Waste Side Story, Entering the Now, Inner Terrain and more..

NEWS

Waste Side Story

( work on display)

Akar Prakar Gallery,  Kolkata, presents a solo show recent works by eminent artist Debanjan Roy. The show titled, ‘Waste Side Story’ is curated by Paroma Maiti.

The artist has tried to depict the concepts of ‘waste’ in various influential elements, and depicted them through a range of mediums and artistic expressions. From mediums as varied as drawings, sculptures and quirky installations to literally portraying useless objects such as toilet-cleaning brushes, are however laced with subtle undertones of sexual allusions.  All of these could be the results of ‘a’ particular type of society – its political hue tinted with multiple identities of gender, class or religion. The fact that he keeps this zone a grey one makes the works even more alluring.

His sculptures in wood also depict the state of objects, effect of prolonged use, abuse, and subjugation to the relentless squeezing out of its last bit of functional capacity – has been shown without any sympathy, just as it is. The artist likes to look at things from both sides – so he makes a whole ensemble of chic clothes – made out of wasted packets and covers. Debanjan Roy’s solo show is not a mere drab docu-articulation of things turned into waste but more a peek inside the gruesomeness of the human mind and an exploration of the layers of ruthless violence suppressed in its subconscious.

The show is on view till 18th April 2014.

Beyond Horizons

(work on display)

Convention Foyer, Habitat World, New Delhi presents a solo show of oil paintings on canvas by artist Yograj Verma. Titled, “Beyond Horizons” an exhibition which is solidly distinctive from the present swing of the modern art. 

This is the seventh endeavour by Yograj Verma, an artist who develops the thoughts about Indian mythology and embeds those insights by making the canvas and the colors alive. He interpolates the Incredible Incarnations of almighty to uphold the concept of the divine and the myths in the present scenario.

The show is on view from 24th March to 27th March 2014.

Entering The Now

(work on display)

Kamalnayan Bajaj Art gallery, Mumbai presents an exhibition of works by the artist, Rachna Toshniwal, along with veteran artist, Surendra Rao, and visiting Belgian artist, Kris Vandenberghe. The artists will work together at the gallery making art, swapping techniques, and sharing the joy of the creative process. Anyone interested could join in this collaborative artistic space.

‘Entering the Now’ is Rachna Toshniwal's first solo show wherein she explores the intertwining emotional threads of merging, separating, and connecting with the self and other. Through her artwork, Rachna finds a new language – a new way of relating while taking a radical step towards change.

The show is on view from 24th March to 29th March 2014.

Inner Terrain

( work on display)

Icon Art Gallery, Hyderabad presents an exhibition of water colour paintings by artist Akshat Charate. The show is titled, ‘Inner Terrain’ and displays the exquisite and unique art works of the artist.

The works rendered in the humble water colour medium portray distinct narratives in their figurations. The vibrant colours and specific depictions make for an interesting view.

The show is on view till 3rd April 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)


FEATURE

Inside the artist’s studio

Workplaces offer unique insights about a person, be it an artist, writer or accountant. Zeenab Aneez goes studio hopping to see what artists of the city have to say about their personal nooks

(Priyanka Aelay at her studio. Photo: Nagara Gopal)

A typical day at the shared studio of artists Parameshwar Raju and Koeli Mukherjee in Masab tank begins with a glass of chai. “While some of the work happens in the studios, the ideas come to us in the oddest of places,” says Raju, who carries his broad-nibbed pens and notebooks with him at all times, like a mobile studio of sorts. “Some of my works happen on flights from Hyderabad to Delhi,” says the artist. Apart from finished works and black canvases, the studio is littered with books on culture theory and mythology - research for Raju’s work, which is curated and documented by Koeli. While Raju’s style is defined by controlled strokes and in depth research, Koeli’s is free flowing, evolving with each stroke of the chiselled bamboo.

(Artist Fawad Tamkanat at his studio. Photo: Nagara Gopal)

Fawad Tamkanat’s space is tucked away in a cosy corner of Banjara Hills. The walls of the little space are lined with finished pieces, works in progress, posters from group and solo shows across the country and world and a few of his daughter’s drawings. Fawad is currently working on a series depicting scenes from the street. “I have a routine; every morning whether I get up late or early, I pack my food and water and come here. I work till about 11 p.m. almost every day. I have a studio in my home as well but I prefer to paint here because here I can entertain people who want to see my work or watch me paint. I have been here for the last 15 years and have grown quite attached to it; it’s a small space but there is enough natural light. My friends are free to walk in the evenings and chat while I work. I enjoy that so long as the conversation is not about films or cricket.”

