Charulata, Zen Moments and more..

NEWS

Charulata

( Work by Gautam Mukherjee)

Jamaat Art Gallery, Mumbai presents Chaarulata - Satyajit Ray's 1964 film adaptation of Tagore's 1901 novella Nastaneerh, was one of the sublime collaborations spanning the ages. Now, 50 years after Charulata was released, Gautam Mukherjee draws on this timeless story for a series of paintings called Chaarulata, commemorating this film.

Gautam has created the series based on this iconic character. Rich in colour and form, each work is inspired by a small vignette reflecting Charu’s exploration, creation and use of objects around her. The artist painstakingly evokes the nuances of a typical Bengali household, sensibility and culture through his intricate and vibrant art works.

The show is on view till 30th April 2014.

The Persistence of Form

( Work on display)

Gallery Third Eye, Bangalore is organising an art exhibition titled, ‘The Persistence of Form’ displaying art works by artists Vijay Nagvekar and Runa Biswas at its premises. The exhibition focuses on vibrancy, sensitivity, richness and the depth of Indian art. It highlights the creative nuances of artists with their varied styles, mediums and imagination.

The show is on view from 11th April to 30th April 2014.

Zen Moments

(Work on display)

Gallery Nvya, Delhi in association with Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. is hosting an art exhibition titled 'Zen Moments'. Focused on relaxation, tranquility and pleasure, the art exhibition will showcase an amalgam of fine works of established and emerging artists.

The artists whose artworks are on display include, Chinthala Jagadish, Deepak Sonar, Dharmendra Rathore, Jehangir Sabavala, Kazi Nasir, Lal Bahadur Singh, M.F.Husain, Manu Parekh, Madan Lal,  Manoj Kachangal, Mohammed Osman, Nabibakhsh Mansoori,Nayanaa Kanodia, Nupur Kundu, Paresh Maity, Piu Sarkar, Pratap SJB Rana, Ramakanth  Thumrugoti, Ravi Gossain, Revati Sharma Singh, S H Raza, Sachindranath Jha, Sangeeta Singh, Sarang Singla, Shipra  Bhattacharya, Shuvaprasanna, Suman Gupta, Surya Prakash, Vinita Dasgupta, and Vinita Karim.

The show is on view till 24th July 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Giant With a Human Face

CCI’s golden jubilee celebration begins on April 3.

( Chhaya Chitra)

In the post-Independence renaissance and regeneration of Indian handicrafts, many personalities played significant roles. Among them stood out Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay, a visionary. She set up the Crafts Council of India in 1964, a voluntary, non-governmental, not-for-profit registered organisation to enhance, protect and nurture India’s heritage.

Today CCI is on the threshold of its golden jubilee, celebration beginning on April 3. The banyan tree called CCI is a family of 10 affiliated State councils and a larger one of hundreds of artisans spread across the country, whose lives it has touched and even transformed.

CCI extends this support in multi-pronged ways. Through workshops and seminars, upgradation of tools and technology, design and product development through the help of experts, marketing exercises such as sales, bazaars and sending artisans abroad for demos and sales. It also helps in research and documentation that preserves knowledge for posterity. Among its landmark documentation is the three-volume ‘Stone Craft of India.’

Awards for artisans

( Weaver's children at the camp)

CCI recognises excellence through awards and scholarships for artisans. It’s ‘Educate to Sustain’ programme creates opportunities for craftsperson’s children through education, training and exposure. The Craft Economic and Impact Study (CEIS), which CCI has undertaken will provide government authorities with a reliable data base involving perhaps 200 million artisans.

