Contemporary International Artists and Art Works

The art world’s in action, Art Market,Savvy dealers, Power players, player stealers.No more need to put out feelers

2012-01-21T11:43:00.000+05:30

In the realm of established galleries and seasoned collectors, most of the major players already know each other and specific collectors' tastes, specifications, preferences, and budgets are pretty much a matter of record among those they do business with. When new arrivals come in, dealers examine them, make sure they're quality works, and then contact the most likely buyers. Selling art with a phone call makes far more sense than investing time, effort, money, and uncertainty to hang it, market it, and wait for likely buyers to walk through the gallery doors. Plus seasoned collectors are often willing to pay premiums for the right to quietly acquire the best art first. Contemporary art galleries build up new artists who only appear at auction later. So roaming the galleries is the way to pick up emerging talent. Getting to meet both established and young artists is one of the joys of collecting contemporary art, and that is done through galleries.Before buying think of where you will place the piece so that it has maximum effect. Art is made to be seen and not to end up in the garage. You can mix styles, eras and regions, but the pieces must speak to each other.

Don't confuse the size of an artist's listing in a dictionary or encyclopedia with the monetary value of his art. Long listings do not automatically mean big bucks, short ones don't always mean pocket change. Fair market values are based far more on supply and demand among dealers, collectors, and the state of the art market than they are on the amount of information that you find in biographical references. Buy what you like, not fashionable status symbols. You have to live with the works, their dividends should be the pleasure of looking at them.Do your homework by visiting galleries and studying auctions. Fairs are the way to compare a wealth of galleries under one roof. Auctions are transparent, providing collectors with benchmark prices that serve as a guide to how much collectors should be paying. Auction houses provide an enormous amount of price information on their websites.

There's an excitement in buying at auction, where enthusiasts compete against one another. But beware of auction fever when heated bidding can push prices to crazy levels. Set a maximum above which you will not go, and stick to it. This limit should take into account costs on top of the price at which a piece is hammered down. They include buyer's premium (commission paid to auction house) and, in many countries, a royalty for the artist's resale right. Always check the condition of your desired piece. The great majority of art is in the possession of its rightful owners, but under certain circumstances, if you get caught with stolen art, you are financially responsible for it's return and not the party who sold it to you. Laws and statutes vary from state to state and country to country. Know what the situation is where you live and do business. Also be aware that IFAR, the International Foundation for Art Research, maintains a stolen art database; you can always check with them if you have suspicions or just to be on the safe side.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Art Market and its Ten of World's most expensive paintings

2011-12-13T10:56:00.000+05:30

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer ($135,000,000)

The record-breaking sale of the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer for a whopping amount of $135 million was followed by a court order by the Austrian government to return the painting to Bloch-Bauer's heir, which was the culmination of years long dispute over the painting looted by Nazis during World War II.. Painted by the art nouveau master Gustav Klimt in 1907, the portrait was purchased in 2006 by cosmetics heir Ronald S. Lauder.

Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur ($106, 500,00)

Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur was another masterpiece from the brush of master painter Pablo Picasso. The painting, created in a single day in March 1932, set a world record auction price for a work of art at Christie's in May 2010.The painting, more than 5 feet by 4 feet, shows Picasso's mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, both reclining and as a bust. It has been hailed by many as one of his greatest works

Garçon à la Pipe ($104,100,000)

Another marvel from Pablo Picasso: Garçon à la Pipe was created during the artist's famous Rose Period, during which he painted with a cheerful orange and pink palette. The oil-on-canvas painting, measuring 100 × 81.3 cm (slightly over 39×32 inches), depicts a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand.The record price auction at Sotheby's New York on May 4, 2004 was a bit of a surprise to art buyers, since it was painted in the style not usually associated with the pioneering Cubist artist.

Dora Maar with Cat ($95,200,000)

Picasso, yet again. A surprise was in store for lovers of the great painter when, in 2006, this painting near doubled its presale estimate and fetched a record $95.2 million at auction at Sotheby's.Painted in 1941, Picasso's controversial portrait (one of his last) is sometimes described as an unflattering depiction of his mistress, Dora Maar, who was an artist/photographer, with whom he had a relationship that lasted ten years during the 1930s and 40s

Portrait of Dr. Gachet ($82,500,000)

The 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet' by the Dutch Impressionist master Vincent van Gogh suddenly became world-famous when Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito paid $82.5 million for it at an auction in Christie's, New York. Saito was so attached to the painting that he wanted it to be cremated with him when he died. Saito died in 1996 but the painting was saved

Le Bassin Aux Nympheas ($80,451,178)

Painted by the Impressionist master Claude Monet in 1919, it sold at Christie's London auction house for 40.9 million pounds ($80.4 million) in June 2008, the highest price for a work of art sold by Christie's in Europe. The estimate was £18-24 million.

Bal Au Moulin de la Galette ($78,000,000)

'Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre' was painted by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876. On May 17, 1990, it was sold for $78 million at Sotheby's in New York City to Ryoei Saito, who bought it together with the Portrait of Dr Gachet.

Massacre of the Innocents ($76,700,000)

This painting by Peter Paul Rubens, painted in 1611, is the only painting which was not painted in the 19th or 20th century. It was sold to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet for $76.7 million at a 2002 Sotheby's auction making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.

Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe ($71,500,000)

Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe ('Self-portrait without beard') is one of many self-portraits by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. He painted this one in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France in September 1889. The painting is an oil painting on canvas and is 40 cm x 31 cm (16' x 13') and has a beautiful feel to it.

Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe ($71,500,000)

This is an uncommon painting since his other self-portraits show him with a beard. The self-portrait became one of the most expensive paintings of all time when it was sold for $71.5 million in 1998 in New York.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi

Marni Kotak the woman who gave birth in an art gallery!!a look at some of our favorite controversial artworks of the last century

2011-11-01T11:42:00.000+05:30

With so much argument over Marni Kotak the woman who gave birth in an art gallery last week, it seemed only right to put things in perspective with some of the most controversial art of the last century.

Today, many of us are desensitized to graphic imagery. But a few choice artists since the 1900s—call them visionaries, geniuses, perverts or psychos—managed to create something so intensely riveting that they still make cheeks red and stomachs queasy.

The following works contain their fair share of extremes. The holy trinity of sex, evildoers and excrement runs rampant throughout. But to truly make a controversial work of art, the grotesque has to be shown in a new light, in a way that can't be shaken off after you leave the museum. If the image leaves your stomach reeling, it should do the same thing to your mind.

Take a look at some of our favorite controversial artworks of the last century. What do you think: are they works of genius or pieces of crap? (Aside from the one that is, quite literally, pieces of crap.) Do you wish we'd included 'A Fire in My Belly' or one of Robert Mapplethorpe's photos? Should we have substituted Emin's 'My Bed' for 'Everyone I've Ever Slept With?' Leave a comment and let us know!

Chris Ofili, Virgin Mary

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani called Ofili's use of elephant dung in the depiction of a religious figure "sick."
Whether or not he meant 'in the good way' has never been determined.

Richard Serra, Tilted Arc

Serra's "Tilted Arc" caused such a ruckus that it was dismantled less than a decade after its construction. People called the work an eyesore and claimed it disrupted their walk across the plaza. This installation serves as proof that you don't have to incorporate a murderer or bodily fluids into your work to make people angry.

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain

Duchamp hung a toilet bowl in a museum and declared it art; it was bound to cause a stir. Many were inspired by Duchamp's serious play and challenge to the notions of value, others thought it kind of stunk.

Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

Damien Hirst's tiger shark in a tank of formaldehyde was called a "cultural obscenity" by art critic Robert Hughes. The work was sold by Charles Saatchi in 2004 for $8 million, the second highest price paid for a work of art by a living artist. While some people thought the shark was a bit extreme, at least it didn't depict an international super-villain, like the next piece...

David Cerny, Shark

Cerny's work riffs on Hirst's "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living." Instead of a suspended tiger shark, Cerny used an underwear-clad model of Saddam Hussein, who supposedly fed his enemies to sharks. It was banned in a Belgian town by the mayor, who was scared that it would "shock people, including Muslims."

Tracey Emin, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995

Tracey Emin crafted a tent appliquéd with the 102 names of everyone she's ever slept with; it shocked the art world with it's intensely personal subject matter. There was a moment of extra outrage when someone spotted the name "grandma" but Emin quickly clarified that not all of the bed partners were sexual.

Marcus Harvey, Myra

The real Myra was one half of a couple which sexually assaulted, murdered, and buried five children in the sixties; Harvey's "Myra" is made out of children's handprints. Some viewers were so appalled they threw eggs and ink at it.

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

Picasso's "Demoiselles" are prostitutes, some of whom have tribal masks for faces. He referred to it as "The Bordello of Avignon," but the organizer of his exhibition felt that his title was too scandalous. The painting ultimately made a major impact on art of the period, as the shock gradually transformed to admiration.

Andres Serrano, Piss Christ

Andres Serrano took a plastic crucifix, submerged it in urine and took a picture. He was paid $15,000 for the work by the National Endowment for the Arts, and religious audiences denounced it for two decades before it was finally destroyed by angry viewers in 2011. Serrano was shocked, considering this piece is tame compared to his personal favorite 'Blood and Semen.'

Christo and Jean-Claude, Surrounded "Pink" Islands

This two week only installation involved over 7 miles of the titular pink fabric and was entirely financed by the artists. Many were enraged by the possible environmental threats of the piece. Others wished the islands hadn't had to be so...pink.
SOURCE

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi

As an alternative investment to gold, art has over years proven to be a real solid investment

2011-10-20T18:59:00.000+05:30

Today’s global economic crisis (GEC) which has hit hardest most developed countries, and whose economic experts are trying hard to rectify it, are results of the sub-prime financial debacle and the near collapse of the United States of America automotive industry.

The governments of most affected countries managed to quickly and decisively avert an immediate global economic meltdown, by using stop-gap measures of huge financial bail-outs to avert an economic slow-down. But this was at the cost of the real effects of the GEC being felt in the near future. In essence, these governments took over the financial responsibilities of temporary funding economic growth.

The question that one should ask is where did the government get the massive funding to plug the black-holes in their economies? The answer is they went to the printing press and printed fresh currency which they used to inject into their economies, in order to fill up the black-holes.

These measures brought some form of short-term relief to these economies by averting massive industry closures, high unemployment and most importantly an economic depression. But it’s well known in economic circles that such measures always come with a hidden cost, printing currency to stimulate an economy can only bring short-term relief.
Today the results of such measures are just starting to be felt, with a steady rise in unemployment, company closures, credit crunch and property fore-closures. In essence these economies are going through a period of economic slow-downs or stagnation, better known as recession.

