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)

Obituary - Jasu Bhai Naik - An Unsung Veteran passes away..

OBITUARY

Jasu Bhai Naik- An Unsung Veteran Passes Away

(Artist Jasu Bhai Naik)

Jasu Bhai Naik is no more. Like many art teachers who silently prepare many important artists of the future, in many remote corners of our country, Jasu Bhai Naik too was not known to the world. But in South Gujarat everyone knew him, not only as an artist but also a Gandhian and social reformer. He was the guiding spirit of the BA Mehta Kala Mahavidyalaya, Amalsad. Many young artists studied under him, a few of them went for further studies in big city art colleges and became successful. Many of them stayed back in South Gujarat itself which is rich in many industries. Surat and Vapi are the closest industrial towns in South Gujarat and diamond cutting is one of the important industries. So many young artists who get trained in the BA Mehta College join these industries as designers and craftsmen. But they all carry the legacy of Jasu Bhai Naik who even after retiring from service remained the hub of the South Gujarat art and cultural activities till his death on 17^th March 2014, on Holi day. He must have been nearly hundred years old as for a person like him after a certain stage, age becomes irrelevant. He had been suffering from throat cancer for quite some time. But with simple life and positive attitude, and above all his zest for social reforms, he continued to live a comparatively pain free life.

Though I do not belong to Gujarat, I have some emotional connections with South Gujarat as it was there I had first witnessed how art was taught and practiced in small town art colleges. The person who took me there was artist Somu Desai, an alumnus of BA Mehta Kala Mahavidyalaya. I met Somu in 2007 and the next year itself I visited him at Pardi, near Vapi, and he took me to his college. From there he took me to Jasu Bhai Naik’s house and Somu had insisted that it was imperative to meet the man who had given some status to the artists in South Gujarat who otherwise were considered to be just artisans and craftsmen. He received us with a grandfather’s enthusiasm and love. I could feel the Gandhian spirit in his demeanour and dress. His smile was benevolent. He spoke in Hindi and in broken English. And when he really wanted to express himself he spoke in Gujarati and Somu translated for me. 

Jasu Bhai Naik was an old school artist. He learnt his techniques in the British Academic style which was promoted by the J.J.School of Art in Mumbai. Most of the central western and central Indian art colleges followed the J.J.School syllabus and the accent was given on developing academic skill. Jasu Bhai Naik was trained in this school of thought but instead becoming a portrait artist or becoming a part of the growing industries in and around his town, Jasu Bhai decided to be a social activist. He promoted art and culture amongst people and was instrumental in establishing art programs in many schools in the Amalsad area. He was one of the founding fathers of the BA Mehta Kala Mahavidyalaya. He took the initiative to conduct art workshops and exhibitions of the local artists. Though, BA Mehta College was not a full-fledged graduate college, he inspired many of his students to go to other art institutions to get higher education. In a true Gandhian way, he inspired the young artists to develop sustainable models of living so that they could pursue their art with freedom and dignity.

Somu Desai remembers that Jasu Bhai Naik understood the value of art and he felt the necessity for small town artists establishing their independent career. When Somu Desai, after graduating from the BA Mehta College, decided to shift to Mumbai to earn as a designer, Jasu Bhai Naik’s advice was to get back to art once he found enough money to do so. Somu says that he always remembered his master’s words. After working in the field of textile designing for a few years, Somu shifted his base to Baroda and started learning things from the young graduates from the Fine Arts Faculty. He at once became a mentor to many and a learner from many. And like his master, he inspired many other young art graduates from BA Mehta College to go to Baroda or elsewhere to study and practice art. Somu says that his inspiration comes from Jasu Bhai Naik. Another artist, Akshay Naik, who heads the Applied Art Department of the BA Mehta College, also believes that Jasu Bhai Naik was a unique personality who inspired a lot of artists in South Gujarat. Jasu Bhai Naik lives on in the minds of the artists from South Gujarat. 

JohnyML

NEWS

Rhythm of Life

(Work by Vinay Bagde)

Gallery Pradarshak, Mumbai presents a solo show of artist Vinay Bagde. The show is titled, ‘Rhythm of Life’ and displays some of the acrylic on canvas works of the young artist from  Latur. The vibrantly coloured works display the influence the artist has felt by the rural surroundings and tribal life of the Lamani tribe. 

Rendered mostly in figuratives, the works displaymen and women of the tribe actively trying to be part fo an urban setting, be it as construction workers or as day labourers deviating from their original occupation of tending cattle.

The works are on view from 18th March to 29th March 2014.

Gitanjali and Sea Inside

India International Centre, New Delhi presents a solo show titled, ‘Gitanjali and Sea Inside: Parallel Journeys’. The show will display art works by artist Nibedita Sen. The show is a reflective study presentation with an array of prose, verses, paintings and installations. 

The artist has tried to trace a parallel between the word images of Tagore and her own visual metaphors, which she feels are the reflections evolving from a similar amalgamation of inward and outward journeys.

The show is on view till 29th March 2014.

Portraits & Scenes de Vie

(Work by Pichaya Manet)

Alliance Francaise de Madras, is displaying some of the original paintings of artist Pichaya Manet. Reminiscent of the early 20th century Fauvists, his paintings are an intensity of colour and exaggeration of form. The show is titled, ‘ Portraits & Scenes de Vie’.

The artist is not afraid to interpret what he sees with a spontaneous freedom that stems from his passion for dance. A modern vision is juxtaposed with the traditional, while an innate sense for rhythm remains the key to each piece.

The show is on view till 19th March 2014.

Courtesan

( Work on display)

Apparao Galleries, Chennai presents a spectacular group show of art works by eminent contemporary and upcoming artists. The show is titled, ‘Courtesan’. The word courtesan evokes vision of sensual women who were aware of the effect of their sexuality and its power over people, unafraid and strong. In a time marked by hedonism, refinement, extravagance, intrigue and beauty. The courtesans used their weapons for survival in such a society.

The show aims to bring to life these forgotten women and their ways of life by celebrating beauty, wit, sex, refinement and elegance.

The show is on till 5th April 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)