“Yes”, says Vijaya Rajan, CCI Chairperson, who has grown with the organisation since its inception. “I've been through it all, the early years of operating from each other’s homes and even from our sick beds! Organising exhibitions and workshops, as president of CCI’s APR region, apart from seminars and other events with a bunch of dedicated volunteers. The bottom-line has been to provide sustainable livelihood to the artisans. CCI has always had a humane face, which has touched the artisan’s lives.”
One such life is that of Raja Shekharan, from a traditional Tamil sthapati family, who was chosen to be trained in the use of pneumatic tools at CCI’s Stone Tech programme in 2004. Because of his excellent sculpting skills at the workshop, he was chosen to undergo training at City and Guilds of London Arts School, where he won a competition to be part of the Windsor Castle restoration project. Today his half-lion half-elephant yaali grotesque adorns the corbels of St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle. Raja Shekharan’s studio in Bangalore now attracts British and Indian trainees.
Then there is Shilp Guru Guruppa Chetty, a Kalamkari artist and a lifelong friend of CCI. Guruppa’s knowledge on craft of Andhra has proved to be of immense value to CCI, which sponsored his attendance at WCC’s Vienna exhibition.
There are numerous other lives that CCI has impacted, the numerous craftspersons who attend it’s craft bazaars. These include anyone from master weavers such as Varanasi’s Munna Haji Noor Mohammad, Lucknow’s Shilp Guru and chikankari master Rehana, Dr. Ismail Khatri of Bhuj to kite makers and broom makers from U.P. But the biggest smiles come from the children of the Educate to Sustain Programme. They are weaver’s children from Veeravannalur: J. Venkatesh, Narayanan, Shanmughapriya, Subbalakshmi and Priyanka are happily learning languages, math, computer skills and art, while getting trained in the art of weaving at their homes.
CCI’s Golden Jubilee year celebration will begin with the presentation of the Kamala Awards to artisans and activists and a Retrospective Exhibition on April 3. They will continue through the year with special monthly craft-related events in Chennai. The programmes for the next three months will include a quilting exhibition along with the launch of a book on Indian quilts, a craft-related film festival and an Odisha Crafts Festival. The rest of the events, to continue till April 2015, will include exhibitions such as ‘The Future is Handmade,’ Packaging, North-Eastern Crafts Exhibition, Embroideries, Craft Bazaar and Natural Dye Bazaar.

( Report by Pushpa Chari 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)

Hana - The Lotus, Gazing into the Myth, Meditative Hues and more..

NEWS

Hana - The Lotus

( Work by Yuriko Ando Lochan)

India International Centre, New Delhi, presents a solo show titled, ‘Hana- The Lotus’. The show displays thew works of artist Yuriko Ando Lochan. Lotus is the central theme of the lyrical works on display as the lotus captures the hearts of people, as a representation of life. It has the connotation of the view on life based on the concept of eternal change.

The artist successfully merges in the works, the two enriching cultures that have influenced her, Indian and Japanese, where India is the primal source of human culture and Japan of refined sensibilities of her origin, together forming an soulful body of work.

The show will be inaugurated by H E Takeshi Yagi, Ambassador of Japan in India, and Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson IIC- asia project.

The show previews on 25th March 2014 at 6: 30 pm and is on view till 1st April 2014.

Meditative Hues

(work on display)

Gallerie Ganesha, New Delhi presents a solo show of paintings titled, ‘Meditative Hues’.

Artist Niti Jain shows her meditative abstracts in this show. There has been a marked evolution in her work. 

For her previous show, she had created abstracts with vibrant bold colors, vigorous strokes and pronounced brush stroke. 'Meditative Hues' in contrast is a calmer rendition with a subtlety that speaks of an inherent spirituality.

The show is on view till 27th March 2014.

Gazing into the Myth

(Work by Jayasri Burman)

Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore and Ruchika Anand present a solo show of paintings by eminent artist Jayasri Burman. The works are displayed in the show titled, ‘Gazing into the Myth’. 

The exquisite and intricate works portray figures and interconnected stories from nuances of mythology and history. The narratives dominate the distinct style that the artist employ presenting to the viewer a tapestry of colour, beauty and folk lore.

The show is to be held at the Visual Art Centre, Hong Kong and previews on 19th March from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.

The show is on view till 23rd March 2014.

The charm of still life

( Work by Puja Sethi)

Beanstalk, Gurgaon presents an art show by artist Puja Sethi. Puja Sethi is trained in fine arts at Columbia University and the Art students league of New York. 

