Prabhakar Barwe Retrospective, Goa-CAP on Photojournalism and more..

NEWS

Prabhakar Barwe Retrospective

Percept Art, Mumbai presents a retrospective of art works by legendary artist Prabhakar Barwe. The works on display are from a period of 1955 to 1995.

Prabhakar Barwe was a writer, visual thinker and a distinguished painter. The range of works on display vary from the beginning of life drawing studies and sketches to designs and explorations of the tantric phase to conclude with the symbolist abstractions of 1980. The works have been assembled from the family’s collections and from various art collectors. On display are also his writings and meticulously maintained journals and texts.

The English translation,‘The Blank Canvas’ of his book written in Marathi ‘Kora Canvas’,  will also be released on this occasion.

The show commences on 22nd November 2013 and will continue to be on view till 28th February 2014.

Tale of Two Cities

(Work by Dilip Choudhury)

Prakrit Art Gallery, Chennai presents ‘Tale of two Cities’ an art exhibition that is presented by the eminent artist Dilip Choudhury. The artist has depicted his views about two cities, Kolkata and Banaras through his paintings. The art lovers get to see some unique creations that have been created by the artist.

Dilip studied at Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship and graduated with a gold medal in the year 1986. He has exhibited his works in various paintings and has been honoured with awards like 'West Bengal State Academy award' and 'Indian Society of Oriental Art President award' to name a few.

The show is on view till 20th November 2013.

Wanted: Dialog on Photojournalism

Goa Center for Alternative Photography (Goa -CAP), presents the third show from the ‘Wanted Series’, titled ‘WANTED: DIALOG ON PHOTOJOURNALISM’. The discussion will be held at Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. on 22nd November, 2013 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

‘Newspapers are fading. News media is in a limbo of redefinition. Now we can add photojournalism to that list of defunct media’ said Neil Burgess

The easy availability and affordability of digital and camera phones, emergence of online social media platforms, citizen journalists and bloggers have changed the way news and documentary photographs are produced, circulated and consumed today. In this rapidly-changing environment, news photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the globe are forced to consider tough questions. What is the future for photography in a news environment? What status and role will photojournalists have? What are the new funding options? What are the new alternative outlets? Can the 'amateur' completely replace the 'professional'? Will this shift result in loss of iconic news images? Can traditional photojournalism survive?

The discussion is being held to raise and answer many more similar questions.
The Entry is free and open to all. 

Interested participants may register at :  http://goa-cap.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d13487bc4ab5801e65b4c5ecb&id=3944ecb6b2&e=6ba828890e

Linear Portraits

(Work by Gautam Basu)

Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata, presents  a wide range of paintings of renowned artist Gautam Basu at the exhibition titled 'Linear Portraits'. The display has artworks that range from cotton paintings to oil paintings to acrylics. He has learnt how to create paintings using various kinds of mediums and techniques.

The artist focuses on utilizing the space of the canvas to the maximum extent. He creates his thoughts by making use of lines and colours. The harmony of colours add spark to his creations.

The show is on view till 25th November 2013.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

What lies beneath

Paintings in Silent Poetry explore individual perspectives and manifestations of spirituality

( Exploring symbolic meaning: underlying themes)

Though spirituality is the underlying theme in Amrita Paintal and Sneha Mandhania’s exhibition of paintings titled, “Silent Poetry”, the theme is subtly reinforced in Amrita’s works while being that much more bold in Sneha’s works.

Amrita’s spirituality appears gentle, vast and all encompassing, as she expresses in her landscapes, profiles and abstracts.

She paints the backwaters of Kerala, or sunset over the fields of Texas, she paints the Buddha inspired by a banyan tree that grew around the head of Buddha statue that was beheaded in Thailand or a “Cotton Candywala”.

She also paints the Dashashwamedh Ghat of Varnasi and a stupa painted with Buddha’s eyes painted on.

She paints in bright colours and fluid lines, which seem to convey a certain purity of thought, a certain freedom of not being restricted.

“For me spirituality is a feeling of oneness with the higher self, of being connected to the universe and gratefulness for all of life’s blessings,” says Amrita.

“I only paint when I feel close to God, even when I paint portraits, I connect to God in each person.”

Amrita says she is inspired by painters such as Rivera, Monet, Frieda, Tagore, Shergil and Roerich.

Sneha’s spirituality, as reflected in her works, seems more intense and specific.

The Buddha is an important figure in Sneha’s artistic and spiritual worlds. She paints the Buddha in myriad forms, in his Nirvana posture or showing the “Abhaya” mudra depicting fearlessness and protection.

Sneha also works the theme of the Buddha into wall artefacts on large pieces of acrylic on canvas. She also works with motifs such as the lotus, the Shree Yantra or the swastika from the Hindu traditions, exploring their symbolic and practical values.

Sneha often works with rich colours and dark shades. Her paintings, almost always suffused with light, are sometimes delicate or intricate and at other times, simple. Often she paints text (of Sanskrit chants and mantras) and numbers over paintings, which seem to add to the complexity and power of her theme.

(Report by Harshini Vakkalanka for The Hindu)