Samarpan: a dream called Mahatma Gandhi, Vermeer and Music and more..

NEWS


Mind The Home

(Work by Karl Antao)

Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore presents a solo show of art works by eminent artist Karl Antao. The show titled, ‘Mind the Home’ features sculptural works of the artist, which represent the Mind of a human being as the actual home of the person. Driven by ambition and nurtured by love and harmony this home can become the foundation and base for an individual’s success or drive them to the ground with insecurity and despair.

Using the mind as a metaphor for the world around us, the artist makes subtle suggestions about its working and attempts to set it free.

The works will be on view till 28th October 2013.

Samarpan : a dream called Mahatma Gandhi

Kalarasa Art House, Bangalore, presents a group show with the works of 16 eminent artists, titled, ‘Samarpan - A Dream called Mahatma Gandhi’. 

The works on display depict various nuances of the Mahatma as seen by the artists. Be it his struggles and simplicity of thought and living, the works capture the essence of his teachings and a greatness in spite of every problem he faced.

The show includes artists like Manju Hassan, Naveen Kumar,  Jagdish Kadur, Gururaj Alagond among several others in the show.

The show is on view till 11th October 2013.

Ethereal Epiphanies

(Work by Neena Singh)

Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai presents a solo show of works by artist Neena Singh. The show titled, ‘ Ethereal Epiphanies’ is a collection of works which have been rendered in the style of abstract imageries.

There is a certain elusiveness to the works and the spirituality evoking works conceal a purity and grace untouched by malice.

The works are primarily made in acrylic and oils on canvas and the show is on view till 12th October 2013.

Vermeer and Music

(A painting by Johannes Vermeer)

The National Centre for Performance Arts, (NCPA) presents a once in a life time opportunity to view the exquisite works of Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer at their Dance Theatre Godrej.

The show is in collaboration with the National Gallery, London, and Johannes Vermeer is one of the most startling and fascinating artists of all time, as he is the painter of The Girl with a Pearl Earring. Vermeer painted little more than 30 works that exist, and the National Gallery has chosen to focus on his art in relation to music. Music was one of the most popular themes of Dutch painting and revealed a lot about the sitter and the society. The event goes beyond the exhibition to tell his entire life story and, in doing so, shows many of his works in detail

The show is on view till 14th October 2013.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Celebrating the Ordinary

Usha Ramachandran’s sculptures delicately cast the drama in movement

(Artist Usha Ramachandran)

Usha Ramachandran’s sculptures are movements frozen in time. A man in windswept clothes stands with his upturned umbrella blowing away; another shields himself from torrential rain with a long leaf and a third runs from searing sunlight with a newspaper for protection. Usha’s people are usually busy with the business of life, and her works capture their split-second moments of beauty within the mundane. With 31 such sculptures, and 37 of her paintings on display at Durbar Hall Art Gallery, Usha says, “Variety lies in ordinary people.”

Observing life

( Sculpture by Usha Ramachandran)

Usha finds inspiration from the lives of people around her, from the news on television, and from newspaper clippings. “I like people; I like observing them. Their faces and expressions stay in my mind long after they’re gone,” she says. It’s usually strong visual moments that translate into her art. A series of sculptures feature sportsmen in action — a footballer dives in time to save the goal, and two others are caught midway through a powerful kick. “I hope to create some on tennis players as well,” says Usha. Besides the rippling muscles and engaged faces that define sharp movements, three of Usha’s pieces on display are physically mobile as well. The sculptures of a girl skipping rope, a man pole vaulting and a diver taking off from his board move back and forth when touched.

( Sculptures by Usha Ramachandran)

Usha also draws from the various cultures she has been exposed to. As wife to C. Ramachandran, who was in the services, she shifted house several times across the country and the characters she met then people her work now. “I’ve lived in Kollam, Kasaragod, Delhi and Chennai but I’ve been settled in Thiruvananthapuram for 25 years now.” ‘The Village Bard’, which features a man playing a simple bow and string nanduni, is drawn from the sight of temple singers near her current home; ‘Little Laundress’ depicts a young washerwoman Usha saw near Palakkad and ‘Papa’s Lift’ shows a farmer father, dressed in a mundu with a towel thrown over one arm, carrying his child atop his shoulders as they walk to the local evening shadow play.