Presently her area of work is realism and naturalism in art using oil, watercolor and diverse drawing media.

The show displays some exquisite still life paintings and her skill in portraitures. With vibrant colours and skill of rendition, the works on display traverse a large variety of subjects.

The show is on view till 21st March 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

When East meets West

A joint exhibition of paintings by Victoria A.M. and Wilhelm Bronner depicts the meeting of cultures

(Artist Victoria A.M with one of her paintings. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat)

Victoria A.M.’s ‘Moonshade’ tells the story of a baby girl at birth, traces her growth into childhood and womanhood, through the joys and sorrows of life, intertwining it with the metaphor of a river’s lifeline. Much like life’s unexpected turns, dangers lurk within the river’s beauty too. The painting, dominated by two women resting beneath jasmine flowers, is inspired by Victoria’s 2006 poem on Indian villages that told of the unspoken sadness of flowers whose nectar has been stolen by bees at dusk. “A woman’s life in this world is like that too; the small ‘sadness’es of her being go unseen,” she says. ‘Moonshade’ is on display at ‘East Meets West’, an exhibition of Victoria’s works with those of German artist Wilhelm Bronner.

Just across the room stands Wilhelm’s installation of 20 pairs of wooden squares each marked with ‘E’ and ‘W’ on its corners. Two peers figure in each pair, one representing the Indian side of things and the other, the German side. For instance, while the German uses his umbrella against the rain, the Indian shields himself from the sun. “I plan to take this exhibition to Germany too. So, for the Indians here, this is an introduction to our culture, and for the Germans, it’s an introduction to India,” he says.

(Artist Wilhelm Bronner with one of his paintings. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat)

Wilhelm and Victoria met in 2013, through a common friend, at Victoria’s Mattancherry studio while Wilhelm was here for the Biennale last March. Victoria had earlier been introduced to German culture through an exhibition of her works in Berlin in 2011, held as a fundraiser for Adivasi girls. Wilhelm has been to India six times in the last 40 years. The two decided to collaborate on an art show that would depict the meeting of Indian and German cultures. ‘East Meets West’ features four of Wilhelm’s pieces, besides the installation, and six by Victoria — two oils and four acrylic-on-canvasses.

The meeting of cultures is best seen in Wilhelm’s ‘The Indian City’, done only in red, black and white. It is his artistic impression of traffic in big Indian cities where buses, auto rickshaws and cars manoeuvre between bikes, cows and dogs, in a chaotic confusion that somehow functions. “I was overwhelmed by the sound and noise of India when I first came, and this shows my experience of it as just an outsider’s observations, not judgements.” In the central three pieces, ‘East-West faces’, a pair of eyes looks out of each quadrant of the square paintings, and hands reach out from one side to the other in friendship, symbolic of the mutual connection between cultures. “I want to show that though we have different social behaviours and politics, we are above all human and connected to the world.”

Victoria’s paintings reflect her education in Shankaracharya’s teachings, and explore humankind’s relationship with this earth. ‘Shell collectors’ and ‘Little land and even less water’ deal with the struggles of everyday living; the first depicts women collecting shells for income, and the second shows women searching for water. ‘Past and Present’ expounds the idea further saying that regardless of race, all our bodies return to the soil once the soul leaves. Two women separate the canvas, the first wholly human, the second made of mud with birds shooting out of her eyes. “Both are self portraits,” says Victoria. The exhibition is on till March 16.

(Report by Esther Elias for The Hindu)

Terrafly, The Elephanta Festival, Stalked and more..

NEWS

Terrafly

( work by K S Radhakrishnan)

Art Musings gallery, Mumbai presents a solo show of sculptures by renowned sculptor, K S Radhakrishnan. The show is titled, ‘Terrafly’ and on display will be the exquisite small and large scale sculptures in various mediums. 

The show will be hosted at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Auditorium hall and will preview on 20th March 2014 and on view till 25th March 2014.

Terrafly will be on show later at Art Musings Gallery from 26th March to 15th April 2014.