(Artist, Deepa Nath at her studio. Photo: Nagara Gopal)

Priyanka Aeley’s studio is nestled in a nondescript apartment in Somajiguda. “I don’t want things to be too neat here with just the one canvas that I am working on. I like it that the other works, incomplete and complete ones are here, that there are rolled up canvases here; that gives me the motivation. I have a lot of books here – so whenever I want to relax or take a break from work I can sit back and flip through something. You keep changing the studio space as well; there is a lot of experimentation happening because you don’t have to worry about anything else as in a home. It feels like a studio to me only when I personalise. The moment I come back here, it’s completely about work. I leave everything else back home; no other ideas follow me here.”

(Artist Koeli Mukherjee at her studio. Photo: Nagara Gopal)

Artist Deepa Nath’s studio is a tidy little space that she calls her ‘hideout’.

(Calligraphy artist Parameshwar Raju at his studio. Photo: Nagara Gopal)

“This is basically my hideout where I want to be completely cut off from my family and friends; in fact none of my friends even know this place, I don’t entertain anybody here. That I live so far away helps. I just want to be with my work and my art books. I play music; sometimes classical, sometimes some old Hindi songs. It takes time to get into the flow of painting something and if I am interrupted, I have to start again.”

( Report by Zeenab Aneez for The Hindu)

Stories of Delhi,Tales of two cities, Jungle Me and more..

NEWS

Jungle Me

Come and experience the contemporary art exhibition, ‘Jungle Me’, a selection of latest Green Graffitis by French artist Jonathan Longuet at Niv Art Centre. 

Jonathan Longuet works with a living plant paint, Green Graffiti, and on the development of autonomous evolutive paintings. Green Graffiti’s are made from algae, harvested at buildings feet, cultivated and applied to a substrate, canvas or a wall. These paintings are like a plant, growing slowly over time depending on conservation’s conditions. This project invites the audience to rethink about their integration to an ecosystem of everyday.

For this series, Jonathan Longuet questioned the notion of the urban jungle, density, movement, with a focus on the people evolving in such environment, their relationship with that world which defines their identity. To conduct this project, he began a conversation with a person who deals everyday with these issues - Manou, street fashion photographer. This exchange of ideas transformed itself into collaboration. Manou photographed  people in  the street of  India and Jonathan proposed  a vegetal version  of  these  subjects - a  kind  of  inventory   of  originality,  difference,  and evolving identities.

Jungle Me will also feature images of Reverse Graffiti. These are small interventions in the street, they are draws written with water pressure on a wall covered of algae. The visuals can last several weeks or months on the wall, until the next rain. These have made using stencils in various locations in Neb Sarai and have been photographed.

The exhibition is on view till 20th April 2014.

Rustic Hues

(work on display)

Magnitude Gallery, Bangalore captures the various moods and beauty of countryside and presents, the theme ‘Rustic Hues’. After the astounding success of its previous themes this is sure to delight the art lovers of Bengaluru. This exhibition showcases paintings of countryside which depicts images of women in different rural scenes that accentuates the beauty.

Rustic Hues depicts the countryside people in different situations from their rich cultural celebrations to the passionate and caring families at work. It also highlights on the different and diverse sections of rural people who strive to create a livelihood.

The artists have created with various mediums and tried to synergise their feelings of rural scenes to create a harmony. These paintings are sure to grace homes, offices and other living spaces as it is a hot favourite by many and usually blends with any rustic interiors.

The show is on till 31st March 2014.

Stories of Delhi

(work on display)

Delhi O Delhi Foyer, Delhi is hosting ‘Stories of Delhi's magnificent past set in stone photography’, a photography exhibition by Prerna Jain. 

Prerna finds her penchant in abstract photography, especially floral abstract. Colours, shapes and depth have a special attraction for her. Most of her work is an exploration of beauty with detailed or macro photography.

The show is on till 31st March 2014.

