Presenting the only solo exhibit at India Art Summit, Dubai’s 1x1 Art Gallery breaks new ground with a mixed-media project by Chittrovanu Mazumdar

New Delhi: As the capital gets ready for the second edition of India Art Summit with every art gallery choosing the customary option of presenting a group of artists, there is one exception that comes as a breath of fresh air, and art! Dubai-based 1x1 Art Gallery is the only gallery to present a solo artist and will be showcasing a brand new series of works by Calcutta’s renowned and equally reclusive artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar at the summit, scheduled to take place at Pragati Maidan from August 19, 2009 to August 22, 2009.

Says Malini Gulrajani, Director, 1x1 Art Gallery: “Most people would shy from showing a single artist at such an international platform. I, however, believe that commerce should be the last concern of a gallery and to do justice to Chittro’s work that I admire so much, a solo exhibit was the only way.”

Reciprocating the loyalty in equal measure, artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar has created for this project a brand-new series ranging from three-four large mixed media works in mediums as difficult and diverse as tar, wax, metal, light and photography that will be wall mounted; a series of small photographic as well as wax works and a sculpture-installation. There are works made of lights on mild steel panel with dimmer, speakers and soundtrack; acrylic paint, wax and tar on plywood and mild steel; wax on plywood with gold leaf as well as tinted silver leaf and few digital works of human and landscape imagery with wax and tar on mild steel.

According to Chittrovanu Mazumdar - “The blueprint for my new works is the cohabitation of opposites.” He explains that by using light-hungry, night-dark tar and the trays of light that feed those depths while simultaneously reflecting off them; he has juxtaposed mythical reverberations of black and white. The human weight of history - of making, of handcrafting - bespoken by age-old materials such as beeswax, metal, tar has been combined with sheer virtuality to produce digital prints, screen images and electronic soundscape. The promise of touch foregrounded through the textured tactility of poured colour or the exposed skin are evident in the prints on display. The curved arc of the containing womb-pod with its eternal potential of bursting, birthing and the unsettling presence of the unknown and the known are present amidst all the neatly framed geometric assertion on the walls.

Another highlight at the summit will be Chittrovanu’s video titled ‘Sleep’ which will be shown at the Video Lounge. The fifteen-minute video showcases the interrogation of the surface where the depths erupt unpredictably through cracks in a seemingly seamless skin; the metaphor of sleep and escaping dreams that inevitably rupture the face of an ostensibly calm and tranquil order as aural signs of disruption, chaos, always imminent and never predictable, haunt the mind.
Says Chittrovanu Mazumdar: “I consider myself as an expressionist painter and believe that art is a private activity for the artist, a search within the individual. To me, work is the space of freedom where everything can move, turn around, transform and become something else. There are structures and systems that one follows up to a point but then gets out of them.”

While this would be 1x1 Art Gallery’s first foray into the Indian market, the artist himself is no newcomer. While his last solo show in Delhi was at Bodhi Art Gallery in 2005, Chittrovanu has shown extensively across the globe since his first art outing in 1985. He has established himself as one of India's leading contemporary artists. Fusing the intellectual with the sensual in a unique way, the artist has exhibited across the world like at Jehangir Art Gallery (Mumbai); Bose Pacia Modern (New York); Seagull Foundation (Kolkata); Latit Kala (Chennai); Aicon Gallery (London). He had also been invited to display at the Victoria Memorial Durbar Hall, Calcutta (1991) and joined the ranks of the previous two invitees M F Husain and Bikash Bhattacharjee.

Born in 1956, Paris, Chittrovanu Mazumdar studied painting and printmaking at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Paris in 1983 after graduating from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta with a gold medal. Starting his career as a painter with huge canvases, mammoth solo shows and exploring a broad spectrum of media and technology in his work, his range of references is vast, incorporating inputs from his own culturally rich upbringing in Kolkata and Paris and an astonishing range of eclectic reading in three languages - French, English and Bengali. His work pulls from various influences, be it visual, musical or lyrical. His paintings - using bold brushstrokes, layered imagery, abstract images and elements of collage - express the conflicting experiences and beliefs that exist within modern society and man. His canvases exude intensity and vigor and are representational of his feelings of angst and suppression in a fast paced city. Distinctive by their blaze of colour and a free-flowing application of paint, his works have the ability to seamlessly shift from abstraction to figuration and naturalism. He treats the conventions of modernism not as constrictive theories but as stylistic options, employing abstraction, figuration, the macabre and the jovial all in a single work.

One of his most unsurpassed exhibitions in the past titled ‘Undated – Night Skin’ had amorphous sounds floating in plangent music. Embedded in the ominous military machines were fragments of human experiences - images of living spaces, dreamlike landscapes, panels of intense red impasto like coagulated blood, flowing water, cries, the lights of a city at night, the wail of an infant, a woman alone, sirens and traffic sounds, stained walls and doors and windows, a female voice pleading, a placid pig wallowing in the filth etc.