These symptoms are just the beginning of what is still come, and that is inflation. At the moment those with a general understanding of economics have started to take precautious measures to ride the tide of tough times that are set to come, by hedging their wealth and or savings against inflation by investing in art or gold.
That should explain why prices of art and gold have been achieving record prices.If one opens up the business section of any newspaper, one will read about record prices that gold is fetching in the markets , what is driving these record prices is the fact that many investors are liquidating their currency holdings and are investing in what has always been a safe-haven against inflation that being gold.

The reason why gold is regarded a safe hedge against inflation, is because of its scarcity, just like true art-works. The only known time that gold prices have been low was during the period when many central banks in developed countries opted to dispose the bulk of their gold reserves.

For one to fully understand the current events occurring in the global economy and to have reliable information to choose investment options in order to ring-fence themselves against the effects of the GEC soon to come, one must understand how the current currency system works.

Historically countries currencies were backed by what was known as “the gold standard,” this meant that the real value of every dollar printed by a central bank was backed by gold reserves held by the central bank. This meant that a central bank could not print currency above the value of gold held in their possession. In 1971 the then United States of America president Richard Nixon ended the international gold standard. The gold standard system is a monetary system where currency backed by gold, that is to say, the currency simply represents the gold that you own and can be converted into fixed quantities of gold freely.

From 1971 up to 1973 the Smithsonian agreement was passed pegging world currencies to the USA dollar rather than gold as a fixed exchange. In 1973 the Basel accord established the current floating exchange of currency rates we use today, called the fiat currency system. In Fiat currency system money is not backed by a physical commodity, instead its value is based on its relative scarcity and faith placed in it by people use it.

However, when people loose faith or confidence in the money, it irreversibly becomes worthless , regardless of its scarcity Initially a rapid growth in availability of credit is often mistaken for economic growth, as spending and business profits grow rapidly, and a rapid growth in equity prices. In essence as there are no real control measures to prevent the over-printing of currency in a Fiat system, a fake illusion of well-being and prosperity is created when in reality people are actually digging themselves a deep hole.

In the long run the economy tends to suffer much more by following contraction than it gained from the expansion in credit. In plain English, the economy starts shrinking. Hence the reason why some economies are now witnessing massive job losses, company closures and property fore-closures. When an economy reaches this stage, the next stage is the terminal effects of printing currency in Fiat system that of hyper-inflation.Hyper-inflation is the terminal stage of any Fiat currency, which occurs when money looses its value practically overnight. It is often the result of increasing regular inflation to the point where all confidence in money is lost, life savings are wiped out overnight and prices rise faster than people’s incomes.

Current financial instability has brought about lots of talk about international financial reform, and even return to the gold standard as proposed by some. The gold standard stands in contrast to Fiat currency which has no intrinsic value, but governments declare it to be legal tender, meaning it must be accepted as a means of exchange. One of the main benefits of the gold standard is that it protects citizens from hyper-inflation and debasing of the currency through excessive government spending. With a fiat currency, a government can print as much new money as it likes spending, which leads to a gradual decline in value of currency and citizens’ savings. Under the gold standard, a free banking system stands as protector of an economy stability and balanced growth.

In the absence of the gold standard there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. Russia and China have suggested the establishment of a super-sovereign currency, while Brazil and India have suggested substituting other assets for their dollar holdings. Currently the U.S.A and China are embroiled in a currency dispute over the value of the Yuan. The U.S.A is claiming that the Yuan is under-valued, giving China an advantage over the U.S.A in global trade markets, as Chinese exports are deemed to be cheaper than the U.S.A. The currency stand-off between China and the USA seems to have no end in sight as under a Fiat currency system, any powerful economic country can determine the value of their own currency to ensure no set system or measures can determine the value of their currency. What is inevitable is many countries are to go through a phase of hyper-inflation and the Fiat monetary system will eventually die a natural death, and be replaced by the gold standard system.

The question one must ask them self is, if the wealthy investors are hoarding onto gold bullion's and if currencies will be backed by the gold standard in the near future, then how does art come into the equation as a safe hedge against inflation? Firstly before one considers investing in gold they must understand that they need deep pockets, as a kilo bullion bar is currently trading at $45 000. Even after parting with such a huge sum, one must realise they can’t keep a $45 000 gold bullion bar under their bed, so monthly storage charges must be taken into consideration. Historically art has always been the alternative to gold.

During the period of high hyper-inflation in Germany which occurred after the First World War those who had invested in art came through that period better off, as the return on their investment in art-works out-performed investments in options that were available during that period. Most importantly art managed to beat the extremely high inflation rate, which would explain why so many art-works were looted during the Second World War.

As an alternative investment to gold, art has over years proven to be a real solid investment. With these uncertain economic times that we are in, its time to seriously consider your future by taking prudent pre-cautions to ring yourself against the effects of the current economic upheavals and events that are soon to come. In times of economic instabilities you are better off investing in art or gold.
SOURCE

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

This is an art market that’s definitely gotten its swagger back

2011-10-05T19:53:00.000+05:30

Do the high prices fetched at auction always indicate artistic merit? Aren't they often the result of a fraught bidding war between two super-rich collectors? Doesn't the $25 million stumped up for Jeff Koons' giant balloon model say more about the power of hype than the merit of the work itself? What's more, the market itself can easily be rigged. When Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull was purportedly sold for £50 million in 2007, rumour had it that Hirst himself was part of the consortium that bought it in order to drum up publicity and raise the market value of his other work.