Tales of Two Cities

( work on display)

Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hyderabad is here with an exclusive painting exhibition for all art lovers in the city. The exhibition titled, ‘Tales of two cities’  brings to you some of the unique and eye-catching art works by a group of artists that are sure not-to-be-missed. The exhibition will include the works by creative artists like Anjani Reddy, Priti Samyukta, Rohini Reddy, Srinivas Reddy, Dr Vidhyasagar Upadhyay and Vinay Sharma.

The show is on view till 31st March 2014.

(News Reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Cultural commentary

‘Password of Kerala’, an exhibition of artist Chandranandan’s paintings, combines the culture of the State with artistic insights

(Artist Chandranandan with one of his paintings. Photo: Sooraj Rajmohan)

Trees wearing traditional mundu, a Kathakali performer whose upper body, for lack of a better word, blooms into an expanse of coconut branches and a humanoid figure merged with a tree that appears to provide sustenance to a casually lounging green elephant. These are some of the images that await viewers at ‘Password of Kerala’, an exhibition of paintings by artist Chandranandan, on at the Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum art gallery.

Chandranandan explains that the images endeavour to capture an essence of life in Kerala, but also tell individual stories. The tree-man and elephant are a representation of the relationship between parents and children in this age. “The tree providing nourishment to the elephant is a look at the plight of the average Indian father, who strives his entire lifetime to provide for his children, sacrificing everything and keeping nothing for himself, being slowly drained of his life force,” he explains cryptically. He then picks out a work that he describes as his interpretation of a mother, a female form set against a tranquil blue background resembling a planet and starry space beyond.

The works contain passing references to the culture of the State, some easily recognisable, some incorporating symbolism, and others featuring strange juxtaposition. An example of the latter is a yak roaming about between the trees in a rubber plantation, with Kerala’s ubiquitous rubber trees contrasting with the creature Chandranandan observed on a trip to Ladakh. A depiction of the traditional illam featuring various animals, and a frozen frame of an elephant ride gone awry add to the surreal nature created by the 18 works on display.

Chandranandan, a former employee of the Kerala Agricultural University and an expert in publication design, believes in the superiority of oil over acrylic colours. “While acrylic does have many advantages, oil is always in a class of its own. Despite the rigours of painting with oil, it is my medium of choice.” And in between his Kathakali performers and coconut trees, there are also subtle socio-political messages. Hidden deep within a fiery red canvas are two figures, one wearing a mundu and the other stark naked. “The king is naked,” he says simply, perhaps in reference to the Danish tale ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’.

There are many more works that invite interpretation among Chandranandan’s collection, with the work ‘Starry, starry night’ serving as a simple balm for the mind after the workout it gets from the other images. The painting depicts a man and woman working a water pumping apparatus in the wee hours of the morning before dawn’s first light. “There are many sides to this, the tranquillity of the morning, the coordination required to operate the apparatus and even a shared love,” says Chandranandan.

The exhibition is on at the Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum art gallery from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. till March 31.

(Report by Sooraj Rajmohan for The Hindu)

Village Tales, Collage Art and more..

NEWS

Collage Art

( Work on display)

Bliss Art Gallery, Pune presents a show titled, ‘Collage Paintings’. The show displays beautiful art, created using torn pieces of colourful paper comes to Bliss Art Gallery, as it hosts an exhibition of collage paintings. Created by Vikram Paranjpe, an alumnus of Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya, who is now settled in Devrukh, Konkan, the artworks at he exhibition take the art form of collage paintings to a new, professional high.

The show is on view till 29th March 2014.

Art Jugalbandhi

Government Museum & Venkatappa Art gallery, Bangalore present a show ‘Art Jugalbandhi’ a combination of charcoal drawing and water color painting; a one day charcoal drawing workshop. 

Skills like handling different types of charcoals will be taught.  Fee includes materials and lunch and one day water colour workshop. Each participant can join either for charcoal drawing or water colour painting. All the classes are held outdoor and are held in 10 different locations, across Bengaluru. 

The workshops will be held till 23rd March 2014.

Village tales

( Work by JMS Mani)

Artworld Sarala’s art Centre, Hyderabad celebrates its 49th anniversary with a two solo shows. One solo is of paintings by artist P Perumal, and the other solo show displays works of JMS Mani.

The two eminent artists present their paintings exclusive to their styles of figurations. JMS Mani’s works explore the rural landscape and the people,a s do the paintings of P Perumal. The works differ in the rendition, style and palette each of them uses.