Such familial love is a common occurrence through Usha’s work. Fathers sit fishing beside their children and mothers caress their newborns.

Usha’s own career as an artist began at 60, after her children were settled and her husband had retired. “You’re in a different world when you are creating. You need time, and concentration, which is difficult to get when you’re raising kids and have a household to run,” says Usha. With time on her hands now, Usha sculpts and sketches as inspiration strikes. “I first make a skeleton of the figure in wire, then I mould in wax, adjusting proportions as I go along. Once I’ve got the balance right, the figure is then cast in bronze.” While Usha prefers bronze over other materials as it gleams well and lasts long, a few of her works in fibreglass, and wood are also on display. For instance, ‘The Bird’s Fascinating Tale’ has a man cast in brown fibreglass with a bronze bird seated on his shoulder, whispering in his ear.

( Usha Ramachandran's works on display)

While Usha is currently prolific as a sculptor, her first steps into the art world were as a self-taught painter. Her works in charcoal, oil, acrylic and pastels of everyday people hang aplenty on the gallery walls. “My first solo exhibition, in 2009, was of paintings. There I met V. Satheesan who taught me the basics of sculpture, and by 2010 I had my first exhibition of sculptures - ‘The Bronze Age’. A piece from here was given the Honourable Mention by Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and that gave me immense confidence.” Thus motivated, Usha is currently on her eighth solo exhibition, ‘Rhythms of Life’. The show will be on till October 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

( Report from The Hindu, Photos by Thulasi Kakkat)

Review - Miss Butterfly - Shadi Ghadirian, Unnatural Landscapes, Anuchitra and more...

REVIEW

Miss Butterfly - Shadi Ghadirian

When citizens of a country awaken each day to haul the burden of a religion-imposed propriety, true freedom becomes an elusive ray of sunlight. Capturing this irony, photography artist Shadi Ghadirian presents an insider’s view of the confined lives of the ‘fairer’ sex in an ‘un-fair’ world, in her solo show at Lakeeren Art Gallery, Mumbai.. observes Sushma Sabnis.

(Work by Shadi Ghadirian)

A large needle pierces an imaginary cloth of air with a woollen string, making large spider webs. Patiently, like the arachnid weaver, the string is drawn in and out into knots and tight concentric polygons. The webs block the openings of trapdoors, roof outlets, doorways, windows, even room separators. Light pierces the house, as light cares little for permission to enter, but people would need permissions to come and go as they please. Tehran based artist Shadi Ghadirian’s photography works speak volumes as she dedicates them to her imprisoned journalist friend Nazanin Khosravani.

Inspired by a play ‘Miss Butterfly’ by Bijan Mofid, the artist focuses on the silent struggle for freedom from outdated doctrines and laws which cripple society and its progress. The price of breaking free from a self imposed comfortable cage, would require a determined effort not just by one person but by the entire society. In her works, Shadi positions the protagonist, a young Iranian woman with a holistic identity in a positive light. Shadi subtly implies the political subjugation of this entity, by visually striking a balance between an elegant visible beauty and a silent struggle in closed, ‘protected’ rooms. Represented in stark black and white photography works, the message however, of defeating one’s complacence to get what they rightfully deserve, dissolves any notion of direct victimisation.

( Work by Shadi Ghadirian)

Each of the photographs show a woman weaving the spider web on portals of entry, like doorways and entrances. The deliberate evasion of the viewer’s gaze by the protagonist is a metaphor for the reluctance of a society or a community to take the first step towards that ephemeral ‘freedom’. Weaving larger polygonal shapes in the web, she seems to convince herself of the supposed ‘protection‘ it can give her from the big bad world outside. 