Retrospective

( work on display)

DakshinaChitra, Chennai will be presenting the works of eminent painter, Alphonso Arul Doss, under the title, ‘Retrospective’. It will be a collection of his paintings and drawings since the 1950s until now. There are about 60 works on display that include realistic portraits, water colours, and signature paintings on Christ, Nataraja and time and space series.

The artist was a professor and the principal of a prestigious college of arts and crafts for many years and groomed many famous and talented artists of today. He painted in the period when India was still a young nation and artists were eagerly exploring new facets of freedom and how they could relate to it through their paintings.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the National award in 1988. His works are in galleries and collections all over the world. He has held several one man shows in India, Holland, USA, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Bangkok.

The show is on view till 25th March 2014.

The Elephanta Festival 2014

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is organising the 25th edition of Elephanta Festival. The schedule of the event planned is as follows:

March 15, 2014 at Gateway of India 6:00 pm onwards - 

National and international artists like kathak dancer and actress, Prachee Shah; vocalist and tabla player, Pundit Raja Kale; Indian classical flute maestro, Pundit Hariprasad Chaurasia, saxophonist and composer, George Brooks and harpist, Gwyneth Wentick will enthrall audience with their performance.
 
March 16, 2014 at Gateway of India 6:00 pm onwards -

National and international artists like Indian classical dancer and Marathi actress, Tejaswini Lonari; sufi vocalist and Hindi playback singer, Kavita Seth; kathak dancer, Anu Sinha and sitar maestro, Nishat Khan will add charm to the serene evening.
 
March 15, 2014 – March 16, 2014 - Heritage Walk at Elephanta Caves 11:00 am onwards

Renowned academicians Dr Suraj Pandit and Mr Sandeep Dahisarkar will take the participants through a guided tour of the Elephanta Caves.

March 15, 2014 – March 16, 2014 – Sculpting and Painting Contest @ Elephanta Caves
08:30 am – 03:00 pm

The contest is open to all and the entry for the festival is free.

Stalked

Offroad Films presents a solo exhibition of photographs by artist and filmmaker Aishwarya Arumbakkam. The exhibition opens up with an introductory talk by the artist followed by the launch of a limited edition zine. Images and words dodge and find each other in this zine that acquires the voice of a victim enduring stalking. Urgent and in the present tense, the zine battles with several complex emotions like fear, violation, guilt, withdrawal, frustration and resistance.The artists in collaboration are Kabini Amin and Bhavana Vyas Vipparthi.

Opening at Atta Galatta this photography exhibition “Stalked” is an essay of photographs that gives voice to the alarmingly unspoken, ignored and misrepresented trauma of stalking in an attempt to trigger understanding and dialogue. Through the medium of black  and white film photography, the artist portrays a vicarious experience of trauma by expressing the victim’s battle with the intangible encounter and the scars it leaves behind on them. All the people featured in the photographs are victims of stalking.

The show is on view at 7:00 pm onwards on 20th March 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Life in the spiritual lane

The paintings display myriad inspirations that form diverse styles

( work on display)

Every once in a while all of us need a little inspiration. It could be from anywhere – nature, spirituality, an incident or an individual. It is exactly this which is reflected in the collection of paintings on display at Alankritha Art Gallery. Titled ‘Life Inspired’, this collection of paintings by three artists; M.S. Vasu, Nirmal Karmakar and Avinash Deshmukh, showcases little things that they draw inspiration from.

( work on display)

Nirmal Karmakar for instance draws his inspiration from Krishna. His series of paintings all showcase Krishna in various moods and situations – in one place he is lost in his music and in others he shares tender moments with Radha. Even as Nirmal celebrates Krishna as the true Indian hero, the focus in most of his paintings seems to be on the face and its myriad expressions with an intelligent use of colour and brush strokes.

( work on display)

M.S. Vasu on the other hand depicts a series of sermons being delivered by a monk to all the living beings in nature. From an elephant to a bird, the monk delivers sermons to every living being, with each creature signifying a Brahma Rishi. The message he wants to pass on is that everybody listens keenly when a monk preaches. All the while his works celebrate the various elements of nature and have an air of serenity about them. He uses immense detailing in the backdrop of his paintings with religious symbology and scriptures.