While JMS Mani locates his protagonists in busy market places and hubs of activity depicted in sharp use of vibrant colours, Perumal uses slightly subdued hues to capture the idyllic lives of the rural cattle rearing community.

The show is on view till 31st March 2014.

Seeds

(Etchigns on display)

Art Heritage gallery, New Delhi presents the solo show of artist, Kavita Nayar. The show is titled, ‘Seeds’ and is to be held in the basement gallery. The show has on display exclusive prints made by the artist, which portray a lyrical painterly quality.

Subdued hues, and full of spiritual and Buddhist symbolism, the works on display have been made by etching on zinc plates. The show finds a balance between contemplation and celebration.

The show is on view till 21st March 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Lalit Kala Akademi hosts artwork from across the country

(An award-winning painting at the exhibition)

Selecting the brightest and the most imaginative artist after going through a mind-boggling number of 6,583 entries is a painstaking job. But for the Lalit Kala Akademi, it was an essential prerequisite to get the right kind of artists from across the country. This also meant getting proportional representation.

To achieve the task of selecting the 168 artists for its 55 edition of National Exhibition of Art, the Akademi-appointed committee had commensurate number of painters, sculptors, graphic artists and photo experts as its members.

Explaining the method of selecting the artists, Akademi Chairman K.K. Chakravarty said: “We did blind testing which meant the committee members were clueless about the identity of the artists whose work they had to appraise. And they had also been kept in the dark about the artists’ place of residence. Only after the selection, the details were revealed to the members.”

Of the total number of artists, 10 artists have been selected for the prestigious National Awards. And this year, noted artist S.H. Raza conferred the awards on winners on the premises of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries here on Wednesday.

Shedding light on the prestigious exhibition, which started at the Akademi on Thursday and will continue up to April 10, Dr. Chakravarty said: “The exhibition has been conceptualised in such a way that it has broad national representation. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to state that this exhibition represents the entire country. The exhibition lends extraordinary meaning to ordinary objects by associating them in unforeseen permutations and combinations.”

The exhibition is showcasing multi-storeyed facades, deserted interiors of heritage sights, empty rooms with stacks of books, iconic figures and mechanical objects. The caparisoned elephant, zebra, winged horse, bull, frog, snake, cat and rat have also been absorbed and translated into anthropomorphic forms.

(Report by Madhur Tankha for The Hindu)

Aravallis- From hills to apartments, Life Inspired and more..

NEWS

Aravallis - From hills to apartments

Alliance Francaise de Delhi, Gurgaon is hosting a group photography show, ‘Aravallis – From hills to apartments’, showcasing the works of Vinit Gupta, Cara Louwman, Vicky Roy and Marianne Van Loo.

The exhibition showcases the perspectives of four photographers and their reactions to the changing landscapes of Gurgaon. These landscapes are manifestations of the processes of modernisation and growth, in consonance with its image of a millennium city. The images are artistic portrayals of the economic and social impact on the polity and fabric of a city in the making.

The show is on view till 5th April 2014.

Life Inspired

( Work on display)

Aalankritha Art Gallery, Hyderabad invites all the art lovers for a really enriching experience at an art exhibition. The painting exhibition features the works of three young and immensely talented artists, Avinash Basu, MS Vasu and Nirmal Karmakar.

The show is titled, ‘Life Inspired’ and will be on view till 15th March 2014.

Shades of Women

( Work on display)

Gallery Space, Hyderabad presents a show titled,‘Shades of Women’ an international group exhibition of paintings, sculpture, print, photography. The participating artists are Anjolei Ela menon, Anupam Sood, Arpana Caur, Seema Kohli, Jaya Baheti, Ambreen, Poonam Chandrika, Usha Mishra, Rohini Reddy, Sneha Latha, Deepanath, Geetha, Tripti Dave, Sravanthi Juluri, Sarswathi, Lopa Mudru, Lona Logan, Rangoli Garg and others.

The show displays women centric themes by male and female artists. 

The show is on view till 23rd March 2014.

Exploring nuances of Oil painting

The Art Loft, Mumbai presents ‘Exploring Nuances of Oil Painting’ an invite to art enthusiasts to dabble in oil painting and explore its nuances with French artist Soazic Guezennec. Soazic lives and works in Mumbai and usually blends a poetic vision with a sense of threat in her works. She has been acknowledged and appreciated for her ecological sensibility that reflects in most of her creative works.