Equally evocative is the artist’s photography work that he has showcased in the past. His photographs tells a story of a place where violence, vandalism and death have just taken place, producing a comment on the present socio-political situation of India. One of the digital prints shows a calf’s carcass that lies abandoned to its fate, the potential symbols for death and decay, connoting the cyclical nature of life – what comes from the earth goes back to the earth. Says Chittrovanu: “I had a strong interest in photography and began to incorporate my own photographs in my works with painterly intervention or with a third presence, the intrusion of an exterior world. However, in due course of time, I started using photoshop on it. For the photographic series, I had travelled to Jharkhand where I chose a one square kilometer of desolated marshy land as the location and reworked on my clicked images. It was the textual and visual possibilities of a fictionalized documentary that inspired me to do these series.

Continuously reinventing himself for the past three decades, Chittrovanu has always been ahead of his times and moved in a new direction with every show, simultaneously returning to the most primeval of human emotions – fear, hunger, ecstasy, desire. His art boldly blends elements of pop art with abstract swathes of colour, dealing with human paradox and ambiguity, of the seeping grey of daily life that escapes the purity of black and white. What appears to link the very visually and formally different phases of his work is the intensity of sensual immersion demanded by the artist of both himself and the viewer. The viewer feels compelled to unravel the meaning behind the artist's often fragmented compositions. Through the layers of translucent and opaque paint over collages of images and text, one suddenly notices the vehement gaze of belligerent eyes or a desperately outstretched hand. Mazumdar states, “I enjoy the fact that it isn’t a definite, complete form. The half-formed figure is always in the process of becoming. It remains a promise, full of possibilities.”

ABOUT 1X1 ART GALLERY
A major force in promoting Contemporary Indian Art in Dubai, 1x1 has organized and presented ‘Af-fair’ in Dubai in March 2008 curated by Bose Krishnamachari bringing to fore works of artist like Anant Joshi, Hema Upadhyaya, Jyothi Basu, Justin Ponmany, Riyas Komu, TV Santosh, Parvathy Nayar, Minal Damani, Vivek Vilsani and Aji VN soon to be launched as a documented book. Few other shows 1x1 has presented lately are ‘The New Place’, ‘Route-en-Route’, ‘Urban/Image’, ‘Art Paris’. Solo exhibits include Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Jogen Choudhary, Jatin Das, Jaideep Mehrotra, Senaka Senanayake, M.F Husain besides group shows presenting ‘Pratul Dash and Rajesh Ram’ and ‘Farhad Husain, Kazi Nazir and Binoy Varghese’.

Husain Par Fida, artist Ravi Gossain presents a brand new series of life-size canvases to fill the void of Husain’s absence during India Art Summit

New Delhi: While the entire art fraternity has reacted to M. F Husain’s exclusion from the India Art Summit second year in the running, some cautiously and some sharply, there are others who have taken a completely different route to keep the Husain legend alive during this time. Self-confessed Husain admirer and artist Ravi Gossain has created a brand new series of life-size canvases portraying various nuances of Husain’s persona, but especially his loneliness in exile, that will be showcased at Gallery Ragini, F-213 C, Lado Sarai, New Delhi from August 20, 2009 to August 31, 2009.

Titled Husain Par Fida, the exhibition is an artistic tribute to the master through life-size canvasses with some being as large as 7ft x 16 ft. Showing Husain in various moods, ranging from the playful as in Husain & Henry Moore to the morose as in Husain in ICU, the entire show is both serious and comical at the same time.

Says Nidhi Jain, Director, Gallery Ragini: “As the Art Summit comes close and the entire city prepares itself for a spurt of fresh creativity, is it really fine for us to forget one of the pioneers in Indian contemporary art? I hope the show by Gossain will be a humble attempt to fill the void created by Husain’s absence.”

Though Husain has been Gossain’s inspiration for decades, a photograph of Husain with a red Ferrari triggered him to create a full series on him. “And what time was more apt to show these than now?” asks the artist, adding, “I have always admired him from a distance and watched him intently on stage, at airports and at hotel lobbies. Though I have always felt shy to approach him, I now wish he could see these paintings. The artist in him resonates even at the age of 93. His spirit is commendable.”

Born in 1950, Gossain took to painting as a profession a little more than a decade ago and has had several art shows since 2006. An Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur alumnus, Gossain’s first encounter with his muse took place in 1971 during a live demonstration by Husain at IIT Kanpur.

Gossain further adds: “This series on Husain are based on a deep-rooted connection with the artist and his conflicts with the social system. However, I do not tend to ignite controversies and nor do I wish to form opinions on any issue related to him.”

For this exhibition in particular, Gossain puts Husain next to a Ferrari, with Henry Moore, Husain under the doctor’s scanner and in the I.C.U, and Husain on a balcony to invoke intriguing responses. For example, the Husain in ICU series shows Husain being operated by a team of surgeons in an ICU. While an ordinary patient would lie helplessly at the disposal of specialists, Husain on the other hand appears to belong to a different world and seems to be firm and unaffected by trauma. In a similar vein of thought is the work titled Husain under Scanner that captures a moment before Husain is put under MRI scan. Here again, Husain’s charisma remains unmatched and miraculous as he holds the balloons of aspirations despite personal sufferings. Yet another work titled Husain on the Balcony depicts a large colourful rooftop area with a small figure of Husain standing in a pensive mood. The presence of balloons in almost all of Gossain’s work is a noteworthy trademark that brings out an optimistic side to otherwise traumatic situations.

