Picasso & Dali, Alter-Natives of Mainstream Art and more..

NEWS

Alter-Natives of Mainstream Art

( Work on display)

Gallery Artspeaks India, Delhi presents ‘Alter-Natives of Mainstream Art’. On the display will be some amazing paintings, etchings, digital prints, mix media, drawings, sculptures and videos by various renowned artists.

Artists like Ajay Kanhere, Akshay Rathore, Anpu Varkey, Baiju Parthan, Gigi Scaria, Hemant, Hemant Rao, Hemi Bawa, Kavita Singh Kale, Mousmi Biswas, Pratul Dash, Puja Kshatriya, Rajmahamad Pathan, Ritu Kapoor Kamath, Santosh Kale, Sandeep Biswas, Shivani Aggarwal, Shruti Gupta Chandra, Vidya Kamath and Yogesh Rawal will be showcasing their works.

The exhibition is a mini-version of the generic art fair aesthetics which presents a wide range of works of art created by both young and established artists who interestingly position themselves alternatively within the zones of alternative and mainstream practices.

The show is on view till 8th March 2014.

Picasso & Dali

(Prints on display)

Vadehra Art gallery, New Delhi presents a show titled, ‘Picasso & Dali’. The show will display the etchings, lithographs and drawings of the two legendary artists,  Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

Picasso’s stunning lithographs are amongst the most brilliant works in his artistic oeuvre.  Representative of his varied artistic styles, Picasso’s lithographs depict images and techniques that extend from his brief post-Impressionistic period to Cubism and beyond. For Dalí, printmaking was an exercise in experimentation, through which he developed many imaginative new processes. The show celebrates the innovative techniques of the two masters.

The show previews on 21st February at 6:00 pm onwards, and will be on view till 26th March 2014.

Kalpavriksha

Arts of the Earth, New Delhi presents a show titled,‘Kalpavriksha- The tree of life’. The show displays the exquisite Madhubani paintings by a group of artists. 

The participating artists are, Amrita Jha, Bandana Jha, Baua Devi, Chandrakala Devi, Manisha Jha, Pooja Jha, Rambahros Jha, Rubi Sharma, Sapana Karn, Urmila Devi Paswan.

The show is on view till 25th March 2014.

Expressions in charcoal

(work by Shyam Kanu Borthakur)

Ganges Art gallery, Kolkata, presents a solo show of art works by artist Shyam Kanu Borthakur.  The works on display of the eminent artists are from a time span of 1974 - 2014. On display are charcoal and pencil on paper and canvas works by the artist.

The show previews on 21st February at 6:00pm and will be on view till 28th February 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Vignettes from the world

Diversity in the universe inspires the artist in Babu Namboodiri K.

(Reflecting on Life: Babu Namboodiri K.)

Every object in the world is an entity in itself. That thought runs through the collection of works showcased by Babu Namboodiri K. at his exhibition, ‘Small, small, several things, All beyond my control’.

“We believe human beings are supreme. But the truth is each and every thing in the universe has got an individuality and mankind has no control over anything we see around,” says the artist, who works as assistant professor at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady.

Through 40-odd works, he brings across the originality and identity of an array of things. Inspired by the mundane as well as the surreal, he tries to analyse the very existence of mankind and the world as a whole through his works.

Diversity is, perhaps, best portrayed on a 190x270 cm canvas where he has painted just about every object he can think of, in charcoal. Leaves on a stem that “create an order”, the fear which engulfed him when he looked out into the dark as a young boy, a mole on a face, a light and shade image, a hat, the glass in which he used to have milk as a kid… Babu finds inspiration from things that most people may consider insignificant.

“I enjoy the process of painting – splashing colours on a canvas and working out a lot of layers,” says Babu. Though oil paint is his favourite medium, the exhibited works are done in water colour, charcoal, ink and pencil.

Graphic prints and works done using dry pastel too have been showcased. An alumnus of College of Fine Arts in the city, Babu has also applied Japanese technique in some of his works, thanks to the training he had from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Japan. Besides exhibiting a couple of works he did in pencil while he was studying there, Babu has showcased a work in gold and silver hues, inspired by traditional Japanese and Korean art.

