Mythologies, The Art Critic, Achrome and more..

NEWS

Mythologies

Project 88, Mumbai presents a solo exhibition of legendary artist KG Subramanyan’s works. The show is titled,‘Mythologies’ and coincides with the 25th anniversary of Galerie 88, Kolkata.

On display will be some of the artist’s gouache on paper works. The show previews on 13th February 2014 at 6:00 -9:00 pm.

The show is on view from 14th February to 6th of March 2014.

The Art Critic

Spaces, Chennai, presents a launch, of the book titled ’The Art Critic’ written by Richard Bartholomew. The book focuses on his writing on art from the 1950s to the 1980s.

IThe book will be introduced by Pablo Bartholomew with choice extracts read by Rosalyn D'Mello, followed by a discussion titled "The Politics of Art," with Sadanand Menon, Vishwanadhan, and S.G. Vasudev.

The discussion deals with what constitutes the mainstream and what conspiratorial forces sideline artists to the fringe? Prejudicial hegemonies decide the legacies that remain and those that are subdued, resulting in a convoluted art history rife with gaps. Artists S.G. Vasudev and V. Vishwanadhan will speak about their experience of the politics of art, while drawing on and dialoguing with Richard Bartholomew's extensive writing on the subject in his posthumously published book ‘The Art Critic’.

The book launch will take place on 11th February 2014 between 6:30 to 7:45 pm.

Achrome- One by One

India Fine Art Gallery, Mumbai presents an exclusive exhibition of works of a group of contemporary artists of today. The show is titled as ‘Achrome - One by One’,and this group  show will feature the works by Gunjan - Rahul, Kavita Jaiswal, Nupur Kundu and Rahul Kumar. The works on display are a depiction of their creativity and variety of styles and mediums explored and are a must see.

The show is on view from 12th February 2014 to 28th February 2014.

Tao turns 14

Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai presents its 14th anniversary show. The show titled ‘Infinite Tao’ is a celebration of the completion of 14 years of the gallery.

The group of artists chosen have been part of those years of the gallery’s shows, solos and group shows. The show displays an array of works, from charcoal drawings to paintings and sculptures. 
Participating artists are, Akash Choyal, Ali Akbar Mehta,Anwar, Arunanshu Chowdhury, Arzan Khambatta, Bharti Pitre, Brinda Miller, C Jagdish, Debashish Dutta, Devdatta Padekar, Dhruvi Acharya, Heeral Trivedi, Indrajit Prasad, Jagdish Chander, Jaideep Mehrotra, Jayasri Burman, KG Subramanyan, KS Radhakrishnan, Kalpana Shah, Kantikishore Moharana, Karl Antao, Krishen Khanna, Madhvi Parekh, Mahendra Bhagat, Manu Parekh, Mrinal Dey, Nanda Das, Paresh Maity, Prabhakar Kolte, Ratan Krishna Saha, Ratnadeep Adivrekar, Ravi Mandlik, Rini Dhumal, S H Raza, Samir Mondal,  Sanjay Kumar, Seema Kohli, Senaka Senanayake, Sohan Qadri, Somenath Maity, Shipra Bhattacharya, Shuvaprasanna, Sujata Bajaj, Sunil Padwal, Suryaprakash, Venkatesh Pate, Vijay Shinde and Yashwant Deshmukh.

The show previews on 12th February 2014, 7:00 pm onwards and is n view till 5th March 2014.

(News Reports by Sushma Sabnis)


FEATURE

The many layers of faith

Once called the ‘best-kept secret’ of the art fraternity, V. Ramesh is showing at a solo exhibition in Bangalore.

(Poet Karaikalamma)

V. Ramesh’s disarming warmth and graciousness at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Bangalore, set the tone for the discussion of his solo exhibition, the first ever solo show by a living artist at the museum.

Consisting mostly of large canvases painted over a decade, Remembrances of Voices Past communicates Ramesh’s transcendental concerns of faith, devotion, and the essential oneness of being.

The artist’s unusual subject matter explores the idea of modern faith intertwined with ancient scriptures. Borrowing from mythology that describes human distraction caused by desire, his early series titled A Thousand and One Desires uses figuration to depict his ideas. In the painting A Thousand and One Desires, 2003, the central figure in the garb of a monk is surrounded by multiple gesticulating hands to denote greed and avarice. At the bottom of the painting is bold red text from American novelist Kurt Vonnegut ‘Grab much too much’, to denote blatant capitalist acquisition.