( work on display)

Avinash Deshmukh’s works on the other hand stand apart; he celebrates the innocence of childhood while breaking away from the spiritual line of thought. His series of art works using acrylic on canvas all explore the various moods of two children – a girl and a boy as they go about their lives. From the amazement and wonder of discovering something new to the calm innocence in their sleeping faces, he explores every mood that a child undergoes.

( work on display)

This exhibition of paintings is on view till March 15 at Alankritha Art Gallery.

(Report by Ranjani Rajendra for The Hindu)

Serigraphs, Songs of Spring and more..

NEWS

Serigraphs

The Viewing Room, Mumbai presents the exquisite serigraphs of three renowned artists. The show titled, ‘Serigraphs’ displays the works of three artists who have contributed to the Indian art scene over the years. The artists are Jehangir Sabavala, Ram Kumar and Sakti Burman. 

The show previews on 13th March and is on view till 29th March 2014.

Facebook of Reclaimed Identities

Open Palm Court Art Gallery, New Delhi presents a solo show titled, ‘Facebook of Reclaimed Identities’. The show displays the art works of eminent artist Puja Kshatriya.
The show features distinct styled portraits of people the artist has been inspired by creating an intense archiving of human faces.

The show is to be inaugurated by Michael Heinz, Director, Austrian Cultural forum and previews on 25th March at 5:30 pm. 

The show is on view till 27th March 2014.

Songs of Spring

Kynkyny Art Gallery, Bangalore presents a show titled, ‘Songs of Spring’ a solo show of art works by artist Dhrubajyoti Baral. Dhrubajyoti's lilting, colour-soaked tempera dreamscapes, alive with birds, trees and animals, conjure the lush abundance of nature in full bloom. His trademark lovers embody the fevered enchantment, longing and intoxication that the season ushers in. 

The show previews on 15th March 2014 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm and the show continues to be on view till 27th March 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

State of affairs

B.D. Dethan’s painting exhibition, ‘Avastha’, is a dispassionate look at the deterioration of society

(Artist B.D. Dethan with his works. Photo by S. Gopakumar)

A glass filled with liquid has a disembodied human face floating at the bottom, while psychedelic shapes frolic in the background. The spires of a monument rise high above a city skyline, only to emphasise the large arms and face of a forlorn looking entity captured between them. These are examples of the imagery that currently adorn the walls of the Suryakanti Art Gallery at Sasthamangalam, where an exhibition of artist B.D. Dethan’s works is underway.

Dethan explains that the series, titled ‘Avastha’, is a reflection of his emotions related to the times we live in. “Society is at a point where basic values such as kindness and compassion are hard to come by. Open a newspaper or switch on the television and most of the things we see are appalling. It is this frame of mind that gave birth to this series, and while I have tried to keep my emotions and work separate, some things do seep through,” he says, pointing out the many vices he has depicted on canvas. The face in the glass is his take on the effects of alcoholism.

Other images border on the abstract as half-formed human shapes merge with those of animals and human vanity is represented through a clown-like visage that peeps out through a frame.

Dethan’s disdain for the trend of elevating men to the status of gods is evident in yet another work, while a museum exhibit of busts and remnants of civilisations is accompanied by his thoughts on time and culture. “We have seen many cultures come and go, and eventually this is all that is left,” he says indicating the painting, “it is meant to remind us that everything in the world perishes eventually, except time, which is the only constant.”

From civilisations to the present day, he makes an interesting observation on people’s reliance on medicines. “We are in a situation where we are often forced to take medicines and then suffer the side effects in some form. It is not something we can entirely avoid but not something that is particularly good either.” The work in question shows a human foot poised to crush a bottle of pills, deterred by a razor sharp blade waiting above the bottle, promising retribution.