In the workshop, participants can explore the nuances and techniques of oil painting. You can also bring along the work of an artist you admire and Soazic will guide you to create your own interpretations inspired by their work. Her classes and way of teaching are intended to make the student independent and fearless in exploring their own path.

The workshop is on till 25th March 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Artist Nandita Kumar Explains Her Trippy New Show At Lakeeren Gallery

Nandita Kumar’s show Let THe bRAinFly is a mind trip and not only because of the awkward spelling of the title (“I do all my titling slightly dyslexic because I’m slightly dyslexic,” she says). There are the titular brainflies, literally brains with wings, that flit across the gallery walls of Lakeeren in Colaba, where this show is taking place; clouds of drain covers that hang from the ceiling; and canvases that leak bug-like creatures that on closer inspection turn out to be livers and legs and other errant body parts. “Letting the brain fly symbolises freedom of thought,” says Kumar, an Auckland- and Mumbai-based artist, who was born in Africa, and who made her way to our city via Austria, where she spent a year living on an organic beef farm. This work, she says, is an attempt to bring together various strains of thought – of living on a metaphorical plane without losing track of reality; of embracing our masculine and feminine sides; of understanding sexuality; of living in the present; and of navigating life with an acute awareness of both mind and body. “Your true journey starts when you’re ready for an adventure,” says Kumar, who took us through this complex work and explained what it all means.

“When I migrated to New Zealand, I began analysing what I was experiencing, Carl Jung calls it the process of individuation,” says Kumar who has degrees in painting and experimental animation and filmmaking from universities in California, New Zealand and India. This wall of heads, called Assembly Line Emo, is she says all the emotions one experiences in the process of figuring things out – fear, guilt, pain – and the personas we adopt – the finger pointer, the listener, the tripper. Just out of frame in the lower right corner are tiny brains in wheelchairs, which Kumar says are symbolic of the process of evolution, “that at some point the brain has to get out of the wheelchair”.

Neuron Scape, says Kumar, is evocative of Ardhanarishvara, that is, the joint male and female figure of Shiva and Parvati. “If you don’t respect the feminine power, you can’t respect the masculine.” Kumar’s works frequently transgress the traditional barrier, not just metaphorically, but also literally, which is why these works flow off the canvas completely.

Titled aptly The Orgy of the Organs, these sea creature-like specimens are actually just body parts – breasts, spinal cords, teeth cavities, tongues, just a great mass of organs that appear to float off the canvas and towards the ceiling. “It’s about loving everything to do with the body,” says Kumar.

The all seeing third eye bobs in an ocean – is it sinking or rising? “It could be either,” says Kumar, who titled this work simply C. “It’s about seeing things as it is, an awakening of sorts.”

(Report sourced from Mumbai Boss)

Durga, The Bonding of a Dream, The Iran Issue and more..

NEWS

The Bonding of Dream

( Work on display)

Gallery Space, Hyderabad presents an art exhibition of Samir Sarkar paintings that are all about creating shapes using different colors. The show is titled, ‘The Bonding of Dream’. This artist does not use any particular lines but his art works are all about using colors to achieve a desired result. The canvases look spectacular and they do express a plethora of thoughts and emotions.

The works rendered in figurative style and vibrant colors feature human figures in various actions like musicians etc.

The show is on view from 12th to 20th March 2014.

Durga

( Work on display)

The Gallery, Gurgaon invites art lovers for a special exhibition, ‘Durga – Dynamics of power, gender bias and a story of Widows in India’ by the experienced photographer, designer and art director Sharmistha Dutta. The show was launched on Women’s Day and will go on till the last week of March.

The exhibition celebrates Sharmistha’s latest works; a collection of photographs that highlight the emergence of women in India comparing them with the deity Durga. On the day of inauguration, there was a special preview of spring summer collection of Amyra by fashion designer Preeti Ghai over wine and cheese.

The show is on view till 29th March 2014.

The Iran Issue

(Work on display)

Studio 21, Kolkata presents ‘The Iran Issue’, a group show and printed quarterly comprising of 14 established and upcoming Iranian photographers, working within and outside Iran. The images include documentary and fictional narratives as well as art photography. The issue seeks to show Iran's connection with South Asian countries by dealing with varying aspects of democracy.

The photographs investigate notions of amnesia, censorship and identity through documentary, as well as staged formats. The ideas underlying the works range from encounters with the state, to a re-assessment of one’s personal life.

