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)

Demo-Cry, Landfill, Pathway to Abstractism and more..

NEWS

Demo-Cry

(Work by Kesav Rao)

Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi presents a solo exhibition by artist Kesav Rao. The exhibition depicts the common man as the ultimate sufferer. His ordeal in dealing with the 'Babus', the 'Netas', their scams and his own troubled life. 

The artist by the medium of oil on canvas and charcoal and dry pastels on paper, has created artworks that resonate with the apathy of the common man. The art works capture the muffled appeal for everything remotely rational or even humane.

The show is on view till 1st March 2014.

Landfill

(Work by Vivan Sundaram)

The Harrington Street Arts Centre, Kolkata presents a solo show of eminent artist Vivan Sundaram. The show is titled, ‘Landfill’ which is a display of installation of photographs and  video art. The works are a series of videos and large format photographs and photomontages of a city composed of waste and garbage created inside a studio which was photographed later. It was videoed and this was the raw material of the videos. 

The photographs are so clear that viewers will be able to distinguish each and every item of discarded material or junk with which the make-believe city was created. 

The show is on view till 4th March 2014.

Adiwashi Warli Art

Artists Centre, Mumbai is hosting a solo art exhibition of the paintings by artist Anil Chaitya Vangad. This exhibition will showcase the exquisite adiwashi Warli paintings created by this talented artist who is based in Minnesota, USA. 

A self-taught artist, his works have been displayed all across India through various art exhibitions. Using traditional tribal art techniques and fusing them with new interpretations and scenarios, the works stand out as narratives to today’s world as seen depicted in the art works.

The show is on view till 24th February 2014.

Pathway to Abstractism

(Work on display)

Third Eye art gallery, Bangalore presents an exhibition of art works by two artists. The show is titled, ‘Pathway to Abstractism’ and on show will be the works of artists AK Swapan Sarkar and Rajesh V Sheth. 

The show focuses on vibrancy, sensitivity, richness and the depth of Indian art. The paintings highlight the creative nuances of artists with their varied styles, mediums and imagination. In our fast paced world where life is full of stress and high on commercialism, a good piece of art can provide solace, peace and joy to the viewer. It rejuvenates the mind and body.

The show is on view till 28th February 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Ingredients of possibilities

Photographer Samar Singh Jodha explains how travelling around the world with simple eating habits helps

(Samar Singh Jodha at Diva Café in New Delhi’s Italian Embassy Cultural Centre. Photo: Monica Tiwari)

The day is headed towards the afternoon and the sun is at its shiniest in the diplomatic area of Chanakyapuri. But at Diva Café in the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, where we sit with Samar Singh Jodha for an informal chat over lunch, nothing is in extreme with winter chill countering the warmth of the sun in the best possible manner. Samar, the nomad, is here from somewhere and will soon leave for somewhere — Nepal to be specific, where his parents live. Italian Embassy Cultural Centre at Chandragupta Marg is hosting his exhibition “Outpost”, which was first shown at the Venice Biennale in 2013, the year when India didn’t have a pavilion, nor many artists to boast of at the significant platform.

In terms of philosophy, it’s not a departure from Jodha’s previous works. In the past, he has documented an endangered tribe in Assam, made a project on India’s elderly, captured the lives of migrant workers that formed the Commonwealth Games work force, and how can one forget about his most seminal work on the Bhopal gas disaster, of which he plans to do a road show abroad and then bring it to Bhopal 30 years to the day after it was struck by the tragedy. “Outpost” was inspired by the habitat of migrant workers in India’s Northeast. “The discarded containers where the miners live in the Northeast become a metaphor for their struggle, pain and loss,” says Jodha, relishing salmon fillet cooked in a wood fired oven with orange and lemon reduction.

Stomach of steel

Travelling non-stop, how does he manage food? “Unlike what people think, I am not a great cook. I can’t cook much in fact. And since I prefer to eat home-cooked food, I just land at friends’ places. If you can’t avoid eating out then yes, restaurants is the only option, but I strictly avoid red meat, tea and cold drinks. And fortunately I have been blessed with a stomach of steel. This habit of oil pulling also does its bit so wherever I travel, I carry a small bottle of oil,” adds the lensman vouching for the freshness of the fish. Eating little helps too. Just one salmon dish and he is fine. He sticks to just plain water and even abstains from the flavourful ginger fizz.

Much before his gaze came to be fixed on the society with all its conflicts, Jodha was preoccupied with lifestyle photography. “Coming from New York, everybody thought I would be apt to do fashion. So I did a lot of work for designers and shot models like Sushmita Sen, Shyamoli Varma but while doing the work for Aman Nath and Ritu Kumar, I got a whiff of the other India,” recalls the photographer about changing tracks.

Ultimately, it’s upon the artist to make a choice, he says. “Whether to create beautiful work or say something and how you say that is also important. Specially in these times when everybody can take pictures from their phones and iPads, etc.; like I take so many pictures on my phone. I am glad that technology has enabled us to do this so I call whatever is happening around me as noise, in a good way.”

(Report by Shailaja Tripathi for The Hindu)