A prison is not just about barricades, shackles, chains and high brick walls; there are far more closeted ideological prisons existent in the minds of humankind. The artist refers to those impenetrable confined places where even light does not venture. Through her works, Shadi attempts to urge the viewer to break free of the darkness of unquestioned conditioning and false ritualistic beliefs. 

( Work by Shadi Ghadirian)

A modern woman living within the conservative codes of the Shariah law, Shadi uses threads of her own experiences to incorporate into the works. With a strong spinal support of women before her who have lived and died in conformity, Shadi quietly holds a non-conformist woman’s perspective in a male dominated environment. 

One could be reminded of the effect of Edvard Munch’s painting ‘The Scream’ on the viewer, but Shadi’s photographs would probably invoke a silent scream; a cry deep within oneself waiting to be freed with illumination. She intends the viewer to seek a true freedom and watch as the world around metamorphoses into an illumined society. 

‘Miss Butterfly’ a must see, is on view till 8th November 2013.

NEWS

Unnatural Landscapes

Abadi Art Space, New Delhi presents a group show of photography works of three photography artists titled, ‘Unnatural Landscapes’. The show reflects on nature, human interventions and city environments. 

Capturing the urban and the distorted realities of today’s living, and its effects on humankind the show explores various aspects in a digital photography format. The participating artists are Bhuvanesh Gowda, Sandeep Biswas and Vineet Kumar.

The show is on view till 11th October 2013.

Anuchitra

Ganges art gallery, Kolkata presents an exclusive group show of miniature art, titled, ‘Anuchitra’.  The school of miniature paintings has been part of India’s cultural heritage and in this show, the small format works have been chosen to be displayed.

The participating artists are Ramananda Bandopadhyay, Jogen Chowdhury, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Sunil Das, Shahbuddin Ahmed, Nandini Chirimar, Alok Bal, Debraj Goswami, Prasanta Sahu, Tanmoy Samanta, Mahula Ghosh, Rajiba Lochan Pani, Ushmita Sahu, Partha Shaw.

The show is on view till 31st October 2013.

Journey with bull

Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai presents a solo show of sculptures by eminent artist, sculptor Ratan Krishna Saha. The show is titled, ‘Journey With Bull’ and on display are exquisite sculptures of the bull, full of animated energy and power.

The sculptor uses the bull more as a language for his depictions than just an object of sheer masculine beauty and strength. The works are bronze sculptures and figurines.

The inauguration will be by Mr Anjan Chatterjee and Mrs Suchindra Chatterjee at 6:30 pm on 8th October 2013.

The show is on view till 14th October 2013.

Surreal of the Blue

( A work by Prashant Salvi)

Out of the Blue art space, Mumbai presents a solo art exhibition by artist Prashant Salvi. The show displays the artist’s unique style of surrealistic paintings which he renders in mixed media sometimes on paper and on canvas. 

The works explore a exaggerated humorous sexuality as cultural and natural happenings and the forms are distorted from their actual sizes and proportions to depict various human emotions and nuances.

The exhibition will be held at the Wine Cellar at Out of the Blue.

The show is on view from 10th October to 15th October 2013.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

The Hope of Freedom, Fellow Travellers Iceboat and Sky Fold and more..

NEWS

The Hope of Freedom

(Photo documentary at the show)

The Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre, New Delhi presents a photo-documentary at their premises. The occasion is to commemorate the 57th Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the 24th Anniversary of the fall of the  ‘Iron Curtain’. The day that Hungary became a democratic Republic.

The changes in Hungary catalysed the political processes that led to the break-down of the communist systems in the region and the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

The photo documentary will be on view till 1st November 2013.


Iceboat and Sky Fold

(Sky Fold by Neha Choksi)

Project 88, Mumbai presents a solo show of art works by artist Neha Choksi. The show titled, ‘Iceboat and Sky Fold’ is a collection of various art works in different mediums by the artist.

Iceboat is a video of performances while Sky Fold is a series of photographic cyanograms made during the video's production. Neha Choksi approaches the performance as a poetic elucidation not only on the effort to stay afloat despite the inevitability of failure, but also on striving and surrendering, on coping and release, resistance and collapse.