Dethan goes on to elaborate his views on art in general. “I don’t believe painting is just a fine art anymore. Take the example of Picasso, where he fused cycle parts together to create art,” he says, referring to the Spanish artist’s ‘Bull’s Head’ artwork, where he represented the face and horns of a bull using a bicycle seat and handlebars. “The creative vision that led him to see that work where others saw just a jumble of cycle parts, that is what is paramount in an artist. Paint and canvas are no longer the only medium to express one’s vision.”

The exhibition is on at the Suryakanti Art Gallery till March 31. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Sundays.

(Report by Sooraj Rajmohan for The Hindu)

A Celebration of Lines, Formative to Recent and more..

NEWS

A Celebration of Lines

(Work by artist Krishen Khanna)

Sakshi Art Gallery presents a solo show of renowned artist Krishen Khanna. The show titled, ‘A Celebration of Lines’ displays a range of the artists monochrome drawings and canvases. 

Krishen Khanna’s figurative and evocative works address the social, political and historical contexts through a strong portrayal of people and stories about them, for instance scenes of pre-partition India. Bringing out personal conenctions with the people portrayed, such as the Indian revolutionaries in his neighbourhood, Khanna  builds a picture not just as an illustration of a memory, but as a historical entity. The narratives are vast and deep, full of nuances, iconic and subtle all at once. The artist tries to evoke the emotive strength through his lines and pencil strokes effectively creating in the viewer and the work an interaction and an anchoring. The exhibition also will have a reproduction of the artist’s monumental mural, ‘Chola Migrations’. This mammoth work stands at 72.5 ft and depicts the rich life and cultural history of the Cholas of South and is regarded as one of the largest murals in pencil on paper.

The show previews on 6th March and is on view till 5th April 2014.

Daydreams

Five Forty Five Gallery, Bangalore presents a solo show of art works by artist Pradeep Kumar DM. The show is sponsored by the Department of Kannada and Culture. The show titled ‘Daydreams’ displays the vibrant and illustrative art works by the artist.

Pradeep is a Karnataka based artist and he graduated from the University College of Fine Arts, Davangere with a B.V.A Degree in painting. He also has an M.V.A Degree in Painting from Bangalore University.

The show is on view from 7th March to 4th April 2014.

Formative to Recent 

(Work by artist Jogen Chowdhury)

Cima Art Gallery, Kolkata is hosting the complete works of eminent artist Jogen Chowdhury. The exhibition is titled, ‘Formative to Recent’ and attempts to retrace the journey taken by the artist in his art practices and through different times and influences, which unfold in the range of art works.

On display are multi medium works, from paintings to film posters, drawings, etchings and lithographs, though having been displayed before in other venues, this show acts almost as a retrospective of the artists work.

The show is on till 29th March 2014.

Tangential Traverse

Aakriti Art Gallery, Kolkata presents a group show of artists, titled, ‘Tangential Traverse’. The show will display the paintings and sculptures of eminent contemporary artists along with yesteryear legendary artists works.

The participating artists are  Ajit Chakraborty, B.R.Panesar, Badhan Das, Bijon Chowdhury, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Dharamnarayan Dasgupta, Ganesh Pyne, Gobardhan Ash, Gopal Ghose, Indra Dugar, Jamini Roy, Meera Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose, Paritosh Sen, Sarbari Roychowdhury, Somnath Hore and Sudir Kastagir.

The show previews on 7th March 2014 and is n view till 31st March 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)


FEATURE

The Renaissance Man: CSMVS Director Sabyasachi Mukherjee

(Director of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Sabyasachi Mukherjee)

By now Sabyasachi Mukherjee is used to being asked if he’s the famous designer. After giving a talk at Sophia College some months ago, Mukherjee was accosted by two girls. “One girl asked, ‘You are the designer?’” Mukherjee says. “I said, ‘Do I look like a designer?’” Indeed Mukherjee, who is the director of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum), could not look less like a fashion icon. With his crumpled sky blue shirt, bristly moustache and nerdy enchantment of antiquities – he endearingly pointed out his favourite stone Shiva gana in the museum’s sculpture section – Mukherjee is more professor material.

