Thursday, January 17, 2008

Contemporary Art Exhibition Review


from a palace…
On the eve of 50th year celebration of Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, Chhattishgarh, India ,53 artists from visual art faculty who were studied their Fine Art from this oldest Indian Art Institution has displayed their exceptional works at Rabindra Bhawan Galleries II & III ,World renowned eminent master S. H Raza and Eminent Indian Poet/Art Critic/Writer Sh Ashok Vajpeyi has inaugurated the show When you walk through the gallery, you will find Ajay Kumar Mall has worked on the speed and intensity of his brushwork to create abstract oils on canvas while the 'Green Landscape' by Hukum Lal Verma displays a celebration of colour and line. Elements from the landscape begin to disintegrate with its remnants in the title. Spontaneity of working in the outdoors brings about the need for speed with the application and the inevitable breakup of the form. In the lucid watercolours of the landscape by Anil Khobragare, transparent pigments look for spaces to hold on to the paper in a play of flow and merge in the painting process. Struggle for space and control comes forth in the acrylics of Devasis Mukherjee, as the birds seem to find a way to synchronize rhythms of existence among themselves. Girja Kumar Nirmalker delineates and engages pigments in indicating abstract spaces within composition while landscape remains in the hidden strata of the painting. Jiten Sahu works on constructing the urban landscape in a series of buildup activity across the canvas. Freedom of the display of brushwork remains in the periphery of the constructed space. Looking for purity of colour in the abstract, mixed media works of Mahesh Sharma engages in not looking for the definite and the orderly, rather the build up of pigment forms the base for developing the work.

Fleeting moments manages to manifest in the abstracts of Yogendra Tripati in a residual of earth colours that play every so light on the canvas. Elements from the landscape remain in the works of Manish Verma with an alluring content for transition into the abstract. Retaining colours of the earth, the acrylic works modulate to the circumstances. Shubra Chand also works on this transition with layering of pigments. Fields of colour are set against each other in the work of Prabir Kumar Dalai. The formations allow for brilliance in colour to make representations across the fields. Using dry pastel on paper Rajesh Mishra indicates flowing lines of the dancers in an attempt to capture the moment of action in 'Khairagarh'. In the rush for existence, evasion of death seems to be the moment of realization in the work of Sukant Dev Burman. Futility in the exercise seems to be the prediction of a parrot in contemplation while a dove tries to stabilize the present. Destiny in the hands of the richness of environment is taunting enough to be in the outdoors, away from comforts of the home in the painting of Sunita Verma. Symbolic in representation, the chair makes up for the absence of the household.

Relishing in the possibilities of transformation, the chance for a new world that could take one into the imaginable, the harmless soldier stands in readiness in the fusion of the real and the unreal in the work of Adhikalp Yadu. In similar terrain, Anup kumar Chand looks for transformations in the chance for that change in reality of a consistent regularity in the environment. Anant kumar Sahu ponders over the world order in the etching 'After Third Worldwar'. Frailty of lines in the etching drives home the situation in such an event. Aspirations in the form of a flower come in the etching by Khemlata Dewangan in 'Dream Flower'. The jaded sunflower looks up to the challenge in the present set of circumstances as the individual is caught in a vortex of the dream. In the dreaminess of the landscape, the painting by Malay Jain allows for another side of the landscape, not necessarily in the real. 'Soldiers after a War' by Mahesh R. Prajapati repeats the introspection of the individual caught in the cacophony of war. Etching and serigraphy allows for fields of hard, opaque colour in combination with sensitivity of the line.

Symbolic and the representational find its place in the prints of Rakesh Bani. The beast has its ways of instilling fear and control over frailty of the mind. With a limited use of colour, the work gets accentuated in its scope of an expanding vision. Spatial play gets mingled with the symbolic in the work of Tikendra Kumar Sahu with dog days open throughout the year to make a livelihood for comfort as Sharad Kumar Kawre explores the representational through the digital medium of printmaking. Sheikh Hifzul makes use of transformation of imagery in the 'Kiss-III'. Decorative elements and motifs adorn the masculine and the feminine in an intimate moment of the imaginary. Use of adornment continues in the work of Sankar Sarkar in 'Gold Show'. Looking for an intervention into the consumerist pattern of the present day, the subject is laden with showpieces that have questions on its origins. In an intervention for a social cause, 'Last drop" by Sajal Patra makes a statement about non-availability of a basic necessity for sustenance. 'Camel' by Ravi Kant Jha extends the possibility of tranformation of the subject for relating to a thought, in this case being a performance. An untitiled etching print by Rabi Narayan Gupta captures a vivid cacophony of imagery of torment. There's a search for redemption in the midst of such chaos and vulnerability. In the midst of these works is a painting by Ritesh Meshram that allows a seemingly innocent play of line and colour.