Executed in blazing shades of red, yellow, blue and green is the work titled Husain & Henry Moore that shows a trendy Husain sporting sunglasses and stepping off a red Ferrari. Adds Gossain: “Husain has all the latest models of Ferrari, Cadillac & Maserati which he feels are his muse. He calls them art installations as he bought them because as he could not afford a Henry Moore.”

Explaining about Gossain’s works says Nidhi Jain: “I get inspired by Gossain’s large canvases and his ability to create a balance between form and colour. His vivid colour sense is an extension of his spirited persona. His adulation for Husain is apparent in this show. He considers Husain to be his art guru and this is his way to pay back his gurudakshina, his ode to the master”.

Thus by choosing to paint on the most controversial artist of the country, Gossain’s sets up a stimulus through his works and leaves the rest for the viewers to decide.

Gallery Ragini launches coffee and conversation with artists as a monthly talk show

New Delhi: In an effort to rekindle the good old days of serious art discussion, Gallery Ragini presents its unique initiative titled Arty Acoustic, a monthly conversation over coffee with a prominent Indian contemporary artist. While each of these monthly sessions would be held on the last Friday of each month, the first talk has been scheduled for August 21, 2009 at Choko La, Khan Market (5 pm onwards) to coincide with India Art Summit so that a wider audience can interact and reflect upon the participating artist’s life and art.

The first three artists selected for this year-long programme are Bose Krishnamachari, Manjunath Kamath and Gigi Scaria for the month of August, September and October respectively.

Says Nidhi Jain, Director, Gallery Ragini: “The programme has been conceptualized to provide a serious platform for contemporary artists to interact with an enthusiastic audience comprising of artists, art lovers, collectors, gallerists and critics. The artist would explain his/her work through a slide show leaving the floor open for questions by art critics and subsequently by the audience. Ranging from being provocative to inquisitive, the question and answer session is sure to bring out the best in the artist.”

The first talk on August 21 would witness acclaimed artist Bose Krishnamachari in conversation with art curator and critic Johny M.L. The discussion would have varied nuances relating to creating art, hosting exhibitions, curatorial and museum practices in India and elsewhere. Bose Krishnamachari would also be presenting a slide show of his works to make the conversation more realistic, informative and fruitful. The presentation will include examples from his early works, his “Ghost - Stretched Bodies” series, installations, designs and all major works of art he has done so far. Also, a large 6ft x 3ft work titled Ghost would be displayed during the talk.

Says artist Bose Krishnamachari: “Unlike in the past, people are more aware of the investment possibilities in art. Though art always had a business aspect to it, in India this awareness has come very late. Now art is not just seen in terms of its aesthetical value but also its monetary value. Unfortunately, people forget that it is the aesthetic value or the historical value of a work of art that generates the monetary value to it. I find that this aspect is missing in our conversations about art.”

He further adds: “Conversation over coffee with an artist is an interesting idea with its main aim being to bridge this gap between the aesthetic and monetary value through an involved dialogue between the artist, critic and the audience. It gives the artist an opportunity to speak about his work in retrospect while being able to listen to first-hand audience comments.”


Profile: Bose Krishnamachari

Born in Kerala in 1963, Bose Krishnamachari had his informal art training at the Kerala Kalapeethom and before he joined Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai for graduate studies in Fine Arts. A recipient of Kerala Lalit Kala Akademy Award for painting, he has also been supported by Charles Wallace (India) Trust Scholarship for his Post Graduation in Fine Arts from the illustrious Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Bose Krishnamachari came back to India after his studies in London. His annual display had already been noticed by the British artists and scholars and Bose gathered curatorial ideas while he was in his foreign sojourn. London stint was just a beginning of his innumerable travels and researches.

Bose’s solo shows are important for their self curatorial interventions and ideas. Most of his solos are large in scale. ‘Amuseum’, ‘Decurating’, ‘Ghost Trans-memoire’, ‘Ghost’, ‘LaVA’, to name a few, are his important solo exhibitions.

Bose Krishnamachari became an internationally acclaimed curator when he became the India Section curator of ARCO, 09, Madrid, Spain. He also guest curated ‘Indian Highway’, one of the path-breaking shows on Indian contemporary art on an international platform. The show started early this year in Serpentine Gallery, London and currently it is traveling to different cities in Europe.

Known as a great talent scout, Bose always spots interesting artists from all over India. He diligently visits studios of young artists and encourages them in several ways. Bose started his curatorial venture in mid 90s with ‘Bombay X 17’, then the well known ‘Bombay Boys’. Bombay Boys later became a stand-in-name for all the successful and young contemporaries from the city of Mumbai. ‘Double-Enders’, ‘KAAM’, ‘SPY’, ‘Soft Spoken’, ‘AFFAIRS’, to name a few, are his important curated shows.

Bose is currently working towards establishing a gallery named ‘BMB’ in Mumbai. This gallery with state of the art facilities would play a very important role in bringing international art onto Indian shores. Bose Krishnamachari has a huge dream - the dream of setting of an international art museum in India. He has already started working on this and in a few years’ time, a world class museum will be set up in Kerala.