The show is on view till 16th November 2013.

Motherhood show

( Work by Mahesh Anjarlekar at the show)

Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Mumbai presents a group show of three artists, in a show titled, ‘Motherhood’. The show displays works of artist Mahesh Anjarlekar, Sushant Kuweskar and Ravi Vengurlekar. 

The works on display show a mix of subjects explored from landscapes and rural life to portraiture and intense sculptural works. Mahesh Anjarlekar’s mother and child sculptures are of an illuminated intertwined unified form which depicts not just the figures but also the emotion shared. Sushant Kuweskar and Ravi Vengurlekar depict the landscapes which incorporate rural and some urban influences in their works.

The show is on view till 9th October 2013.

Fellow Travellers

(Work at the show)

Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hyderabad presents a solo show by eminent artist Laxman Aelay. The show titled, ‘Fellow Travellers’ is a collection of paintings depicting rural life and featuring people who travel for religious purposes or belong to a nomadic community.

The paintings are rendered in the realistic style and have a limited palette which raises the interest of the viewer without losing focus on the subject at hand. Women and men, some in portraitures styles present themselves in mundane poses and at times staring back at the viewer unflinching in their faith. Musicians playing their instrument of music,women lullabying a child to sleep, a woman tying her hair in a knot, such are the unique angles and perspectives of the works in the show.

The show is on view from 5th October to 15th October 2013.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

The inside story

A photography exhibition at Jamia Millia Islamia brought out the value of family albums in the digital age.

(Student perspective exhibition at MF Hussain gallery in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: Meeta Ahlawat)

A photography exhibition, “Photography As Archive: A Student Perspective”, was organised by AJK Mass Communication Research Centre (AJK MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). This exhibition was a part of the Delhi Photo Festival 2013.

Sixteen works by former and present students of Post Graduate Diploma in Still Photography and Visual Communication were displayed at this exhibition .

The exhibition was curated by two Associate Professors of AJK MCRC, Sabeena Gadihoke and Sohail Akbar.

Sabeena said, “These exhibited works by students commented on personal photography by using found photographs or images from their own families and neighbourhood studios. They used readings to explore styles, practices, histories, technologies and cultures of photography. Originally, made as a Power Point presentation these projects had been specially redesigned for this exhibition, keeping the original concepts intact.”

These displayed works said many things about the fascination towards photography in the pre-digital age of photography. Many forms of photography could be seen in these works. There were posed photographs, there was sort of intimate photographs taken by couples through the use of timer in camera and there was trick photography, etc. The photographs took us back to that age from where we could trace back our culture and cultural transformation to this high-tech age of photography. That age and the format of photography are like a cultural heritage.

Each work was described through a small write up about photographs. “Photographs are central to archives whether in libraries, museum, banks, police records family albums. This exhibition showcased a number of personal archives that help open the doors to newer and deeper understanding about the intricate interplay of photography, memory and private life. Personal archives were not just recording of the ‘external words’ but excursions into inner lives, fantasies and the imaging of the self. The key to the photographs were the narratives that surrounded them, ones that can be revealed only by the insider,” noted Sabeena.

Now, things are different. Medium is same but the format of photography has changed. High-tech digital photography has changed the way photographs are taken. Internet and social media have revolutionised the use of photographs.

Mobile memory banks

“Once upon a time, photographic traces never escaped the confines of the family album while today they travel the world through the internet. If memory is an archive we all carry with us, the implicit question that haunts our project asks: what is the relationship between memory and photographs? The answers are many and complex but we can certainly say that photographs are our own little signposts about remembering and forgetting,” observed Sohail.

( Report by Irfan Ahmed for The Hindu)

Review - Home Street Home -Vicky's Stepping Stone to Success But.. and more..

REVIEW

Home.Street.Home: Vicky’s Stepping Stone to Success But...

JohnyML reviews the recently published book of Vicky Roy’s Photographs by Nazar Foundation.