So does the art market tell us only about fads and fashion and the egos of multimillionaires? Or should we overlook the hype and remember that in the long run the market rights itself and reflects the consensus on what great art really is? If there were just two names to remember from the 20th Century Art market, they would be Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol who were among the 10 most sought-after and most expensive artists for the seventh year running. In 2007, an unprecedented year for Contemporary Art prices, Warhol’s total even overtook Picasso’s by $100m ($420m for Warhol vs. $319m for Picasso).Since then, the cubist has recovered his first place on the podium, although Warhol is still only $50m behind Picasso. However,in 2010, Warhol was in fact relegated to third position in the annual revenue ranking by the Chinese artist Qi Baishi.The 21st Century Art market has changed. Its extension eastwards has allowed China to impose its artists in an incredibly short timeframe. Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi are now all members of the closed circle of the most expensive and most profitable artists in the world, and their names are worth remembering.

There are more wealthy buyers for modern and contemporary art where the supply is more regular and the investment potential appears to be more attractive.The mood of Art Market is considerably brighter than it was two years ago. Global economic concerns remain, for sure, but recent months have seen spectacular sales not only in modern and contemporary art but also in fields as diverse as Chinese ceramics, antiquities, photographs and Old Masters. This is an art market that’s definitely gotten its swagger back.The emergence of wealthy collectors from Asia, the Middle East and South America in recent years has deepened the pool of buyers, especially for top-end masterpieces, and many of them remained in the market during the recession. Americans, who had largely stopped spending, started to return last year and are now back in full force.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

The death is generally Good for Artist's Prices

2011-09-20T12:54:00.003+05:30

Paintings by Indian artists including Maqbool Fida Husain and Jehangir Sabavala, who both died this year, fetched $9.7 million in auctions by Sotheby’s (BID) and Christie’s International this week as U.S., European and Asian buyers bid above estimates.

A private U.S. buyer paid the top price of $1.1 million for Husain’s oil painting “Sprinkling Horses.” Husain, who began his career painting movie posters and had no formal training, died in June at the age of 95.

The painting was part of a Christie’s sale this week of South Asian modern and contemporary art that was worth $7.4 million, according to a statement from the auction house. A similar sale by Sotheby’s yesterday in New York was worth $2.3 million, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

Raja Ravi Varma’s picture of a “Himalayan Beauty” went to a private European buyer for $266,500, 78 percent more than its high estimate, Sotheby’s said. The painting passed though the family collection of Varma’s German printing technician. Varma was a self-taught artist who died in 1906.

Syed Haider Raza’s abstract work “Eglise” sold for $362,500 at the Sotheby’s sale. His “Saurashtra” sold for 2.4 million pounds in June 2010 in a Christie’s auction, a record for a modern or contemporary Indian work of art. Raza, 89, graduated from the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

“The Cobweb Cloud” by Jehangir Sabavala, whose pictures feature subdued tones and dreamy landscapes, sold for $266,500 at Sotheby’s. The painter, who studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London and Academie Julian in Paris, died on Sept. 2.

The Christie’s sale sold 13 of Husain’s works, which fetched a total of $4.2 million. His works sold for a total of $557,500 at the Sotheby’s auction.

In June, a painting of the Hindu goddess Kali by Tyeb Mehta, who died in 2009, sold for $1.3 million, more than three times its estimate, at a $4 million online auction by Mumbai- based Saffronart as demand for Indian artworks increased.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Forgery, hoax and theft are the three main crimes that regularly appear on the art market.

2011-09-16T19:10:00.001+05:30

Fraud tends to exist wherever it can on the art market, which seems particularly susceptible to swindling, fakes and other illegal dealings. Few and far between are the weeks when the legal system is not busy dealing with some sort of theft, con or forgery.

The most recent affair is currently happening in Florida and has been reported by The Atlantic Wire. The article reveals how an art dealer has managed to sell various anonymous paintings for millions of dollars, passing them off as works by famous artists. Fearless when it came to using big names, Matthew Taylor proposed pieces by Monet, Van Gogh, Pollock and Rothko.

Arrested this week, American authorities put an end to Taylor’s five-year scam of duping collectors who, for the time being, remain unidentified. Explaining how the case involves approximately one hundred works that are circulating on today’s market, The Atlantic Wire outlines Taylor’s technique: he would buy pieces by unknown artists with similar styles to those of highly sought–after names, then erase the original signature with the new one. Finally, to pass off the perfect fake, Taylor would attach a museum certificate to the back of the work in order to reassure potential buyers.

Forgery, hoax and theft are the three main crimes that regularly appear on the art market. With the trade principally based on a system of confidence and no official regulatory body, the battle against such infractions is incredibly difficult and complicated. When looking at Interpol’s results, they are encouraging, but far from sufficient.

Created in the mid–90s, the international database lists 37,000 objects, antiques and artworks stolen within 123 countries. The system allows public authorities to retrieve 5 – 10% of the works registered. To improve these percentages, art market professionals unanimously underline the importance behind the speed with which information is transmitted: the faster one announces a work missing, the better one’s chances of retrieval.

Given the art market’s secretive and non–transparent tendencies, the fight against fraud is extremely complicated. If the circulation of information is a key point for any victim of theft, it is just as important for potential buyers to do their homework and seek advice from reliable sources concerning the artworks that they are looking to purchase.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

The Gentleman Artist and Padma Shri Jehangir Sabavala is no more

2011-09-02T13:09:00.004+05:30

Mr. Sabavala’s 62-year career started with his first solo exhibition at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, put up with the help of fellow artist M F Husain and some carpenters. His last exhibition was in 2008.Beginning his career in the mid 60s, Jehangir Sabavala has always tried to find his own individual style, from the trends being portrayed by his contemporaries. He is one of the first artists in India to organize traveling exhibits, taking his works to different cities.The work of Jehangir Sabavala is heavily influenced by his spiritual affiliation with nature.