The show is on view till 29th March 2014.

Retrospective on Indian Cinema

( work on display)

The Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre (HICC), in collaboration with the Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi, and curator Nupur Tron, present a photo exhibition named ‘Retrospective on Indian Cinema’. 

To mark the occasion of the centenary of Indian cinema this year, the photo exhibition will be showcasing several iconic and many never-before-seen images of actors, scenes, sets and locations during the filming of Satyajit Ray’s films as well as the filmmaker at work, taken over a twenty-five year period, as well as an array of images of regional films and actors.

The show is on view till 19th March 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Life and dreams

Renuka Sondhi Gulati’s exhibition “The Phoenix Woman” exhorts women to pursue their aspirations while fulfilling their responsibilities

( Work by Renuka Sondhi Gulati)

Strong lines and soft colours; realistic drawings and abstract backgrounds; details and simplicity; busts mostly of women, at any age, with their lives and their feelings are all components of the exhibition “The Phoenix Woman” by artist Renuka Sondhi Gulati at Shridharani Gallery.

Renuka’s paintings and sculptures represent women of all ages, from childhood to old age. The message behind these figures is strong and simple: that time goes by, life goes on, but we are always there and there are no loopholes. One has to accept with serenity the flow of time and understand that what one does is the true beauty of life. The simplicity of her work is vivid. Renuka’s aim is to create an art which is easy to relate to, in which subjects are not overwhelmed by too many decorations. “The painting must speak,” she says. At the same time, however, her figures are very detailed and are evidence of an in-depth study of the representation of the human figure.

Metal elements often accompany her representations, and metal is seen as a metaphysical element that brings one back to reality: a symbol of the difficulty of freeing our thoughts and our dreams. The contemporary society with its needs and its commitments, affects women’s lives more than men. They are often expected to be good mothers and good housewives, taking care of the needs of the children and the family. A woman, in most of the cases, has to be stronger than a man to achieve her dreams. A man on the contrary will not be considered a bad father even he works all day and gives priority to his career while delegating family care to his wife.

When Renuka realised that art was her future, she knew she could not let her being a wife and mother prevent her from pursuing her passion. She understood that only a happy and successful woman can be a happy and successful mother and wife too; hence she began to practice, study and work hard. Her life and art have important messages for younger generations, especially women: do not let the roles prescribed by society stop you from dreaming and realise your ambitions — all it requires is hard work and dedication.

The exhibition continues till March 16, Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, Tansen Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

( Report by Daniele Pagani for The Hindu)

The Baroda March 2014, A A Raiba Felicitated and more..

NEWS

AA Raiba honoured with State Award

(Artist Abdul Aziz Raiba)

The Fine Arts Department of the State of Maharashtra honoured the painter Abdul Aziz Raba with a Lifetime Achievement Award towards his immense contribution to the field of Art. The event was held at Jehangir Art Gallery, and the Chief Guest, Honorable Minister Rajesh Tope presented the award on behalf of the state to the senior artist.

Also accompanying the event was The Maharashtra State Art Exhibition 2013-14 which previewed on the 5th March and will be on view till 11th March 2014 at the AC-3 gallery.

The show is jointly curated by Prof. Shashikant Kakade and Prof Anant Nikam of JJ School of Art and Zasha Colah and Sumesh Sharma of Clark House Initiative.

Traces and Tears

( Work on display)

Project 88, Mumbai presents a solo show of artist Sandeep Mukherjee, titled, ‘Traces and Tears’. Working in painting, drawing and installation, Mukherjee positions his work in abstraction that is both phenomenological and ontological - where aesthetics informs experience and art researches its own specific conditions. Improvisational and process based, Mukherjee's work investigates materiality and the body as a means to resist identity and conceptual determination. The work asserts pleasure and embodied criticality in order to inhabit an expanded field of structural logic and subjectivity. Following multiple paths through figuration, the performing body, architecture as site and abstraction, the work continues to explore the tension between process, image, affect and meaning. 

Mukherjee received an MFA from UCLA, and a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles. Born in Pune, India, he lives and works in Los Angeles and is a Professor of Art at Pomona College. 

The show commences on 13th March and will be on view till 19th April 2014.