Mukherjee, 49, is too self-effacing to admit it but the CSMVS entered a renaissance soon after he became its director in 2007. Suddenly there seemed to be regular activity at the CSMVS most notably in the form of a string of shows brought from museums abroad such as the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert. Over the years, it has shown exhibits of Chinese terracotta warriors, and the mummy of Egyptian temple priest Nesperennub; made room for the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation, a gallery of contemporary Indian art; and hosted displays of Persian antiques and Flemish paintings. Before 2007, Mumbaikars could not have imagined a Rubens coming to the museum, which was widely regarded as a fusty place that school kids paid a mandatory visit chiefly to see the stuffed animals and forget thereafter. As Mukherjee puts it, “Nowhere was the enjoyment element visible”.

This state of affairs was tragic as the museum has a spectacular collection of over 60,000 artefacts with gems like the Anvar-i-Suhayli, a 16th century Persian translation of the Panchatantra; Akbar’s personal armour; and some gorgeous miniature paintings. “There was no concept of the modern museum,” he says. “No concept of curated shows, interpretation, educational programmes, the museum as a space for social debate. American, European and some Asian museums were way ahead of us. In the 1990s they were talking about the global museum. We remained in the early 20th century.” Then the wave of globalisation, which dramatically altered our economy and popular culture, finally swept the shores of high culture. “Now foreign museum directors are visiting Indian museums,” Mukherjee says. “But we’ve lost many years.”

As a young adult, Mukherjee never imagined he’d end up spearheading a major Indian museum; he grew up in Bolpur, a small town in West Bengal that’s known for its proximity to Shantiniketan (it’s what Shirdi is to the Sai Baba temple, Mukherjee says). Thanks to Shantiniketan’s Vishwa Bharati, the university Tagore founded, the atmosphere there carries the charge of a deep artistic tradition. Mukherjee grew up in a family of teachers to be a lover of poetry. But it was chance and some youthful vacillation that led him to a career in the arts. He intended to do a Master’s in social work at MS University in Baroda, an institution renowned for turning out some of the best artists in the country. But when a cousin studying there urged him to get a degree in an artistic field, Mukherjee did an MA in ancient Indian history and archaeology and a second one in museology.

While studying museology, Mukherjee worked as an intern at the CSMVS in 1989 under Sadashiv Gorakhshkar, who was director from 1975 to 1996. Mukherjee described Gorakhshkar as his greatest mentor. “He had the spark to continue to work for the Prince of Wales museum,” Gorakhshkhar said in a phone interview from Vasind, where he now lives. “It was an outgoing museum – we had a lot of extracurricular activities and I thought he fitted into the brief. While leaving, I told him never to leave. I said no other museum offers what the Prince of Wales does.” Mukherjee took his mentor’s advice. He joined as a research associate in 1990 and has been at the museum since then.

One of Mukherjee’s obvious talents is fund raising. The museum functions autonomously and while it does get some money from the central government, it’s largely supported by individual patrons and corporate companies. Their largesse has paid for the classy plaza near the entrance designed by Rahul Mehrotra, for restoration projects and foreign shows and new galleries. Mumbaikars can look forward to two new galleries this year – one showcasing the city’s textile history and the other a gallery of prints and drawings that gallerist Pheroza Godrej and writer Pauline Rohatgi are giving the museum on a long-term loan. “Money comes with great ideas,” Mukherjee says.

Perhaps the real beneficiaries of Mukherjee’s vision and that of his splendid colleagues are the city’s kids. It’s common to see groups of school children being shepherded around a show and briefed by the museum’s education officer Bilwa Kulkarni. Some of these kids are exposed to art for the first time – they include the offspring of sex workers, construction labourers and BMC sweepers and are taken to the museum on field trips organised by CSMVS and various NGOs. “Our approach is to enlighten those who are not enlightened,” Mukherjee says. “A museum brings changes to human life. You come to interact with your past to understand the present and the future.”

(Report by Pronoti Datta for Mumbai Boss)