Altered States of Reality, Bikaner Miniatures, Magical Dialogues and more..

NEWS

Altered States of Reality

(work on display)

Gallery Third Eye, Bangalore presents a two person show in their premises. The show titled, ‘Altered States of Reality’ displays works of the two budding artists. 

The participating artists are A K Govindan and Nivas Kanhere.

Employing various mediums to put their thoughts forward, and experimenting with various styles, the two have attempted to reach out to the viewer’s sensibilities about urban life, rural life and human relationships.

The show is on view till31st January 2014.

Of the Enigmatic and Spiritual

( work on display)

Gallery Malaka Spice, Pune presents an exhibition of paintings by Sanjoy Majumdar. 

The sound of a bell is auspicious and was known to the ancient people. Hence temples, churches used bell which creates this vibration. 

This series is based on this cosmic theme. The artist’s fantasy about creation which starts from bindu as described in Veda symbolically, Hindu mythology derived from Veda says that Bramha is the creator. The magnetic force (maya) which binds the creation is Vishnu

The artist has based the series on spiritual and religious symbolism rendered in abstractions. The works are oil and mixed media on canvas and exude an enigmatic essence.

The show is on till 15th January 2014.

Magical Dialogues

(work on display)

Arushi Art Gallery, Gurgaon presents a solo exhibition of bronze sculptures by eminent artist Sakti Burman. the show is titled, ‘Magical Dialogues’. The works are meticulously executed with an enormous sense of humanism characteristic of the art of France and also of the finest examples of the spirit of our own art and sculpture. 

This blend of the powerful images of humans, animals and figures that put both of these together, is able to synthesize the romantic and yet undeniably real imagery.

The show commences on 18th January and is on till 26th January 2014.

Bikaner Miniatures

(work on display)

Arts of the Earth gallery, New Delhi presents one the most traditional art technique through a solo show by Raju Swami, a renowned contemporary artist. 

The artist will showcase 'The Bikaner School of Miniature', one of the finest techniques that emerged in the 14th century. This unique style is detailed and expressive. 

From New York to Pittsburgh, Swami's works have been illustrated nationwide.

The show is on till 11th January 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Head held high

P. L. Jose and Neha Utmani hope to highlight the difficulties faced by the disabled, through their exhibition

(PL Jose and Neha Utmani at their show)

What spurred him to want to create awareness of the disabled was an article he chanced upon earlier this year, about an above-the-knee amputee who was asked to remove her prosthetic leg at the airport and pass it through the scanner, after being told that they had to verify whether she was carrying something in her leg.

“I felt very strongly about it, I am slightly short of hearing. I talked to Neha, with whom I have been doing exhibitions, and we decided to collect articles from newspapers about the disabled,” says the artist P. L. Jose, who recently, along with Neha Utmani ,worked on an exhibition to create awareness for the disabled at Thalam.

This they did, by filling the entire space of the gallery with clippings and print-outs of newspaper articles on various issues related to disability in India. The articles were sandwiched on either side by running strips of caricatures. The artwork also includes a set of sculptures, plaster of Paris casts of body parts.

“This is to signify diversity. If you look at the sketches, they all face the same direction. They exit on the same plane and they don’t communicate. It’s not a dialogue; it’s a monologue of sketches. The sculptures signify the functionality of each body part to say that diversity does not just exist between genders. We are trying to say that some trees grow in deciduous forests and some grow in coniferous forests but they all belong to the same Earth,” says Neha.

The articles, put together like a collage, convey what is happening in the public spheres of the lives of the disabled. “This kind of work is called an assemblage.”

Through the exhibition, the duo say, they want to highlight the difficulties faced by people with disabilities, particularly when it comes to their dignity as individuals. And so they spent a few months collecting articles from major newspapers and later online.

“We wanted to showcase information regarding the problems faced by the disabled; the good work done by corporations, individuals and the government for the disabled; blog posts by doctors, academics and policy makers about their experiences in the disabled sector and the struggles of the disabled who are fighting for their dignity, for the implementation of the law,” says Jose.

Through the exhibition, they also drew attention to the existing laws for the disabled, especially the Disabilities Amendment Act of 2012.

“This kind of art can also be called consumable art, as people can use the information. For instance, there is a law about three per cent reservation for the disabled in corporates which if incorporated, offers some benefits to the organization. So if a corporate employee reads this information, he may be able to go back and use it. When people read something, they usually go back and tell somebody else, without us having to push anything.”

The duo now plans to take the exhibition to other venues and later, other cities. “As of now, the NGO Dream A Dream has offered us a space to display the same exhibition. We are also planning to take the exhibition to other cities, where we will localize, this means that we will be putting up articles from regional or local newspapers. For instance, when we go to Kochi we would cut out articles from Malayalam newspapers,” says Neha.

For details about the exhibition, call Neha Utmani on 9880451270.

( Report by Harshini Vakkalanka, Photo by Murali Kumar K for The Hindu)