BAJAJ CAPITAL ART HOUSE celebrates its first anniversary with BEYOND THE FORM that explores what lies beneath the image

New Delhi: Bajaj Capital Art House (BCAH) celebrates its first anniversary with Beyond The Form; a group exhibition of more than forty works including paintings in water colour, oil, pastel and acrylic on canvas & aluminum, digital archival ink on canvas, mixed media on paper and sculptures by fourteen contemporary artists from August 05, 2009 to August 07, 2009 at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The exhibition will continue at Gallery Art Positive, L -26, Kalkaji, New Delhi from August 08, 2009 to August 14, 2009. The show will then move to Jehangir Art Gallery, 161/B, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kalagodha, Mumbai from August 24, 2009 to August 31, 2009.

The participating artists are Anil Gaikwad, George Martin P.J, Jagdish Chinthala, Jayasri Burman, Krishen Khanna, Maya Burman, Murali Cheeroth, Nitish Bhattacharjee, Paresh Maity, Satish Gujral, Sunil Padwal, Viveek Sharma, Vivek Vilasani and T.M. Azis.

The celebratory mood will also witness the launch of BCAH’s ‘Bajaj Capital Art House Artist Fellowship’; a one year fellowship aimed at mid-career visual artists who have had at least two solo and six group shows to their credit and are in the age group of 25 – 40 years. The final selection will be made on the basis of the artist’s track record, current body of work, project proposal and future potential. The selected artist will be awarded a fellowship of Rs 50,000 as cash grant which can be used for research, travel, materials or acquiring facilities as outlined and agreed in the project proposal. The fellowship will conclude with a curated solo exhibition accompanied by a catalogue that BCAH will sponsor and present showcasing the new work created during the year.

Says Anu Bajaj, Director, Bajaj Capital Art House: “BCAH has brought forth an eclectic mix of quality art that promises to bring a cheer for all art aficionados. There are stunning paintings and sculptures by star artists Krishen Khanna, Satish Gujral, Jagdish Chinthala and Paresh Maity while equally remarkable canvases have been contributed by some of the young luminaries including George Martin P.J, Viveek Sharma, Nitish Bhattacharjee and Sunil Padwal. Mixed media has been used dramatically by Vivek Vilasini and Murali Cheeroth who will also be presenting a video installation. While Anil Gaikwad works with juxtaposition of old and new materials, T.M. Azis works is oil on canvas. Jayasri and Maya Burman bring alive the old world charm and reflections of folk form in their contemporary coloration. The works in the show are all unique and refreshingly special - indeed a collector’s delight.”

Says Sushma Bahl, curator of the show: “Beyond the Form attempts to focus on the underlying concerns, issues, emotions and stories that artists as creators delve into beyond what the eye can see as a ubiquitous form. Most of the artworks have been specially created for the exhibition in response to the theme and give the viewers an interesting visual and aesthetic panorama of contemporary art in varied expressions, oeuvres and genres.”

In Vivek Vilasini’s digital archival ink on canvas work titled Mind the Giap, he has portrayed General Wong Neo Giang Giap, a general in the Vietnam army who fought and defeated the French and American armies while his other work Untitled 'Holy Bible' is based on the actual existence of a Bible that can be bought of the shelves in Bangalore and online at Amazon.com. Says the artist: “Both my works are an anomaly because Vietnam being a small country could resist such powerful invasions while the Bible, covered in camouflage, reminds me of the historical period of the crusades.” The delicate irony they evoke impacts existing ideologies, and influences the cultural and social consciousness of the viewer. Vivek examines our existing social structure, various expressions of cultural identity prevalent in society today and raising questions about the continually changing global scenario that every individual battles to keep pace with.

Artist Viveek Sharma’s oil on canvas, for instance, delves into our social milieu and makes the narrative self explicit as if hidden behind the forms. The situations in either of his works are not ubiquitous like in the case of Bullet proof, the image of an invincible Chathrapathi Shivaji on the horse back signifying the terror attacks in Mumbai defended by commandos bearing the tricolour and the peace pigeons in flight, are coalesced images bearing a national identity that is distinctively Indian. On the other hand Brain wash depicts the urban and rural masses of India, their heads as repository and brains as receptacle for an earmarked product of mass consumerism.

One can see a similar aura of its own in Anil Gaikwad’s oil, pastel and acrylic work titled Shadow Becomes Reality where the light emanating from the colour pervades the canvas, resulting in a sublime and serene landscape. Says the artist: “My paintings are like a mirror to me through which I look at myself. My images are identified with certain terrain, valley or a landscape, but in reality I delve deep into an inner space, which unfolds gradually and creates a terra incognita. Thus, my canvases become a meditative place.” Each brush stroke aimed at the surface of his canvas is not innocent; it reveals and conceals, encodes and decodes at the same time.

Taking the canvas beyond the concept of hyper-real figuration and colourful abstraction, acclaimed artist George Martin P.J’s acrylic on canvas paintings titled A Touch of Elegance and Looking For Closure enact an enigmatic drama of contemporary life in simplistic urban situations. Applying a unique methodology - first by the mediation of a camera and then by a program that enables the artist to deconstruct the first image - the unity of the images are broken down to make it look like colourful patches. George Martin P.J captures the outer layer of urban spaces which reflect the post-modern sense of reality. Says George Martin P.J: “Interaction with our urban surroundings and environment is the basis of my consciousness, my ability for creation. There are many touching incidents and events that make me agitated and prompt a spontaneous artistic reaction.” The artist tries to strike a chord with the viewers by stimulating their memories, their inner and invisible sensory powers.