( Home Street Home -By Vicky Roy)

At the age of twenty five Vicky Roy is a few solo shows and several group shows old, photography artist. Now he has an anthology of his works published by the Nazar Foundation, an initiative of Prashant Panjiar and Dinesh Khanna, two Delhi based photographers and photography activists, who are behind the internationally noticed Delhi Photo Festival. Titled ‘Home.Street.Home’, this book, between its covers contains the hallmark images that Vicky has made during his formative years as a photography artist. It also has a small autobiographical note written by the artist himself, touching for its candidness and verve. Nazar Foundation calls it, the first in Nazar Photography Monographs. That means, we can expect a series of monographs like this from the foundation. Considering the fact that our photography scenario is full of monographs and coffee table books of the established and well-known photographers, this monograph is a welcoming change. However, Vicky is not less established. His life is something that dreams are made of.

(Vicky Roy, Johny ML and others at the visit to the television studio)

Personally speaking, I do not want to repeat the same story of Vicky that has been recounted by many including myself at different platforms in different guises. I had even made a (pre-planned) surprise visit to a television studio where Vicky was being interviewed. I was invited as one amongst those people who had noticed Vicky’s talent at an early stage of his career. As I entered, he got up, showing surprise and myself, showing so much happiness, as per the script of the program producer. Even if it was not for a television program that sold desires and dreams to the middle class and the lower middle class, telling them constantly that you too could make it, I would have happily embraced Vicky anywhere. I have observed Vicky growing from strength to strength; working very hard to make it, serving a social purpose through his organisation Rang along with Chandan Gomes , meeting the right people and singing the right tunes. That’s why he was invited to speak at the TED platform. They want to hear that rags to riches story of Vicky. 

( Vicky Roy at the TED lecture)

I will say it in two lines: Born to a poor family, Vicky, at the age of eleven ran away from home and reached New Delhi. He did menial jobs to survive until he was found out by the Salam Balak Trust that sheltered and educated him till he could stand on his own. You may throw in any amount of suspense, tragedy, comedy and hair-raising, handle clutching episodes in between to make his story more palatable. Vicky gives certain clues in his writing and now you are free to develop it further. 

( A Photography work by Vicky Roy)

Some hold words, some colors, some sounds, some movements and yet some images captured by a camera so closer to their hearts, just to forget the past and survive the present and invest in the future. It is an escape route, a way to forget, a way to remember even and above all a way to leave traces as a covert ploy against the bad fate. These mediums provide them with the right kind of vantage point and distance from where they could see life in its entirety. They could see, register, sleep and dream from there. Vicky’s choice was camera. Not so good at studies (according to his own confession he has barely passed tenth class with 48% marks) Vicky saw his salvation in the camera. He thought camera would take him to places. And it did take him. He was invited to the WTC Ground Zero to work as a photographer for six months followed by an exhibition at the American Culture Centre, New Delhi.

(A photography work by Vicky Roy)

While I do feel happy for Vicky and his achievements, I strongly wish that this should be the last book for a long time to come about his not-so-palatable past.  That Vicky of the streets is now a past which has been essentially captured and featured in this book. It is now time for Vicky to go beyond it. Tracing a vagabond, a run-away kid in any image that he makes would be a futile exercise. And succumbing to that pressure, if at all he does, would eventually ruin his creative career. So far I have not seen Vicky going back to his past at least in his images. But the pressure on him is tremendous to be ‘there’ in the streets. When we talk about other famous photography artists we do not talk about their childhood experiences as ‘future’ photographers (with painters and sculptors, even with politicians and writers, it is different). For example, when we see Raghu Rai’s or Jyoti Bhatt’s picture we do not connect them with their childhood experiences. Then why only with Vicky? Does his photographic verve begin and end him being a run-away kid?

( A photography work by Vicky Roy)

I warn every artist and activist who want to tie their creative prowess to a particular mode or interest; they are bound to be pushed out of history. Let us take the case of Chandramohan, who shot up to fame in 2007 for his scandalous (for one section of the society) depiction of gods and goddesses in Baroda. Now he is struggling to make both ends meet. This is going to be the case with those artists who came to the scene because they got involved in certain areas of personal or social life and registered their complaints/protests/responses/reactions in their respective mediums. They are bound to be out of the history. But it is not the case with those artists who show aesthetic finesse mingled with historical perspective. There are photography artists who have consistently followed one subject or community or issue throughout their lives. But that just does not make them great artists. If they are, their works have aesthetic value beyond documentary mission. 