His canvases capture the open and majestic changeability of a landscape, reflecting his own liberation of spirit, freed of repression through the process of his work. Sabavala’s visual depiction of nature are the visual equivalent of his emotions; an outlet for his sensationalist subject matter. In Sunflower, Field Vinchurni I, Sabavala creates a vista from a series of sketches made during a visit to a farm in rural Satara, set in the shadow of the Sahyadri Mountains. The yellow dots of flowers stand out amidst the painting’s gentle hue, indicative of the artist’s ability to merge both impressionist and semi-cubist style with subtle grace and charm.

Far from sentimental, Sabavala’s paintings depict the ambivalence of nature with its transcending beauty and sublime magnitude masking, in comparison, the terrifying inconsequence of humankind. His paintings of figures and faces often poignantly mirror the tragic destiny of man. In the subdued They Seek but do not Find (a negative connotation of the teachings of Christ) the viewer comes upon two boys, tired and downcast, sitting among rocks, drawing attention to the mottled gradation of tones that unifies stone, shadows, the leached desert soil, and the hint of vegetation.

Jehangir Sabavala prefers veiled light and middle tones to pure colours and loud imagery, creating geometric wedges out of paint, which he puts together to form vast tranquil scenes.

His art is a mixture of academic, impressionist and cubist texture that plays with form and colour to create a quiet rendering of the scene’s atmosphere. Having acquired a distinct style by the mid 60s, Sabavala has continued to carry reoccurring themes forward into new works yet also touching on unfamiliar territory, breaching new frontiers so that the spirit of adventure and discovery is not fossilized, but remains alive and vital.

Jehangir Sabavala was born in Mumbai in 1922. He studied in the best known art colleges of the world. After receiving his diploma from the J J School of Arts in 1944 he went to Europe and studied in the Heatherley School of art, London from 1945 to 1947, the Academic Andre Lhote from 1948 to 1951 Paris, the Academic Julianfrom 1953 to 1954 and the Academic de la Grande Chaumiere in 1957.

He has held a number of one man shows across India and abroad, and participated in prominent exhibitions all over the world. These include the ’Art Now in India’ Exhibition, the Venice Biennale, the exhibition of the Arts Council of Great Britain, the 7th Triennale, India, the Masters of India Art Show, Mumbai, the Southebys Islamic & Indian Art show, London and the Christies Indian Contemporary Paintings, London. He has participated at the Salon National Independent, Paris 1950, the Venice Biennial, 1954; the Commonwealth Arts Festival' London 1965; Contemporary Art ftom India, Washington 1975; Asian Artists Exhibition, Fukuoka Art Museum Tokyo, 1979 and Modem Indian Painting, Hischhorn Museum Washington 1982. Apart from several international auctions he has also participated in 'Chamatkar-Fantasy in Indian Art' presented by CIMA Gallery at Whiteleys' London 1966

Three monographs have been published on him already, by eminent art publishers including Tata- McGraw-Hill and the Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi. ‘Colours of Absence’ - a film on his life, won the national award in 1994.

Jehangir Sabavala has also been felicitated with many prestigious awards for his unique and sustained contribution to the field of contemporary Indian Art with a global perspective, one of these distinctions include the Padma Shri, presented bt the Govt. of India to him in 1977.

This grand son of Sir Cawasjee Jehangir is no more, it's a great loss to India and Art World, may his soul rest in peace.

Art Market trends detected in the practice of fine arts in India

2011-08-26T20:58:00.003+05:30

Indian art market started truly maturing. The buyers now started showing lesser reliance on galleries and investments started based on more informed choices.The recent ArtTactic Indian Art Market Confidence Indicator is up by 19.2% from October 2010, helped by a strong confidence in the Indian economy. Despite a below-par auction season in New York in March 2011, experts in the Indian art market believe the positive economic sentiment will start filtering into the Indian art market, which has been troubled since the speculative boom in 2008. With economic growth set to out-pace China, the survey experts believe India’s economic growth will help fuel the Indian art market. The Economic component of the ArtTactic Indian Confidence Indicator has increased 21% from October 2010.

Three primary trends are now being detected in the practice of fine arts in India. Firstly a search for a distinctly Indian identity continues to dominate artists’ minds. Often it leads to the use of materials and objects which are distinctly Indian.

The second important trend that is being observed is the use of computer graphics, photography, modern technology and a host of other media in the creation of art works.

The third trend is the search for an individualist language of expression. The most important new style that fits this new trend is ‘Pseudorealism’, an art-genre which has originated solely in India. Only six years since inception, Pseudorealism has already a huge following among the new generations of India.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Art Market: Top 10 Best Selling Lots, Top 10 Most Disappointing Lots and Top 10 Most Surprising Lots

2011-08-13T18:33:00.004+05:30

Last week Sotheby’s reported consolidated sales of a record $3.4 billion in the first half of 2011, up 54% from last year in the 2nd quarter. Christie’s previously released its six-month total of $3.2 billion, up 15% from last year.

As the art world now anxiously awaits to see how severely the global market downturn will affect its recent re-stabilization, MutualArt took the chance to look back and get caught up for the fall auction season. Gear up for September with a review of the top lots, steepest flops and biggest shocks so far of the year.