Inspired from the built environment, rather than the luxurious flora and fauna he grew up with in Kerala, Murali Cheeroth’s new video work is based on research on the use of pesticides on cashew crops in and around rural South, which is leading to some serious health, environmental and genetic disorder issues among farmers. In the paintings, his current explorations include the architecture of the city, urbanization and urban cultures and looks closely at the idea of re-construction, infrastructure, technology, speed, change, local and global intersections and multiple layers of urban identities. The colorful theatrical images here that appear surrounded by machines in one of the works and under the arch-light in another, seem to unveil human body and mind entangled in multiple identities and society’s increasing technology dependency. Though, mainly he works on paintings and videos, he has worked on printmaking and theatre also.

Unlike Murali Cheeroth, T.M. Azis’s oil on canvas work titled Untitled is steeped in the expressionistic figuration of Kerala from where he too hails. A young and promising artist who has worked in mixed media; his characters reflect situations that represent state of mind, body, gesture and dramatic movements from life. He says: "I have never been particular about maintaining a style as experiences change with time. I accept the new environment, people and like to adapt new techniques and colors in my works. My works are like documentation of my personal experience and knowledge of my time.”

Similarly, Sunil Padwal too works in mixed media and explores the androgynous urban male by giving him a definite form and identity. A mélange of colors, graffiti and Russian icons come together on his canvas and effectively convey the angst ridden facet of brooding mankind. He enjoys adding dimension to his works, an unusual curved surface instead of a flat one, a molded back to make the painting move away from the wall, a form of twisted metal or an old signboard.

On the other hand, femininity is the world created by Jayasri Burman who creates a balance between beauty and nature through her mixed media work on paper and canvas. Her paintings have a dream-like lyrical quality with unique sensitivity, using mythic elements - strange hybrid animals with human heads, coroneted ceremonial bird, mother Goddess or creatures of the woods etc.

Maya Burman’s watercolours are delicate and detailed with a strong fantasy element. Reminiscent of the French art nouveau tradition, her paintings have a tapestry like effect. Maya first sketches in pencil and then applies a layer of watercolour, finishing the outlines and details in black ink with a pen. A meeting ground of two cultures - Indian and French, her paintings blend the genres of Indian miniature painting and European Middle Age architecture in her art. Not only that, literature and poetry is also very significantly present in her paintings, while her typographies are predominately figurative. She says: “Painting is my life, my emotions and my pains which are coming on the paper.”

One of the most promising young painters of contemporary Indian art, Paresh Maity started out as a painter in the academic style, but over the years began to shift from atmospheric scenery to representations of the human form. Gradually the imagery and form became more and more abstract until the young painter with flourish of a brush laden with transparent colours began to create paintings of great evanescent beauty. Deriving his inspiration as much from the surrounding landscape as from folk forms and contemporary life, Paresh Maity creates a web of fantasies and stories soaked in beauty, pulsating with romance, passion and intrigue. Though recognized as a water colourist, the young painter is equally at ease with oil on canvas as is evident in his acrylic and mixed media on paper or canvas work.

Similarly, Nitish Bhattacharjee too worked with realistic imagery in his early body of work but has for some time moved to abstract art or “non-representational art” as the artist prefers to call it. For the show, Nitish has created acrylic on canvas work and his narratives may be described as passionate encounters between lines and hues. In fact, the degree of abstraction is so immense, that the viewer is compelled to question the content behind the inexhaustible layers of texture and colour as well as the frantic movement of brush strokes that occupy his canvas.

A well known name in contemporary Indian sculpture, Jagdish Chinthala uses papier-mâché and aluminum to create his sculptures titled Anniversary, Best Man, Room Mates and Man at Miami Beach. Inspired by folk sculptures, toys, acquaintances and incidents from his childhood in India, his recent papier-mâché creations are three dimensional, columnar figures, developed into busts, masks and life-sized figures. Each piece depicting the artist’s astute perception of the outside world and the fallibility of human nature are specific and unique; its character subtly revealed through clothing, facial expressions, posture and use of hands. It is the artist’s depiction of intimate and human emotions that gives his works such universal appeal, affectionately commenting on society and dramatically narrating his stories. The charm of his sculptures lies in their simplicity which is so inherently alive as to vitiate all criticism.

Among the few artists who have constantly dominated the Indian art scene, Satish Gujral has been internationally acclaimed for his multi-talent in paintings, graphics, mural, sculpture, architecture and interior design. It is the pain and anguish of homeless during the partition of the country that took shape in his artwork. Says the artist: “My works always gets inspiration from the prevalent elements in contemporary living. I create forms that I consider not only modern but are infused with energy and motion. All my four paintings made for the show are in acrylic and gold on canvas. They are composed of elements that are part of day to day contemporary man’s life and his involvement in mundane functions. They depict man’s attempt to harness power.”