( A photography work by Vicky Roy)

Hence, let us leave Vicky free of his past. May be when he is around 50 years old, that is exactly a quarter of a century after this date, and I will be seventy years old, happily retired to forests, we should think about his past as a run-away kid. Now let him live an independent, responsible and dignified human being’s life with his wonderful friends and gorgeous fiancée, Ashna Sharma.  This book is a landmark in Vicky’s career. But it should not be his touchstone. Considering the prolific nature of photography and the output of prodigious photographers, we should say, Vicky needs to go a long way to realise himself. This book is a step and let it be a stepping stone. 

NEWS

Sabavala Memorial lecture- II

The Jehangir Sabavala Foundation presents its second edition of an ongoing memorial lectures series. The lecture is focused on the relationship between Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Japanese art historian and curator Okakura Tenshin.

The lecture will be conducted by Rustom Bharucha on the 4th October 2013 at 6:30 pm at The Visitors Centre, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. The lecture is hosted by Shirin and Aafreed Sabavala.

Stories of Invocation

(A work by Rini Dhumal)

Tao art gallery, Mumbai presents a two persons show titled, ‘Stories of Invocation’. On display are the exquisite works of artists Rini Dhumal and Seema Kohli who are the eminent women artists in the country today. 

The show, jointly curated by Kalpana Shah and Sapna Kar, tries to invoke the sacred feminine through the art works. Vibrant, bold, intense and intricately detailed, both the artists’ works are narrative in style with specific stories and fables related to the various goddesses in Indian mythology and their manifestations.

The show previews on 5th October and will be on view till 15th October 2013.

Miss Butterfly

(A photography work by Shadi Ghadirian)

Lakeeren art gallery, Mumbai, presents a solo show of photography works by Iranian artist, Shadi Ghadirian, titled ‘ Miss Butterfly’. The show displays black and white photography works of the Tehran based woman artist, which question the international preconceptions of the roles women play in an Islamic state.

Drawing from her own experiences of a modern woman living under doctrines of the Shariah law, the artist portrays women as a positive holistic female identity even while they perform traditionally predefined roles. In her images the spider web is an allegorical representation to the social structures of Iran.

Shadi Ghadirian has studied photography in the Azad University Iran and has been exhibiting in various galleries across the world.

The show is on view till 8th November 2013.

English Magic

(Jeremy Deller)

The Mumbai Art Room presents a screening of the film ‘English Magic : a film by Jeremy Deller’ previewing on the 10th October 2013 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. The preview is open to public of the exhibition, English Magic: A film by Jeremy Dellyer. 

English Magic looks at both the dark and light sides of British culture, reveling in present-day contradictions with abandon. This work has been the focal point of the artist’s installation in the British Pavilion of this year’s Venice Biennale.

Jeremy Deller is a London based artist and has been making art works and showing them in unconventional galleries. His work encompasses film, video, installations, community projects and public sculptures.

The  film screening will be on view till 23rd November 2013.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

Ramkinkar Baij Retrospective, Abstracted Landscapes, Transformation Transmigration and more..

NEWS

Ramkinkar Baij Retrospective

(Sculptor Ramkinkar Baij)

Akar Prakar art gallery, Kolkata presents the third edition of its series of the Great Master’s art exhibitions, showcasing Ramkinkar Baij, a legendary figure in Indian art. The previous two exhibitions highlighted works of Nandalal Bose and of Benodebehari Mukherjee. 

Through these exhibitions many aspects and stages of their lives, so far little known, could be brought to light. A similar attempt is being made to present the art- loving people with Ramkinkar Baij. 

The show is on view till 2nd November 2013.