Yet, important as it is that a contemporary artist recontextualises and reiterates the essence of human values, Ramesh’s early figurative work falls short of narrative punch or engagement at a deeper level. Straightforward allegory in this work and in Building Castles in the Air, 2012, based on a Persian painting, seems less conducive towards evoking multiple layers of interpretation, or an awareness of who one is not in order to see who one might become.

Ramesh’s recent series Sanctum Sanctorum: A Corner for Four Sisters is inspired by four female figures. Hailing from different geographical and historical periods, these poet-saints come together through their renunciation of worldly ties. Here, one is not only fascinated by the artist’s retrieval of these long-forgotten figureheads and their defiance of tradition as early as the fifth century in their search for a higher truth, one is also moved by the subtlety and depth of Ramesh’s interpretation.

( Artist V Ramesh)

Karaikal Amma, 2012, pays homage to the Tamil saint whose sketchy, skeletal figure seeks a boon to appear as an ugly woman and be released from corporal needs. Covered with Tamil poetry and the hint of a more full-bodied female figure in the background, the painting encourages a discovery of meaning that begins the process of self-discovery, even self-transformation. Similarly, Remembering Laila Moj, 2011, is layered with different colours that suggest movement beneath the densely packed surface that’s filled with an English translation of the 14 century poet’s Kashmiri poetry. The technique of layering becomes paramount to the endlessly interpretable quality of the work.

The layering is best communicated in The Poet’s Passion series made up of four watercolours and four oil canvases. Alluding to 8 century poet-saint Manivachakar, the paintings alternate between joy and sorrow, earthly desire and spiritual realisation. Deep reds and oranges and the faint outline of female goddesses evoke the earth tones and intricacy of Ajanta and Ellora paintings.

In the diptych titled The Woods, 2012, two brightly-lit single-point perspectives suggest illumination at the end of the path of inquiry. Reminiscent of a forest, though not clearly defined, the multiple layers of thick brown and green paint convey the metaphor of impenetrability. Uncluttered by undue imagery, these works serve well to lure the viewer to go beyond the physical presence of the painting. In Untitled, 2006, Ramana Maharishi’s face is visible as the rest of his body merges with the landscape. As Gayatri Sinha points out in her informative essay in the catalogue, the painting is “emblematic of non-duality and the advaita of man and his natural environs”.

Ultimately, Ramesh’s oeuvre raises important questions about his place in contemporary Indian art. His body of work focused on spirituality certainly creates a locus of identity, and reflect his belief to “root myself in specific cultural and geographical location”. Although some of his allegorical canvases appear less successful, his denser paintings divested of pictography allow viewers to be provoked into testing the validity of their own ideas. At the end, Ramesh’s place will be determined by the ceaselessly contestable and interpretable aspect of his art. Remembrances of Voices Past: The solo show by V. Ramesh will be on till March 30 at the NGMA, Bangalore

( Report by Bansie Vasvani for The Hindu)

KG Subramanyan's Birthday Show, Interview - Gregor Hildebrandt and more..

INTERVIEW

These Flowers will never die - Gregor Hildebrandt

Being seen as a ‘multi-medium’ artist may turn out to be limiting at some point, however, Berlin based artist, Gregor Hildebrandt transcends such unimaginative notions by creating art works which blend music and art on multiple levels of tangible and ingenious wavelengths. Presenting his debut solo at Gallery Isa, Mumbai, the artist talks about his work in an interview for The Art Daily.

(Flowers of Gold,2013

Cassette tape,adhesive tape and acrylic paint on canvas)

The Art Daily : Do you consider your art as a fusion of two distinct styles of artistic expression, i.e. music and visual representations of it?

Gregor Hildebrandt: I wouldn't say so. The music is recorded on the tapes, and the pictures are charged with it, as can be gathered from the titles of the works. But you cannot see or hear the music, and there is something new that emerges.

TAD: How did it come about? What was the first time you made music-inspired art? 

GH: Music has always been important. The first time that I recall was painting an oyster box in 1993, which was strongly influenced by Jacques Brel's song, "Le plat pays". But also picture titles such as "Wie die Motten ans Licht" (As Moths to the Light) from 1997 are borrowed from lyrics of songs. I made the first cassette tape collage in 1997 in a concept book, using the song "Falschgeld" (Counterfeit Money) by Einstürzende Neubauten.