Krishen Khanna, deft in drawing and painting has some large scale pen, pencil and ink works that rotates around human experiences and situations. Through the surface of his paintings immersed in thick impasto, familiar figures appear and disappear jogging one’s distant memories. The two drawings here feature one of his most popular and engaging subjects- the bandwallas. Wearing their typical hats and coats holding up their brass instruments the bandwallas are seen to herald a time for celebration and joy for others though they themselves have to struggle to make a living. The compositions in immaculate and detailed line work and rubbed portions evoke two consummate scenes.

These artists have created artworks that are bound to go beyond the expected reality and create a long-lasting impression of meaningful art!

Gallery Espace announces the Grand Finale of its path-breaking art presentation, Video Wednesday from July 29, 2009 to August 1, 2009

New Delhi: As a historical and path-breaking presentation of video art, Gallery Espace announces the grand finale of its one-year-long Video Wednesday programme with video art from more than 60 artists at Gallery Espace, 16, Community Centre, New Friends Colony, from July 29, 2009 to August 1, 2009 (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.).

Says Renu Modi, Director, Gallery Espace: “Video art has become a very important and popular medium not only in global but also in the Indian scenario. It was for the first time in the history of Indian contemporary art that a private gallery took the initiative to showcase video art regularly for a year within a serious but informal structure. Just as Espace’s previous shows on contemporary drawings, sculptures and pop-art created a brand new market, this initiative is bound to foster a similar excitement amongst connoisseurs of experimental art.”

Curated by art critic and curator, JohnyML, Video Wednesday started in July 2008 as part of the “Reach Out” programme of Gallery Espace. The idea was to encourage local audiences for contemporary video art produced by Indian artists living in India and abroad.

According to Renu Modi: “This project is getting international recognition as well and has been invited to many other venues in India and abroad. To take the project to a wider international audience, we will be screening select works from the gallery’s huge bank of video art as the opening videos at the Video Lounge of India Art Summit in August, 2009. In addition, a first-time book on video art which will encapsulate and document the one-year-long project and studies on contemporary video art is also on its way.”

Coming back to the forthcoming grand finale, Renu Modi adds that as a unique initiative to expand the scope of the Video Wednesday project, five guest curators namely Nancy Adajania, Bose Krishnamachari, Arshiya Lokhandwala, Suresh Jayaram and Gayatri Sinha have been invited to curate special sections with their choice of artists and video works. In another path-breaking initiative, the gallery would also be publishing an all-colour 20-page tabloid on Video Wednesday.

Says guest curator Bose Krishnamachari who has chosen to represent the works of Amar Kanwar, Anup Mathew Thomas, Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Kabir Mohanty and Sudarshan Shetty: “The entire project is quite a daring one as videos were generally seen as part of group shows or solos. I appreciate that the finale literally opens up further discourses on video art by throwing open it for guest curators to make interventions.”

On the other hand guest curator and cultural theorist Nancy Adajania selects Mriganka Madhukaillya, Navjot Altaf, Ranbir Kaleka and Shilpa Gupta for this project. She adds: “Gallery Espace has always been in the forefront to showcase experimental art. Video Wednesday is Espace’s another path-breaking effort.”

The artists selected by guest curator Gayatri Sinha are Gigi Scaria, Manjunath Kamath, N Pushpamala and Surekha, those selected by guest curator Suresh Jayaram are Ambuja Mahaji, Bharatesh D Yadav, Jehangir Jani, Surekha, Siridevi Khandavilli and Umesh Maddanahalli and finally, artists selected by curator Arshiya Lokhandwala are Aaditi Joshi, Baptist Coelho, Sharmila Samant and Sonia Khurana.

The grand finale not only showcases the videos of the selected artists by these five guest curators but also the videos that have been already shown in Video Wednesdays so far.

In addition, to give a chance to younger artists who are not part of the curated sections, a special monitor-based projection space called Video Adda has been devised for exhibiting offbeat videos. Featuring one-minute videos by ten young artists who were part of a video workshop conducted by Mumbai’s Sharmila Samant and experimental videos by Satya Sai and Somu Desai, Video Adda will remain a permanent feature at Gallery Espace.

What’s more, an Open Forum titled ‘Video Art Now and Next’, is scheduled for August 1, 2009 as part of the finale festivities that will be moderated by art critic and curator Johny ML. The panel, consisting of art collector Swapan Seth and video artist Kabir Mohanty among others, will discuss the nuances of Indian contemporary video art practices from various perspectives.

Says JohnyML, Project Curator of Video Wednesday: “Video has been one of the most domesticated visual mediums since the advent of VHS tapes, players and recorders in Indian market during mid 1980s. However, video art took a lot of time to catch the imagination of the artists and the public. Once transported to the context of art, video became something alien. I was interested in this fact of the alienating factor, despite its familiarity otherwise, and the project was conceived and executed for creating a new audience group for video art in India. I am sure that this project has created a history in the critical discourse on Indian contemporary video art. ”

While the grand celebration showcases the videos of the twenty-three selected artists by guest curators, Johny ML, the project curator adds five more artists to the list namely Babu Eshwar Prasad, Ebenezer Singh, Kiran Caur Brar, K M Madhusudhanan and Nikhil Chopra. The works are based on the title 'War in the East, War in the West' which will add a final touch to the four-day celebration.