The exhibition is on at Kerala Lalithakala Academy Gallery. It concludes on February 21.

(Report by Athira M for The Hindu)

Deep Sleep, If You will stay close to Nature and more..

NEWS

ArtC New Media Programs

 (Work by Takeshi Murata “Shiboogi” )

Phoenix Market City, Chennai and ArtC  will be unveiling its vibrant new media exhibition program for 2014. These works will compliment the existing program of sculptures, installation, photography, and design that can be found throughout the mall.

The ArtC new media program includes a curated exhibition of animated video art works, Still Moves, showing works by William Kentridge, Shahzia Sikander, Jennifer Steinkamp, Takeshi Murata, Pae White, and Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg. In the lifts, seminal soundart works by Yoko Ono, Scanner (Robin Rimbaud), and Mehreen Murtaza will transform an everyday elevator experience. The ArtC program in Phoenix Market City, Chennai is curated by Diana Campbell Betancourt and produced by Eve Lemesle.

ArtC has exhibited video works by artists such as Leslie Thornton, Alyson Shotz, Takashi Ishida, Cheng Ran, Gigi Scaria, and Rohini Devasher. The internationally acclaimed video art can be experienced on the outdoor LED screen of the mall, as well inside the mall, projected in the lift banks on all four floors.

Additional works by Aakash Nihalani, Anjum Singh, Arunkumar HG, Gigi Scaria, L.N. Tallur, Ravinder Reddy, Rooshad Shroff, Samir Parker, Sunil Gawde, Thukral & Tagra, Vishal Dar, and Manish Nai are also on view. ArtC is also thrilled to announce its inaugural photography exhibition by the internationally acclaimed Indian photographer Pablo Bartholomew. The space also includes animated LED sign systems on the escalators where the public can share their reactions to the art via an interactive SMS technology platform. ArtC invites artists to submit proposals for this platform—please contact info@artcindia.org for more information.

ArtC 2014 will open on February 13th 2014.

Bird Cage

All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society ( AIFACS), New Delhi and Ravinder Dutt presents a show titled, ‘Bird Cage’ the winner of the 4th AIFACS 2014 All India Digital Art award.

Bird Cage is a tribute to the lesser known women of the Harem both in  India and elsewhere in the world. The work is not just gender specific here but also a direct satire on how we as humans are and how we all wear masks of our own and what society labels us based on what we are perceived to be.

The show commences on 17th February and is on view till 26th February 2014.

Deep Sleep

Gallery Ske, Bangalore, presents a solo show of artist Srinivasa Prasad titled, ‘Deep Sleep’. In the show, Srinivasa Prasad journeys back to the memories of childhood and the subconscious to create work that is playful, engaging and interactive. Employing discarded, found, retired, reused and readymade objects Prasad creates works across the media of sculpture and installation, video and photography. 

Continuing his exploration of ritual, Prasad infuses his work with elements of performance. The eponymous work in the show is a black tent constructed of mosquito nets, hung from the ceiling by cobwebs of glue. The work also includes audio of the monotonous drone of a loud snore. As with Prasad’s earlier works, the exhibition invites viewers to immerse themselves in the work and make their own journeys into the subconscious.

The show opens on 15th February at 7:00pm and is on view till 29th March 2014.

If You will Stay Close to Nature..

(Work by Jayashree Chakravarty)

Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi presents an exclusive art exhibition titled, ‘If You Will Stay Close To Nature...’. The show displays artworks by artist Jayashree Chakravarty. 

Residing and working in Kolkata, India, Jayashree studied painting (BFA) at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, and completed post diploma at the Faculty of Fine Arts of M.S. University, Baroda.

The collection by the artist is mostly autobiographical. Her works on paper by ink or oils have the feel of a dream about them. The artist relates to human beings living in a distant country and a different culture. This has expanded her horizons of imagination and has forced her to change her pre-conceived images.

The show will commence on 28th February and will be on view till 25th March 2014.

( News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

The sign of four

The four stalwarts of the Madras Movement, S. Nandagopal, K. Muralidharan, C. Douglas and Rm. Palaniappan, showcase the fruition of their long artistic journey at a group show

(K. Muralidharan's work)

There’s a relaxed sense of camaraderie in the gallery. Four of Chennai’s senior artists are overseeing the setting up of their group show at Artworld (as part of Art Chennai), and you can see why they’ve chosen to exhibit together as they stand about chatting, having a chai, and amiably taking turns talking to me.