Abstracted Landscapes

(A work by Vinita Karim)

Jamaat Art Gallery, Mumbai presents a group show of art works by Indian and Bangladeshi artists. The six talented artists display a range of exquisite works in abstraction. Of the four Indian artists one is from Goa, two from Pune, one from Mumbai. Two eminent artists from Bangladesh also are included in the show.

The works on display are inspired by nature and landscapes, as is seen in the case of abstractionists. Minimalism also features in some of the works, making this an elegant display.

The participating artists are Antonio E Costa, Anu Kulkarni, Krishna Pulkundwar, Pandurang Tathe, Salahuddin Kazi, Vinita Karim.

The show is on view till 4th November 2013.

Village Life

(A print by Ramhau Dongare)

Gallery Pradarshak, Mumbai presents a solo show of prints ‘Village Life’ by printmaker and artist, Rambhau Dongare, who is also the principal of Dadaji Aher Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya, Dwarka, Nashik. Rambhau’s works on display his affiliation and upbringing in a rural milieu. His works on display primarily prints depict the rural life and simplicity of village 

people.

Most of the works on display are prints which are rendered with definitive precision and skill of many years of diligent art practice. Rambhau’s works are vibrant and sharp intheir visual appeal and simple in their depictions.

The show is on view till 12th October 2013.

Transformation Transmigration

(A work by Asuka Nirasawa - Cell)

Five Forty Five Gallery, Bangalore presents a solo show of art works by artist Asuka Nirasawa. Asuka reflects on the cycle of life in her series which are in four separate sections titled, Cell, Creature, Sin and Incarnation.Through the cycle, one lives different lives even though one began as a cell till death and reincarnation.

Her works are a visual treat and explode with energy and metaphors, with every element of the individual paintings replete with meaning. She uses creatures to depict human emotions and existential struggles.

Asuka Nirasawa was born in Osaka, Japan and completed her B.A in Fine Art from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts And Music (2001 - 2005). This is her first solo exhibition in India.

The show is on view till 1st november 2013.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Murals for the people

C.D. Dileep hopes to add currency to mural painting

(C.D. Dileep and A. Hariharan)

C.D. Dileep’s group of eight students are hard at work. A mural artiste, Dileep is teaching the students of Flora, Vanross Junction, the intricacies of mural inspired paintings.

Based in Guruvayur, Dileep runs Swastik Mural Paintings, a banner that is familiar amongst mural lovers, with his classmate and friend A. Hariharan. They conduct classes in painting in the mural style. They have students in India and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

(Work done by C.D. Dileep and A. Hariharan)

“Learning to paint in the mural style is a fad now. However, some of the teachers conducting classes are not trained in the field. As a result, we are losing the aesthetics and traditions of the art form; we want to train students in the right method. In fact, Hariharan is in UAE right now, teaching a group of students,” says Dileep.

Alumni of the Guruvayor Devaswom’s Institute of Mural Painting, they started their institution in 2005, right after graduation. “We wanted to add currency to mural paintings and Swastik is a step towards the direction,” says Dileep, who hails from Kannur.

A rank holder from the institute, Dileep hopes to expand the art form and give it visibility but “without letting the traditional art slip away.”

His canvas is any willing material: pillars, asbestos sheets, saris, flutes, pots... And while traditional images, especially those of Radha and Krishna and of Ganapathy are popular, he has added contemporary themes to the list. For instance, the mural-styled painting of a vallamkalli at the office of the State Bank of India, Pattom, was done by Dileep and Hariharan.

(Work done by C.D. Dileep and A. Hariharan)

“In mural art, team work is essential as you are covering a large area. Hariharan and I have painted the entire Vishnupuranam on a wooden sculpture of an elephant” says Dileep. “When Hariharan and I first started out, we had to go out in search of work; now, work seeks us.”

“We will be conducting an exhibition of our latest works at the upcoming Dubai Shopping Festival.”

What next? “We hope to turn Swastik into a large scale art gallery, where art of all kinds can be displayed.”

Contact Dileep: 9446234615

(Report by Liza George for The Hindu)