian art. The exhibition highlights Prakash and Satwant's creative nuances along with their varied styles, mediums and imagination. The works on display are figuratives mostly, and distinct narratives. The art works are rendered in oil and acrylic on canvas.

From established artists to mid level and talented budding artists, the gallery Third Eye provides an opportunity to showcase their versatile style and works. 

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Drama in real light

Photographers capture intense moments being played out in the middle of deep forests and the haunting rhythms of life in rural India. Their works are on display at the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery as part of the DJ Memorial Photography Contest.

(A photograph taken by the winner of the DJ Memorial Photography Contest on display  Photo: M. Periasamy)

A tiger crouches on the ground. It is stalking its prey at a national park in Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh. A chital deer can be spotted at a distance. It is totally unaware of the animal waiting to prey on it. However, the body language of the three year-old semi adult tiger verges on overconfidence. And he misses the kill.

Wildlife photographer Sachin Rai who witnessed the incident also photographed it and perfectly captured the mood. The photograph won him the first prize in the Nature category at the second edition of the DJ Memorial Photography Contest organised by Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) at the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery on Avanashi Road. Hundred photographs shot by award winning photographers, bringing out the various hues of nature and rural Indian life are also on display at the gallery.

(A photograph taken by the winner of the DJ Memorial Photography Contest on display  Photo: M. Periasamy)

The top three photographs from the two categories have been awarded with cash prizes and certificates. Five other contestants have been presented certificates of honourable mention. You have a nilgai (the blue bull) looking like the Greek mythical winged horse Pegasus, captured by Jagdeep Rajput from New Delhi. You think your eyes deceive you, as antelopes don’t have wings. It is only on closer observation that you notice that the tallest flying bird in the world, the Indian sarus crane is right at it’s tail.

“The crane had laid a single egg and the bull stumbled upon the bird’s nest. The bird was shooing the bull away which is when I took the photo, making the antelope look like it has wings,” Jagdeep explains.

A colony of weaver ants makes a nest out of leaves, a rhinoceros and buffalo gear up for a fight, fox pups play with each other, a tiny fish flies above water and a couple of Malabar pied hornbills lock beaks in mid-air, forming some of the other brilliant images. There are also some candid photos of the lives of ordinary people in villages. There is a sharp image of a farmer ploughing his field late in the evening captured by Dilip Lokre of Indore, the lighting focussing on the sweat and toil he endures to earn his daily bread.

(Winners of the DJ Memorial Photography Contest pose with Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu  Photo: M. Periasamy)

Culture extraordinaire

It is the diversity of the cultures of ordinary people that drives Dilip, who is a photojournalist with the Free Press Journal.

“There is a distinct change in the language, dress sense and customs of people every 100 kilometres. It is fascinating to capture these differences through the lens,” says Dilip.

You are drawn towards an endearing photo of some curious goats trying to wake up a child even as its mother snatches a nap. This won Santosh Jana of Midnapore the first prize. A group of women precariously carrying bricks on top of their heads speaks volumes of the harsh life they lead. Juxtaposed to this is the innocence and free spirit of children chasing a gaggle of geese in a stream, depicting the simplicity of rural life.

(A photograph taken by the winner of the DJ Memorial Photography Contest on display  Photo: M. Periasamy)

The judges

The judges for the contest were: Balan Madhavan, Fellow, International League of Conservation Photographers, Dr. M.S. Mayilvahanan and R.S. Iyer, Photo Editor, South Asia Associated Press.

According to S. Natarajan, Public Relations Officer of LMW, “The cash rewards that are offered in this competition are the highest in the country, which is why it attracts a large number of participants. Travel and accommodation of the participants are also sponsored, and the best photos will be used for our annual calendar.” He says it is an attempt to recognise talented photographers from all over the country and reward them.

The second edition had 4,401 photographs submitted from 19 countries to their online portal over a period of three months.

The contest carried a total prize money amount of Rs. 10 lakhs.

The photos will be open for public viewing till Sunday, August 4th, 2013.

( Report by Vaibhav Shastry for the Hindu)