Top 10 Best Selling Lots

Francesco Guardi managed to overcome the supremacy of Picasso and capture the top slot, achieving the highest hammer price so far this year. Picasso’s buying power held strong though in second place and with two lots in the top ten. The only other artist with more than one lot here is Francis Bacon, whose work enjoyed a remarkable market comeback this year.

1) £26,697,250 - Francesco Guardi, Venice, a view of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon, (pictured below) oil on canvas, executed in the late 1760s. World auction record for Venetian view painting; World auction record for the artist; Highest price paid at an international auction house in 2011; Second highest price paid ever for an Old Master painting. (Sotheby’s London, 7/6/2011)

2) £25,241,250 - Pablo Picasso, La Lecture, oil on panel, 1932. (Sotheby’s London, 2/8/2011)

3) £24,681,250 - Egon Schiele, HÄUSER MIT BUNTER WÄSCHE (VORSTADT II), oil on canvas, 1914. World auction record for the artist. (Sotheby’s London, 6/22/2011)

4) $38,442,500 - Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, in four parts, acrylic and silkscreen on canvas, 1963-64. Highest price ever paid for a portrait by the artist. (Christie’s NY, 5/11/2011)

5) £23,001,250 - Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud, oil on canvas, 1964. (Sotheby’s London, 2/10/2011)

6) £22,441,250 - George Stubbs, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a trainer, a jockey and a stable lad, oil on canvas, circa 1765. World auction record for the artist. (Christie’s King Street, 7/5/2011)

7) $33,682,500 - Mark Rothko, Untitled No. 17, oil on canvas, 1961. (Christie’s New York, 5/11/2011)

8) $29,202,500 - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra: 41 BC, oil on panel, 1883. (Sotheby’s New York, 5/5/2011)

9) £17,961,250 - Pablo Picasso, Femme assise, robe bleue, oil on canvas, 1939. (Christie’s King Street, 6/21/2011)

10) £17,961,250 - Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait, (auction video below) oil on canvas, 1953. Second-highest price for any work in this category at Christie’s London. (Christie’s King Street, 6/28/2011)

Top 10 Most Disappointing Lots:

Monet was noticeably absent from the best-selling list, and unfortunately appears here twice for unsold lots. Other lots by blue-chips artists failed to sell or sold below their low estimates as buyers remained cautious, ignoring often over-enthusiastic auction house catalogs and paying close attention to the artworks’ condition.

1) Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait, (above left) sold below the $30,000,000-40,000,000 estimate for $27,522,500 (Christie’s New York, 5/11/2011)

2) Claude Monet’s Nymphéas, Not sold against an estimate of £17,000,000-24,000,000 (Christie’s King Street, 6/21/2011)

3) Pablo Picasso’s Femmes lisant (Deux personnages), sold below the $25,000,000-35,000,000 estimate for $21,362,500 (Sotheby’s New York, 5/3/2011)

4) Jeff Koon’s Pink Panther, (above middle) sold below the $20,000,000-30,000,000 estimate for $16,882,500 (Sotheby’s New York, 5/10/2011)

5) Claude Monet’s Iris mauves, Not sold against an estimate of $15,000,000-20,000,000 (Christie’s New York, 5/4/2011)

6) Robert Rauschenberg’s The Tower, Not sold against an estimate of $12,000,000-18,000,000 (Christie’s New York, 5/11/2011)

7) Pablo Picasso’s Couple à la guitare, sold below the $10,000,000-15,000,000 estimate for $9,602,500 (Sotheby’s New York, 5/3/2011)

8) Francis Bacon’s Untitled (Crouching Nude on Rail), sold below the $10,000,000-15,000,000 estimate for $9,602,500 (Christie’s New York, 5/11/2011)

9) Paul Gauguin’s Nature morte à "L'Espérance", Not sold against an estimate of £7,000,000-10,000,000 (Christie’s King Street, 2/9/2011)

10) Thomas Gainsborough’s Portrait of Colonel John Bullock, (above right) Not sold against an estimate of £3,500,000-5,000,000 (Chrsitie’s King Street, 7/5/2011)

Top 10 Most Surprising Lots

Old Master and Asian artists enjoyed relative success these six months, fetching enthusiastic bidding in their categories. At Christie’s alone, sales in Asia totalled £296 million ($482.5 million), up 48% while sales in America remained down. The trend towards Asian art and increasing buying power from Asian collectors is clearly evident from this list.

1) Rome, The Castel Sant'Angelo and the river Tiber from the south by Gaspar van Wittel. Sold for £718,850 - 3,494% above estimate (Sotheby’s London, 7/7/2011)

2) 1985-4 by Yu Youhan. Sold for HK$14,100,000 - 2,720% above estimate (Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4/3/2011)

3) Appearance of Crosses 90-6 by Ding Yi. Sold for HK$17,460,000 - 2,394% above estimate (Sotheby’s Hong Kong,

4/3/2011)

4) GRAYGROUND by Ronald Ventura. Sold for HK$8,420,000 - 2,306% above estimate (Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4/4/2011)

5) Spring Calling by Wu Guanzhong. Sold for HK$17,460,000 - 1,646% above estimate (Christie’s Hong Kong, 5/31/2011)

6) Sans Titre by Wols. Sold for £2,617,250 - 1,645% above estimate (Sotheby’s London, 2/10/2011)

7) Autumn in the Village by Lin Fengmian. Sold for HK$23,060,000 - 1,318% above estimate (Christie’s Hong Kong, 5/31/2011)