An Artist at twenty-one & a Philosopher too! Sohini Chattopadhyay creates a new world of digital imagery in her solo debut at Art Konsult, New Delhi

New Delhi: Call her a prodigy if you must, but there is no denying the fact that having barely turned 21, Bangalore-based Sohini Chattopadhyay has already caught the eye of art connoisseurs across the country. While she has already tasted success with eminent group shows, and especially as part of the art outing in Cairo on a Lalit Kala Akademi platform last year, she is now all set to make her solo debut in India with her exhibition titled Step in Light at Art Konsult, New Delhi. Comprising of twenty-six photography based digital prints on archival paper created over a period of two years, the show will be held at Art Konsult, 23, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi from July 15, 2009 to August 15, 2009.

Sohini captures photographs with a painter’s eye and then juxtaposes images through varied digital maneuvering to create her own visual world. The entire series of works have been divided into four subsets, the first being titled Time, the dressmaker composed of self portraits and intimate still lives combined with occasional seascapes. The second series comprises of pictures of found objects juxtaposed with landscapes which conceal the identity of the object and create a whole new metaphorical aura, especially in My shadow in the evening has risen to meet me. The third series captures the essence of time with pace and speed resulting in the camera capturing multiple shots of run sequences thereby heightening the idea of detached yet attached freedom in works like To Reach the Blossoms and the Golden Thread series. The fourth series titled Global Quotation juxtaposes the protagonist with various props that have a constant narrative flowing through them.

Time and hope forms the central backbone of her first series titled Time, the Dressmaker, comprising of six intimate compositions, each work capturing a moment of life. Here, she juxtaposes painted self portraiture with seascapes using motifs like a hand, seascapes and clocks. She also introduces and captures infinite space in various sequences and presents the symbolic self portraiture in significant tones of burgundy so as to create a rather personal atmosphere. Explains the artist: “As a cultural commuter, I have been constantly engaged in the sophisticated play with identity. ‘Time’ becomes a constant witness to the ever changing attire that we put forward to the world. Thus, in this series I have made ‘Time’, the protagonist as a Dressmaker.”

The second series of her work, based on photographs of various still lives and landscapes, has a more poetic flavor greatly inspired by T S Eliot. The angle of the photography in this segment not only conceals the identity of the object but rather creates a whole new cognitive metaphorical aura through strategic juxtaposition. My shadow in the evening has risen to meet me is one of the prominent work in the series which is the result of her constant experiments with digital technologies.

The third set comprises a series of images that capture the essence of action and time, arousing the quest, urge and discovery of the human mind. For instance, her work titled To Reach the Blossoms consists of an image in action which shows the great leap towards the known and the unknown freedom. Similarly, Golden thread of Unity Running and Golden thread of Freedom Run shows figures running in a struggle to free themselves from unknown bondage. The overlapping of the aspects of the run in both works and the drapery with butterfly imprints signifies the essence of floating. Yet another work titled Tracing Byways of Freedom, denotes the metaphor of the crossroads where the printed butterflies and floating birds are moving in opposite directions. One notices that printed butterflies which have wings are unable to fly as they are caught in the thread of the drapery and, on the other hand, the birds which are not caught as an imprint of the drapery are also hesitant to take flight with wings closely attached to the body.

The fourth segment is the concluding Global Quotation which is a visual commentary of the current global situation. Dealing with the ideology of protection and overprotection, the work shows juxtaposition of the protagonist with the helmet and images of leaf plates placed one above the other. The work indicates the references to the various questions raised in the context of human existence. The repeated sequencing of the protagonist points towards the understanding of existence taking place as an isolated solitary phenomenon in an uncompromising world. It also reflects on the idea that we create our own human nature through the independent view and the choices that we thereby take.

Explains Sohini: “I have been inspired by various personalities from history and present, especially T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land” and its significance of the universal global idea.” She also says that Swami Vivekananda’s lecture Maya and Freedom delivered in London on the 22nd October 1896 has played a major role in creating Step in Light. Some other masters who influenced this young artist are authors Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. She adds: “The evolution of my works have also resulted due to the search of content that is on the face of it abstract, but at a deeper level symbolic, and that content is necessarily philosophical and religious.”

The curious fact present in the midst of all our joys and sorrows, difficulties and struggles, is the fact that we are all advancing towards freedom. In response to our quest “What is Universe?” Step in Light is an exhibition that reinstates - ‘In freedom it rises, in freedom it rest and in freedom it melts away’. Perhaps, an apt summation of an artist’s work who herself is a young philosopher!

The Fuschia Tree exhibition Delhi –Beyond the Lens showcases photographs of extraordinary quality by ordinary people

New Delhi: How often does a 11-year-old, a software engineer, a businessman or a homemaker get the chance to exhibit their work, even though they might be able to capture on camera a photograph that is a work of art? Well, The Fuschia Tree art gallery has gone ahead and given that chance! With a photography exhibition titled Delhi – Beyond The Lens, The Fuschia Tree brings to the city images captured on camera by a group of amateur photographers who were part of the gallery’s unique photography workshops held over the last three months. The exhibition will comprise of twenty photographs that will be shown from June 26, 2009 to July 15, 2009 at The Fuschia Tree Gallery, 201, F-7 East of Kailash, New Delhi. (www.thefuschiatree.com)