'Five Friends in B.F.A', an Etching by Mukti Agarwal is open to interpretation as a set of 5 birds gaze in extreme numbness. The quality of printmaking comes through in the work of Priyanka Waghela under an overlay of acrylic paint. Floatation of the subject plays with a compositional necessity of the work. Amar Jyoti Sarma plays a 'Mind Game' with a set of coffee cups set against an individual in contemplation. Spatial play with the cups sets a sense of intrigue to the painting while the mask of a clown against a series of stairs in the work of Dharam Beer Kumar allows for interplay of meaning. A stylized cow is represented in all its readiness for a charming display along its path in a painting by Hareream Das. A sense of freedom and pursuit is seen embellished in the Bronze sculpture by Rajesh Sharma and Kishore Kumar Sharma.

This physical show will be on vew

at: Rabindra Bhawan Gallery, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India till 22nd of January , 2008 and it will continue till 15th of February 2008 at Ashok Art Gallery.

Contemporary Art Exhibition Review : Ashok Art Gallery

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Exhibition of Contemporary Art



Having moved away from the environs of Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya in pursuit of their respective modes of expression, the artists have imbibed the nature and essence of developing their art practice over the years. Its been made possible due to the availability of freedom to pursue art in an experimental and expansive way. And, it's a moment for celebrating 50 years of imparting art education….Jenson Anto

50 Years Celebration
Indira Kala Sangeet University, Khairagarh

An Online Exhibition of Contemporary Art

‘FROM A PALACE’
At:Ashok Art Gallery
http://www.ashokartgallery.com/
From 16th Jan to 15th Feb 2008

All the participating Artists are:
Yogendra Tripathi,Vandana Parganiya,U C Misra,Tikendra Kumar Sahu,
Tarakant Parida,Sunita Verma,Sukant Dev Burman,Subhra Chand,
Shyam Pahapalkar,Sharad Kumar Kawre,Shailia Singh,Shekh Hifzul,
Sankar Sarkar,Sajal Patra,Ravikant Jha,Ritesh Meshram,Ratnesh Kumar Janghel,Ramji Dongre,Rakesh Bani,Rajesh Sharma,Rajesh Mishra,
Rajendra Sungaria,Rabi Narayan Gupta,Priyanka Waghela,
Prabir Kumar Dalai,Pawan Kumar Dewangan,Mukti Agrawal,
Monalisha Biswal,Manoj Kumar Sahu,Manish Verma,Malay Sunil Golchha,
Mahesh Chandra Sharma’shira’,Mahesh Chand Rai Prajapati,
Kuleswar Singh,Kuldeep Singh,Kishore Kumar Sharma,Khemlata Dewangan,
Jiten Sahu,Jayprabha,Hukum Lal Verma,H R Das,Girja Kumar Nirmalkar,Dharamveer Kumar,Debasis Mukherjee,Deepak Verma,
Anil Khobragare,Anup Kumar Chand,Anant,Amit Shrivastava,
Amar Jyoti Shrma,Akhilesh Kumar Kashyap,Ajay Mall,Adhikalp Yadu

Physical Show
Will be inaugurated by:
Sh Ashok Vajpeyi(Eminent Poet, Art Critic and Writer)
On his 67th Birthday , on 16th Jan 2008 5 PM
At: Rabindra Bhawan Galleries II & III
Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India

On the occasion of 50 years Contribution of
Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalay
Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh


You are cordially invited

Friday, January 4, 2008

Contemporary Art Reviews : Mardi A Ahmed


Mardi (Mahruch) Ali Ahmed is a Canadian Artist and Poet, born in Pakistan with a German mother and East Indian father. She grew up in an Italian neighborhood and is presently living with her family on her little farm tucked in the Rainforests of British Columbia on First Nations (Native Indian) Land. With the Rocky Mountains at her back and the Pacific Ocean at her toes Mardi spends part of each day roaming the forest trails with her dogs. Nature , and the patterns hidden within are her inspiration. Her talent lies in her fluid translation of thought into physical form. Self-taught, Mardi only began painting seriously in 2003. She has developed at an accelerated pace, no doubt aided by her genius aptitude for spatial mathematics.

Mardi’s large, bold works showing at Ashok Art Gallery engage themes of the balance of masculine and feminine energies – the organic and the structural – the fluid and the static. Waves, spirals and helixes resonate with her love of physics and quantum theory. Mardi is also the author of a proposal for a World School of Peace, inspired by her work as a foster parent for 40 youth, the proposal is endorsed by H.H. the Dalai Lama and Dr. Robert Muller, founder of the United Nations University of Peace. Mardi hopes that one day, her art will aid philanthropic work globally.

Contemporary Art Review : Ashok Art Gallery