8) Series "X"? No. 3 by Zhang Peili. Sold for HK$23,060,000 - 1,153% above estimate (Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4/3/2011)

9) Lotus and Landscape along Highway Hengguan by Zhang Daqian. Sold for HK$56,660,000 and HK$52,180,000, respectively - 809% and 745% above estimate (Christie’s Hong Kong, 5/31/2011)

10) The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra: 41 BC by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (pictured below). Sold for $29,202,500 - 484% above estimate (Sotheby’s New York, 5/5/2011)

Written and Compiled by MutualArt.com Staff

One of the questions that surround art as an asset is how to quantify an income stream from any sort of collection

2011-08-06T10:32:00.001+05:30

The art business is its proprietary nature. Artists, art dealers, and retail buyers prefer that sales figures stay private, and go to great lengths to keep them that way. Artists don't want other artists knowing how well they do; dealers don't want other dealers knowing how well they do; collectors don't want other collectors knowing what they buy or how much they pay for it. Furthermore, one of the most important rules of the art game is that the more you know about art prices and what's selling where, and the less your competition knows, the more money you make and the less money they make buying and selling art.

Art is not a commodity that can be regulated. Anyone can call him or herself an artist, anyone can call anything that they create "art," and anyone can be an art dealer or own an art gallery. Anyone can sell art wherever, whenever and under whatever circumstances they please, and price or sell whatever they call "art" for whatever amounts of money they feel like selling it for, as long as that art is offered without committing fraud or misrepresentation. And they do. To further complicate matters, art is sold everywhere all the time-- at individual artist websites, gallery websites, websites where artists pay fees to show their art, secondary market websites , auction sites, outdoor art shows, art galleries, art fairs, flea markets, estate sales, big city auctions, museum sales and rental galleries.

New art work sells in all price ranges; much of it passes through chains of wholesalers, distributors, and other resellers on its way to retail galleries, and ultimately to retail buyers. This includes paintings, sculptures, etchings, lithographs, photographs, serigraphs, wood carvings, ceramics, weavings, tapestries, watercolors, drawings, mixed media works, and so on. And that's just the brand new art; older art sells over and over and over again all the time, often changing ownership in secret private transactions. In all, countless millions of pieces of "art" are bought, sold, and traded worldwide every year.

Old-Master values have struggled to keep pace with those of more fashionable works by 20th-century and living artists. Traditional paintings have a smaller pool of collectors, and while buyers still fight for museum-quality discoveries, less desirable, previously-offered works attract less demand.

One of the questions that surrounds art as an asset is how to quantify an income stream from any sort of collection. But a recent report from Colin Gleadell suggests that art—in this case, 580 paintings and drawings assembled lightning quick over a three-year period—can produce revenue on an indirect basis. After a dull 2010 for global art sales, the Artprice Global Index bears testament to a rapid improvement in the market this year. The index, which is updated quarterly, shows that sales in the past three months have delivered prices that were last seen before the recession took hold in 2008.

One thing is certain – the big-time buyers of art are people in the financial sector who are weathering troubled times a lot better than high street businesses.And yet, for the last couple of decades, contemporary art has flourished through an alliance of the rich and the not-so-rich. It is the same educated, probably public-sector-employed middle class that enthusiastically visit galleries and art fairs. It is these fans of modern art who have helped, by their acclaim, to generate the charisma that makes it apparently worth so many millions.

Western world have suffered from many of the same biases and prejudices that have infected analyses of Indian philosophy and culture.

2011-07-15T17:23:00.000+05:30

Every culture must find a way to grasp the horns of polar opposites – male/female, good/bad, sky/earth, birth/death – which epitomize so much of the human condition. Additive cultures, like Egypt and India, accept these contradictions as imperfectly perceived parts of a greater unity.

Unlike the Western religions, which have little philosophical content and belief in the "One God" is mandatory, many of India's ancient religions were not religions in the narrow sense in which religion is construed today. India's early Buddhists were predominantly atheists, the early Jains were agnostic, and within the broad umbrella of Hinduism, there was space for considerable philosophical variety. In the Upanishads, god is described in an extremely abstract and metaphysical way. The philosophical content is essentially secular and spiritual ideas emerge from debate and speculation - not immortal revelations that cannot be challenged or modified with time. In the Nyaya-Sutras, the overwhelming focus is on rational and scientific thinking and analysis, on human understanding of natural phenomenon and physical processes occurring in nature.

This rich tradition of philosophy - both rational and spiritual - found it's way into Indian art and architecture as well. Stupas and temples incorporated a profound symbolic language based on visual representations of all the important philosophical concepts. These included the Chakra - the revolving wheel of time which symbolized the cyclical rhythms of the cosmos; the Padma - or the lotus symbol which embodied the prime symbol of creation - of the universal creative force that springs from the bosom of the earth; the Ananta (represented as a snake) symbolized water - the most important life-giving force and the infinite ocean from which all life emerged, got differentiated and then got re-merged and redissolved; the Swastika - representing the four-fold aspects of creation and motion; the Purnakalasa - or the overflowing flower pot - a symbol of creativity and prosperity; the Kalpalata and Kalpavriksha - the wish-fulfillment creeper or tree that were also symbols of imagination and creativity; Gavaska - sometimes understood to be the third eye; Mriga - or deer - symbolic of erotic desire and beauty; and lingam and yoni - the male and female fertility symbols.

Rules were also evolved to provide additional symbolic content through hand gestures (mudra) of sculptured deities. Deities were sometimes given multiple arms to signify energy or power or to suggest movement and as symbolic of the celestial dance. Different arm positions embodied different virtues such as wisdom, strength, generosity, kindness and caring. Multiple arms could thus be used to signify multiple virtues.