(The dark beauty of mistake(Swans),2011

Cassette tape and acrylic paint on canvas)

TAD: What is the determining moment / phrase in the song / note / number which inspired the specific art works?

GH: "Avec la mer du Nord", with the oyster box; with the title of the Marlene Dietrich song, it's the song itself, and with "Falschgeld", the whole text: "… und Blei und Blei und Blei / verbrannt für die Liebe" (and lead and lead and lead / burned for Love).

TAD: Does spontaneity play a serious role in the making of your art? Or is it a slow ruminating deliberation on a song or a part of the song that generates the visual chain reaction?

GH: Many ideas are quite spontaneous, even though the realisation usually takes, or turns out to take, pretty long. But it is different with every work.

(3 Imaginary boys(cure),2009

Cassette tape and acrylic paint on canvas)

TAD: Does any specific music influence you more than others?

GH: The Cure, Tocotronic, Jacques Brel and Einstürzende Neubauten, it’s my favourite music.

TAD: You maintain a minimalistic palette as far as colour is concerned in your work?

GH: Yes, the colours are the result of the cassette tapes. Therefore their variety is limited.

( 7 Wishes Earlier, 2013 Granite with laser engraving)

TAD: Who are the artists that inspire you most?

GH: René Daniels, K.O. Götz, Robert Motherwell, Constantin Brancusi, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Frank Stella, Gerhard Richter and Andy Warhol are artists I quote directly. I am inspired by a great many, but I would like to mention Jochen Gerz especially. 

TAD: Is there any message that your art intends to give to the world?

GH: I am not really sure. In my art, I am trying to create a world that exhibition visitors may enter, and so each of them may take their own individual message from it.

( Artist Gregor Hildebrandt)

TAD: What are your upcoming shows in 2014?

GH: I'm participating in two group exhibitions, one at Museum MARTa Herford (Germany), the other at the Bass Museum in Miami. 

The show, ‘These Flowers will never die’ will display six works made from tape, cassettes and acrylic medium, and two works in granite with laser engravings. The show previews today at Gallery Isa, Mumbai and will be on view till 26th April 2014.

(All images are courtesy the artist.)

NEWS

A Birthday Show

(new work by KG Subramanyan on display)

Uttarayan, Baroda and Seagull Foundation for the Arts, Kolkata  presents a solo show of recent paintings by legendary artist, painter, writer, illustrator, art historian and theorist, K G Subramanyan. This show has been specially organised to celebrate the 90th birthday of the eminent artist.

On display are his recent works along with older works from various series like black and white drawings, reverse paintings on acrylic, gauche on board, diptychs - reverse paintings on acrylic and more.

The show commences today at 6:00 pm at the Red Earth Art Gallery, Vadodara and will be on view till 20th February 2014.

You Can’t Keep Acid in a Paper Bag

Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi presents a show curated by Roobina Karode, titled,  ‘You Can’t Keep Acid in a Paper Bag’. This is an interesting art exhibition by eminent artist, Nalini Malani. The art exhibition is an introspective in three chapters where the artist displays her brilliant experiments of vivid material and media from 1969 to 2014. 

She will be showcasing her acclaimed installations and international projects at the art exhibition. This exhibition is on view till 30th of November 2014.

Painted Fables

( Work on display)

India International Centre, New Delhi presents a show titled, ‘Panchatantra Chitra’. On Display is an exhibition showcasing paintings which will be depicting Panchatantra stories. Through different mediums and styles of traditional and folk art like Madhubani, Patachitra, Sanjhi, Sikki grass, Santhal, Phad, Gond, Contemporary and Kalamkari, the timeless stories will be displayed here. 

The show was inaugurated by Dr Syeda S Hameed, member of Planning Commission, this exhibition will also have storytelling sessions everyday of the event.

The show is on view till 11th February 2014.

Young Endeavours

(Young artist Shishti Sareen)

Atta Galatta, Bangalore presents the works of young Delhi based artist Shristi Sareen. She has been painting professionally since the last three years and had her first exhibition at the age of sixteen. Since then she has collaborated with several artists, photographers and musicians to create a wide variety of artworks. 

She has worked extensively with Sree Arts based in Gurgaon.  She is currently pursuing her B.A. from Christ University Bangalore and Senior diploma in fine arts from Bangiya Sangeet Parishad in West Bengal (distance education). Each of Shristi’s collections tells a tale and she aims to through her works inspire people to question and to think out of the box and write their own destiny.

The show is on view till 9th February 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)