India Art Summit 2008, India's modern and contemporary art fair

India Art Summit™ 2008 has received an overwhelming response with over 90 applications from galleries and art businesses. The art fair will house 34 of the best exhibitiors of Indian art representing over 12 regions from India & overseas. The India Art Summit™ will therefore showcase the most diverse range of modern and contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, mix media, prints, drawings and video art by veterans and upcoming artists from across the country. The 3 days in August will see the largest congregation of art collectors, a new wave of investors and art lovers from different geographies.

There will also be a day long interactive seminar with internationally renowned speakers like Dr. Robert Storr, Dr. Hugo Weihe, Mr. Philip Hoffman, Ms. Geeta Kapur, Prof. Rajeev Lochan, Ms. Anjolie Ela Menon, Mr. Arun Vadehra, Mr. Dinesh Vazirani.

PROGRAMME DETAILS:

22nd August 2008 (Friday)

11:00am - 2: 00pm (Collectors Preview by invitation only)

2:00pm -8:00pm (Fair open)

23rd August 2008 (Saturday)

11:00am - 8:00pm (Fair Open)

10:30am - 6:30 pm (Day long seminar)

7:30 pm onwards (Cocktails and Dinner at Intercontinental The Grand - by invitation only)

24th August (Sunday)

11:00am - 6:00pm (Fair Open)
Looking for quality art works from upcoming young artists? just step in...
ASHOK ART GALLERY
STALL NO - A-30
India Art Summit 2008

Amna Ilyas, the young women artist from Lahore,Pakistan

The human world has always been changing, but the pace of change seems to have picked up dramatically in the last decade or two, with no stability visible on even long-range scanners. Rapid change is obvious in all of the technological, political, business and social fields, and there are changes in our environment and ecosystem that are probably caused by this increasing human activity. All these reflects on contemporary art practice around the world.Here is Amna Ilyas , young women artist from Lahore, Pakistan.Amna Ilyas graduated in 2003 from the National College of Arts, Lahore and since then have been working as a sculptor / Painter in her studio. She exhibited at various venues both in India and Pakistan, and currently teaching Foundation Sculpture Course at her Alma meter.

Unlike many other places, it is difficult for a sculptor to survive in Pakistan, mainly due to various religious, social and economic restrains. But Amna has been pursuing her career as a dedicated sculptor, and seeking to explore the medium in all its possibility, and besides her time at sculpting , she is also creating number of paintings and drawings on her subject women. Last year she has visited India for an artist residency to practice her metal casting and ceramic skill and also exhibited her work at Ashok Art Gallery as a part of International Contemporary Art Exhibition. Her works were exhibited with works from USA, The Nederlands and India. On this year 2008, She has exhibited at Pakistan, her works were showcased at Art Expo India in March at World Trade Center, Mumbai by Ashok Art Gallery and most likely going to showcase at India Art Summit 2008 in August at New Delhi.

In its essence the work of Amna Ilyas represents the state of women in our society. Female figures in various postures reflect the conditions of an ordinary woman, yet the work does not propagate a direct message or illustrates the obvious political/social factors. On the other hand it alludes to the situation along with an undercurrent of beauty, sexuality and sensuality.

In my opinion Amna Ilyas is a significant artist of her generation. Her dedication to her art and the serious approach to her issues guaranty a bright future for her.

Contemporary Art Reviews: Ashok Art Gallery

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Indian contemporary artists were exhibited at Jumeirah,Dubai

The exhibition of modern figurative art at the 1x1 Art Gallery in Jumeirah, Dubai has showcased the ways in which urbanization has left its imprint on the minds of Indian contemporary artists .
INDIAN ART is of great vital importance in accordance to its culture and heritage.
Art is of various types and it changes its style of expression in the hands of different painters in relation to the changing time. Presently modern and figurative art is in high demand not only in India but also abroad. Modern form of painting is the result of the experimentation that the stalwarts of art have initiated.
The various forms of this experimentation were displaied in the collection of works by nine young contemporary Indian artists, at the 1x1 Art Gallery, Jumeirah, Dubai..
The exhibition, sponsored by the Dubai-based Rivoli group, ended with a great success on last June 30. Among the artists featured were Prasanta Sahu, Dileep Sharma, T M Azis, Pooj Iranna, Murali Cheeroth, Biju Jose, Babu Eshwar Prasad, Pratul Dash and Gigi Scaria

Pratul Dash, an Indian painter from the state Orissa, also focused on varied modern themes: socio-political, socio-economical and ecological. His concerns are linked with the anomalies of human conditions and the effects of growth and development on human life.
The exhibition had two of his paintings on display. Through his work he comments on aspects of modern life, such as growth, absence of greenery, deforestation, the tendency to rise vertically rather than spread horizontally.
“Where there is development, there is also destruction. When I paint huge constructions, they are not just constructions; they are different levels of exploitation, and I try to portray that in my work,” explained the painter, who is a graduate of Fine Arts from Bhubaneswar, Master degree from Delhi and has also studied in Italy. Besides many exhibitions in India, his works are exhibited at USA, UK, ITALY, HONG KONG and now at DUBAI.

“For instance, living space is the most critical space by itself where people can play different roles. It’s like construction blocks, there is no greenery there. It is like pigeon holes, a squeezed existence. And I have commented on this aspect.” Dash said. Dash said he is not against development but his concern is: development at what cost? “For example, there is so much deforestation that has taken place in the name of development,” he pointed out.
“So, my aim is to make viewers disturbed, make them think. I feel artists have a sort of responsibility to jolt people. I comment on aspects of urban life that should worry us. I’m not here to paint pretty pictures.”