Says Chanda Chaudhury Barrai, MD and founder, The Fuschia Tree: “Three months ago when we launched Dilli 6, a series of six stylishly conceptualised photo workshops, it was our belief that if we created an environment which inspires and guides, in an experiential, interactive and fun way, most people would be able to push the boundaries of their imagination and technique to create exceptional work. And we were right! In the past weeks, I have shared the results of our first two workshops with members of the art community and everyone has appreciated the quality of work which has emanated from these workshops. Bringing this exhibition in our gallery not only means that we endorse the work which is being showcased but also a commitment to the quality of the workshops we are conducting.”
The exhibition, thus, forms an integral part of Dilli 6, a series of six photography workshops that was launched by The Fuschia Tree in April 2009 and is designed to cover six aspects that truly represent the very essence of Delhi. What makes the workshops even more unique is that these are being led by professional photographers as team leaders. Adds Chanda Chaudhury Barrai: “I am very proud to say that our leaders have inspired an eclectic group of 22 participants of different age groups and photography skill to create good, quality work.”
While the exhibition comes as a welcome platform to those budding photographers who were part of the first two workshops based on street and food photography in April and May, the ongoing series of photography workshops that will continue till the end of this year will be interspersed with more such exhibitions.
Coming back to Delhi- Beyond The Lens, the participants of the first two workshops honed their photography skills under the guidance of their respective team leaders namely Nagender Chhikara, Bikash Das and Sephi Bergerson. While Nagender Chhikara and Bikash Das imparted their passion and imagination on the concept of street photography and took the group to the alleys of Purani Dilli, Sephi Bergerson led his group to explore the street foods of Delhi. The photographs in the exhibition, thus, are a result of the both the eclectic guidance of the team leaders as well as the unabated enthusiasm of participants who worked upon their skills to capture the fleeting moments that touch our hearts through the artistry of lenses.

The works in the exhibition are displayed thematically with group-wise division between Where Dilli Begins (focusing on Street Photography) and Taste of Dilli (focusing on Food Photography). Each group represents the vision and direction of the leader who has guided amateur photographers to create a body of imagery that not only follows a line of thought but also weaves a storyline into an exhibition.

What’s interesting, though, is the concept of bringing different perspectives of the same subject from the eyes of participants of varied age groups and profession. For instance, If 11-year-old student Shreya Sahai creatively captures the colors of spices in her work titled Spice market, then on other hand, 43-year old filmmaker Prashant Sareen was enchanted to capture the smoke, flames and the wafting aroma of sizzling kebabs. Yet another 11-year old Vimanyu Devgan, whose primary interest was in landscapes and animals, developed a keen interest in street food after coming under the guidance of his team leader. His work titled Ready for Tea? is taken at Ustad Chai Wala, Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid. “The boy in the picture is a helper at the tea stall. It was wonderful to capture him getting the glasses ready for the next lot of tea drinkers with a smile on his face”, says Vimanyu. Talking about a similar experience of food photography, says journalist Neha Bhatt: “I often write features on food and culture. I suppose what caught my eye about my work titled The Umbrella was the delicious, glossy red of the Roohafza, and the stunning effect of the sunshine trying to force its way from behind the umbrella. I think taking pictures of food comes a close second to eating it.”

For photo-enthusiast Manish Jaju, street photography is one of the most fascinating and challenging of all forms. His untitled work speaks for itself telling tales about the exchange of damaged currency notes for good ones, offering a margin to the seller. Explains Manish: “This shot captures one of the many kinds of business that people engage in, in order to make a living. I loved the timing of this shot, as it captures an essential moment of the transaction where the buyer has his hand inside the pocket to pull out some money in damaged condition and the seller has a currency note ready in his hand to exchange with the buyer.”

Artist and designer Prateek Dubey’s work titled Locked has metaphors attached with locks and the position of the feet. Says Prateek: “Locked things are those which are precious and kept in abeyance. It’s like the potential energy. I found a simile between locks on a steel cabinet and the man sleeping with his feet locked. Since the photograph was taken in early morning, and the day had not yet begun there were forces yet to be unleashed unto the world. One can notice that the feet are dirty and have toiled the previous day but now everything is quietly locked and rested for rejuvenation.”

Avinash Kumar, a development activist, was inspired to take up photography in order to capture the life struggles of people he came across as part of his work and travel. Through his work titled Snacking he portrays the contradiction between the hard life of a rickshaw puller enjoying a cup of tea and a moment of peace. On the other hand, is homemaker Sudha Sivakumar’s work titled Piece of Luck that captures an interesting moment with two youngsters playing a game at leisure while forgetting the chaos and routine of the morning. Says Sudha: “One of the most important part of my life is the early morning routine and rituals. Hence, I was driven to capture these kids who might have wanted to try their luck in the wee hours of the day.”

While software engineer Mohit Gupta’s Lazy Sunday captures the otherwise busy lanes of Chandni Chowk almost taking a day off on a Sunday morning, finance student Siddharth Bhargava’s work titled Orange captures everything about a person apart from the face and yet conveys a story.

Ansel Adams once said that “there are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs” - and these works in the exhibition are indeed good photographs.

The show thus celebrates the old and the new, the raw and the refined, the hot and the cold, amongst all those things that makes Delhi the space that it is – beloved of those who live in it and an alluring mystery to those who come to visit.