“As a group, we just gel together,” says sculptor S. Nandagopal. “We did a show in Bangalore, and it worked well, so we decided to get together again. We’re planning to do one in Delhi next.”

Their personalities are as different as their signature styles, and that, says K. Muralidharan, is why the group has value. “Our work is distinctive, but there’s a common thread running through it all.”

(C. Douglas' work)

In this exhibition, a definite common thread is the size of the works; each artist has contributed an eye-catching large-scale work, six, seven or nine feet across (Nandagopal’s ‘The Silver Pilgrimage’ is so large, it needed a separate alcove outside), accompanied by other smaller, more delicate works.

The other commonality is in content, but it’s subtle, spinning a gossamer fine web of connections across the gallery space. In his large, dark grey-black, distressed canvases (highlighted gorgeously with cobalt blue varnish), C. Douglas continues to delve deeper into the tortured world of the ‘Blind Poet and the Butterflies’, a world full of poetry, metaphor and existential angst. Words from Tagore’s ‘Fireflies’ flit across the canvas, as a blind poet gropes in vain across his library and the all-seeing butterflies emerge from their chrysalis…

“My theories are gaining clarity, and they’re leading me to greater faith,” he says. Those theories are strongly influenced by the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke and the writings of French theorist Maurice Blanchot, ruminations on “faith, poetry and art, that which can save us”, of man’s blindness and inability to just believe, and the simple wisdom of animals like the fluttering butterfly.

(S. Nandagopal's work)

Animals take centre stage in the effervescent works of Muralidharan, of course, now more than ever. His treatment of them is as filled with light as Douglas’ are filled with shadows. In these brightly coloured abstract landscapes, he foregrounds the noble temple elephants, the graceful peacocks, and forest birds and animals, creating a fantastical world that combines Nature, mythology and the rustic effortlessly.

“I’ve begun to focus exclusively on landscapes, animals and birds,” he says. “The process of creation of these large works was entirely spontaneous, unfolding on the canvas like a celebration.”

As with Douglas, texture has always played an important part in Muralidharan’s works, and that effect is heightened in this collection, where he uses mixed media — paper, cloth — to create a textile-like feel, the smaller pieces textured like embroidery or appliqué.

Mythological figures, animals... all these elements find echoes in Nandagopal’s copper-brass sculptures. In the massive seven foot by seven foot ‘The Silver Pilgrimage’ (named after the novel by the late Chief Justice of Madras M. Ananthanarayanan), an ascetic completes his spiritual journey surrounded by animals and by Nature, the whole graceful work coated in gleaming, enigmatic silver.

“It took me four months to finish, and my hands are filled with burns from the silver cyanide!” he laughs. “Silver-coating on copper-brass is a time-consuming process that’s not done much nowadays.”

(Rm. Palaniappan's work)

The large-scale work comes on the heels of his massive 25-foot sculpture done for the Hyatt, and as much as he enjoyed the sense of space these works afforded him, it was a pleasure, he says, to return to small pieces, “which feel within your control”. The smaller brass sculptures in this collection are delightful, glowing in jewel tones of blue, green and red enamel (a Hanuman statue alone has eight different shades of green).

The works of Rm. Palaniappan have become increasingly spare, as he too, like Douglas and Muralidharan continues to fine-tune his philosophy and zero in on the essential. In his case, that is the line in its purest form, the line as a sculpture, as an installation, exploring its movement in a confined space.

In this collection, he’s experimented with this concept in a nine foot triptych, a celebration of lines in gold. “I’ve made it minimalistic, stripped down purely to the line,” he says. “The next step will be to bring in sound, and a line’s movement to sound into the installation.”

Forty, fifty years of being artists and the evolution continues… as Nandagopal puts it, “The process of developing your concepts and bringing them to fruition is not simple. It’s a long, lonely road.”

This exhibition is one more step ahead for these four Madras Movement stalwarts. A rare treat. The exhibition is on until February 21.

(Report by Divya Kumar for The Hindu)