Reinventing Classical Tones, Sensoria, Imaging India show and more..

NEWS

Reinventing Classical Tones

( Work by Sadaanandan)

Pearl Art Gallery, New Delhi, presents a unique show of works by eminent muralist from Kerala, Sadaanandan. The show is titled, ‘ Reinventing Classical Tones’ and on display are his vibrant art works , paintings, which have been part of prestigious collections on the walls of his patrons in India and all over the world.

Sadaanandan is a creator of a number of prestigious works on walls in India. His works on canvas are a perfect depiction of his acumen both in his execution and selection of themes. A worshipper of art and the organic world around him, the artist is obsessed with tradition, heritage and modernity. 

The show is on view till 16th November 2013.

Tradition and Spirituality in Art

( Work by Banita Hamirwasia)

All India Fine arts And Crafts Society, New Delhi presents a solo show by artist Banita Hamirwasia. The artists displays her thoughts on the canvas through this painting exhibition. The artist was born in Kolkata and is a self taught. She studied Home Science but painting was her first love and she turned her hobby into her career. A connoisseur in 'Vedic Yantras' in Tanjore form, her paintings depict her religious thoughts and she loves painting around the theme of spirituality.

Her collection of work presents a religious essence and she makes use of striking and vivacious colours. The artist gives the artwork a unique look by decorating it with semi - precious stones. She has been painting for 10 years now and has presented her paintings in various exhibitions.

The show is on view till 1st November 2013.

The Bull : An Aesthetics of Anxiety

Karnataka Chitrakala Parshath, Bangalore, presents a solo exhibition of art works by artist Sujith Kumar GS Mandya.

The show will be spread over all four galleries in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and is one of the unique one man shows. More than 100 paintings of “The Bull” series express the inner angst of the present human mind. These paintings are a spectacle of hurt, shock, violence, revolt in bull’s artistry and symbolism.“The Bull” symbolizes the metaphorical aesthetics of an anxious mind. The bull; the beast of power and ardor is charged with abundant feelings dramatically articulated in the deconstructed frame. Sujith Kumar’s anxious bull is multiplied with an amalgamation of the sensibilities meditatively.

It took 3 years for the painting to complete and to highlight these perceptions many of the paintings are painted with oil colours on canvas, some are charcoal on canvas, few are pencil on paper.

The show is on view till 4th November 2013.


Sensoria

( Work at the show)

Artworld Sarala’s Art Centre, Chennai presents a solo show of art works by artist Joydip Sengupta. The exhibition is titled 'Sensoria'. The artist has unleashed his talent and presented a mix of time, generation and emotions.

The artist was born in Delhi and attained the degree of MFA from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Scotland, UK. He has presented various solo exhibitions and has also been a part of group exhibitions and art fairs. He has been honoured with awards like 'Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant', 'Commonwealth Scholarship, UK M.F. Hussain Award, College of Art' and 'The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant' to name a few.

The show is on view till 31st October 2013.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Imaging India

A must-see exhibition of iconic photographers Shambhu Saha, Henri Cartier Bresson and Sunil Janah in the Capital captures the lives of our diverse people, the grandeur of our monumental structures and the richness of our sculpture and dance

(Empty Vessel and Old Woman by Shambhu Saha)

This week we are interrupting our on-going series on the abysmal condition of some of our water bodies to take a peek at a remarkable exhibition at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Titled (Re) Discovering India -Then and Now, it is curated by architect and designer Shakeel Hossain who is also a consultant with the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. The exhibition, based upon IGNCA’s own photographic archives, draws from the breathtaking and at times greatly disturbing black and white photographs taken by three iconic photographers, Shambhu Saha (1905-1988). Henri Cartier Bresson (1908-2004) and Sunil Janah (1918-2012).

The first two were born in the first decade of the 20 Century and the third, Sunil Janah, was born towards the close of the second decade of the 20 Century. Creatively, the most productive period of their lives coincided with the time when an entire people were giving shape to their dream of freedom from colonial yoke.

(Men leaving their villages to walk to relief centres in Andhra Pradesh by Sunil Janah.)

These were happy times and sad times. They were happy and exciting times because after 200 years of thraldom and servitude we were preparing to breathe the air of freedom. Sad and heart breaking times because we were also struck with man-made calamities -- famines, rioting, Partition and the exodus of millions across newly drawn borders and of arson, loot and senseless killings. All this was bringing out into the open the best and the worst human beings are capable of.

These were also the times of great experiments. In education as in Shanti Niketan under the benign presence of Tagore, and in the arts and sciences and in efforts to explore, understand and redefine our cultural heritage and understand ourselves.

(The cortege carrying Mahatma Gandhi's body and the crowds that had gathered for the last glimpse)

Amidst this backdrop were the three photographers. Henri Cartier Bresson, a Frenchman whose photographs of the assassination of the Mahatma captured an entire nation in mourning and whose documentation of a nuclear plant being erected with bare hands captured the spirit of self-reliance that we have now sacrificed at the altar of neo liberalism. There was Shambhu Saha whose documentation of the extraordinary quotidian life at Shanti Niketan and whose portraits of Robi Thakur were to define an entire era and to present to India and to the world a new approach to education. And then there was Sunil Janah who captured and made real for every Indian, not only the tragedy of man-made famines and how want and hunger demean human existence, but also aspects of India that most Indians were unaware of -- the sorrows and joys of the lives of our diverse people, marginalised, branded and ignored, the grandeur of the monumental structures that we built and the richness of our sculpture and our dances. In short, the unending struggle of the common people for a decent life.

(The crowds that had gathered at Raj Ghat for the last glimpse of the Mahatma's cortege)

There is all this and more in the exhibition. Go with time on your hands as you need more than a couple of hours to appreciate it properly. As you pause before each photograph and let the subtle beauty of blacks, whites and shades of grey sink in, pay attention to the accompanying text. It has been written with care and needs as much attention and appreciation as the riveting snapshots.

Exhibitions like this one are not put together every day, so take as many people as you can. One hopes IGNCA will extend it beyond the last day, October 31, or put it up again and this time give it wider publicity.

( Report by Sohail Hashmi for The Hindu)