The Baroda March 2014

(Work on display)

Rukshaan Art presents a show at the Coomaraswamy Hall of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, titled, ‘The Baroda March 2014’. The show will display paintings and sculptures made by upcoming as well as established artists.

This is an annual event, a brain child of gallerist and curator Rukshaan Krishna, where she involves and displays the works of the newer and the older generation of Baroda based or Baroda educated artists. The show aims to bring out the freshness and novelty of thoughts and skill of the artists.

The show previews on 8th March at 5:30pm and will be on view till 16th March 2014.

Fragment Nature

( Work by Maruthi Paila)

Icon Art Gallery, Hyderabad presents a solo show of art work by artist Maruthi Paila. The show titled, ‘Fragment Nature’ features abstract art works by the artist.

Abstract art is personal and subjective and Maruthi Paila explores those possibilities of expression in myriad ways. Moving away from figurative imagery, Maruthi dwells in the non-representational world. The acrylics and small format works are geometric, with criss-cross lines forming haphazard, asymmetrical patterns perhaps resulting from an outpour of the artist’s emotions. It’s like a mosaic of lines and colours. Yet, there is a sense of harmony in the composition. Maruthi has been seeking to find a language of his own working and exploring different types of imagery, figurative and non-figurative - a continuous exercise to develop his visual vocabulary for growth and perfection. 

The show previews on 7th March at 6:30pm and will be on view till 20th March 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)


FEATURE

Bridging the distance

As an exhibition of astrophotography goes on in the city, Ajay Talwar, a participant and one of the few belonging to the tribe, explains why he loves to demystify the celestial world.

(SKY IS THE LIMIT: Dolly and Pankaj)

Demystifying the skies and bringing the celestial bodies closer to people are three photographers — Laurent Laveder, Thierry Legault from France and Ajay Talwar — at Jantar Mantar. The site, an 18th century astronomical observatory, couldn’t have been more appropriate, even though in recent years it has come to be first registered as a site of protest in our minds. But the exhibition “Astrophotography” — organised by Institut Francais en Inde, the French Embassy in India and the Alliance Francaise as part of “Fete De La Photo 2014 — A Photo Festival in Public Space” — in which science meets art, sits in perfect harmony with the space. Ajay Talwar, one of the few astrophotographers in India, talks about practicing this niche genre.

On astrophotography in India

Its popularity is growing at a good pace because of digital SLR. There are about 200-300 practitioners of it because digital SLR allows long exposures and full control over apertures. You have to expose your photograph for the right time to create star trails and that’s how you get an image. When I started 27 years ago, we used to shoot on film and we would come to know of our mistakes only later and it would take long to correct it. Amateur Astronomer Association of Nehru Planetarium (Talwar is its vice-president) has also popularised the genre. Members discuss different aspects of astronomy there.

On the technique

(Temple Moon Full Rise)

While in the daytime everything is done by the camera itself, when you are shooting at night, the photographer has to do a lot of things. The focus, the framing and the exposure, you have to decide everything. To do something like star trails, you have to keep shooting long exposure, say about 30 seconds through the night, but at Nanda Devi where the shoot lasted for three hours, I kept exposing for two minutes. It was a cold night and three cameras with timer remotes attached to them were placed at different locations. It is an interesting experience because the photographer spending the whole night beneath the sky can see it move.

Shooting night landscapes like I do doesn’t require telescope but yes when I do deep sky objects, I do work with telescopes. Otherwise I shoot on 35 mm lens, 50 mm lens or 200 mm lens in special cases like my image of moonrise above the Kalkaji temple. I was one-and-a-half kilometres away from the temple in a house in Sant Nagar. I had to plan the shoot in advance because I had to calculate the day and the time of such an alignment between the moon and the temple.

On bringing the human element into his photographs

The structures, temples and human presence entered my frame after I was invited by TWAN (The World at Night), a platform for photographers who shoot earth and sky in the night. I realised that to get people to relate to this world, it is important to have a relatable presence. Viewers are very receptive to such images. In the “Dolly and Pankaj” image which has become very popular, it is just my friend sitting under the sky at Hatu Peak in Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh, against the moving stars captured through exposures. I would tell my friend to stay still for five minutes, then ten minutes and then fifteen minutes in such biting cold.

Future projects

India’s largest optical telescope is coming up at Devasthal in Nainital and I have been documenting its creation. So I plan on doing a time-lapse video on it.

(Report by Shailaja Tripathi for The Hindu)