Western analysts have often had difficulty understanding the complex cultural and philosophical systems that gave birth to India's artistic tradition. For many, Indian sculptural panels appeared to be nothing more than a random collection of strange or arbitrary juxtapositions of primitive beliefs and superstitions. This is not to say that Indian spirituality was always free from superstition or arbitrary constructs, but in the best of the sculptural panels, there was a conscious and knowledgeable attempt to convey powerful philosophical ideas.

Once Indian painting is freed from externally imposed standards, and the motivations of the Indian artist are better understood - a whole new world of visual delight can open up. From the quixotic 15th C illustrations of Jain texts in Gujarat to the deeply expressive miniatures of Malwa, one can move on to the colorful whimsy of 16th C Mewar, the striking elegance of the Kishangarh school, and the refined beauty of later Kangra miniatures. One can appreciate the earnest lyricism of the Orissa palm-leaf miniatures, the decorous elan of the Bundelkhand wall paintings, the bold and dark colors of Lepakshi, and the vivacious renditions in the palaces and temples of Madurai, Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram. In all these varied traditions of Indian painting, an important element that infused Indian painting with charm and vivacity was the folk idiom that unabashedly found it's way in the art of the regional kingdoms who were less infected by formal Mughal tastes.

When the European world began to experience a renaissance in the realm of art and sculpture, exactly the opposite processes were at work in India. After the renaissance, much of the new patronage for European sculpture came from the urban areas, and this is why European sculptors infused their creations with an urbane sophistication. The strong shadow of Islamic prudery prevented such a development from taking place in India. The great wealth of Indian sculpture was created during Europe's Christian era, in a society where the divide between the city and the countryside had not yet sharpened as much. This is why so much of Indian sculpture retains such a strong link to nature and seems less urbane and cosmopolitan, and hence less meritorious to the Western eye.

Fine art is confidently viewed by financial experts as one of the best performing asset categories

2011-07-09T12:35:00.006+05:30

The art market is thriving. Fine art is confidently viewed by financial experts as one of the best performing asset categories of 2010-11. The international Modern and Contemporary art markets are up by an average of 25%, against FTSE's 11% and Dow Jones 9%, and by all accounts this trend will continue through 2011- said ArtLyst.

London Contemporary and Modern Sales Break Records:A successful fortnight of Impressionist, modern and contemporary auctions in London outshone all expectations for the annual summer sales. They realised £516.2 million, the third highest on record for the combined group of London power-players. This was a fraction behind £520 million achieved in February 2008 at the height of the market peak. The Impressionist and modern art sales, were dominated by the later modern works realising around £280 million. This is similar to the figures achieved in London in June 2008 where the series achieved £298 million.

The post-war and contemporary art, that took the brunt of the recession, having lagged far behind the Impressionist and modern art market during 2010, has made a miraculous recovery. Contemporary art is genuinely catching up with sales of just over £236 million, a 102 per cent increase on last summer. Against all odds Sotheby’s achieved the highest total for a single contemporary art auction outside New York of £109 million.

Figurative painting,was the biggest winner with Christie’s portrait by Francis Bacon reaching £18 million and a landscape by Peter Doig £6.2 million. Sotheby’s also faired well for German artists Sigmar Polke who died last year £5.7 million, and the ever popular Georg Baselitz £3.2 million. European, art from the collection of Count Duerkheim also faired well.

While celebrating harmony in diversity, this is the miracle of love: The World Cultural Festival a review

2011-07-04T18:46:00.002+05:30

Marking the 30th anniversary of the organization, around 50,000 people from across 151 countries, 6000 artists and 804 dignitaries including ministers, members of parliament and ambassadors were present. The program began with vedic chants followed by the German national anthem and the European anthem – Ode to Joy.Fascinating yoga performances, melodious music, dazzling cultural programmes and colourful costumes took thousands of participants on an unforgettable journey of India and the world as the World Cultural Festival ended in the German capital Sunday. Thousands of people, including Indian Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai and BJP President Nitin Gadkari , braved showers and chilly winds in the German capital to attend yoga performances and riveting Indian dance and music shows as part of the World Cultural Festival.

The event is celebrated as a "peace festival" at the historic Olympic Stadium that hosted the 1936 Olympics and 1974 World Cup football matches. The stadium turned 75 this year. The festival also marks 30 years of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living organisation.

The function started with playing of nadaswaram, a south Indian musical instrument, by artists from Indian and Sri Lanka. The beats of the barrel-shaped drum filled the stadium with energy as people clapped along, forgetting the chilly winds. On D Day, everything was ready. But that was not counting the vagaries of the weather: that morning, it started to rain, hard and steady. 40.000 disciples of the Art of Living prayed silently to their Master so that the rain stopped before the performance. But another miracle happened.

First 50 Indian singers smiled though the rain while reciting ancient Sanskrit slokas.

Then 500 Polish dancers hopped, skipped and bowed in the mud and puddles. The ancient science of yoga came indeed alive with hundreds of adepts going though asanas. The Art of Living performers seemed to transcend the rain: standing for a long time in flimsy clothing, in 13° centigrade, under sheets of rains, while waiting for their turn, they exploded in joy, grace, rhythm and sometimes power.

The sheer joy, energy, enthusiasm of not only the performers, but also of the nearly 40.000 spectators who had braved the rain, was something to watch. Nobody, even amongst the ministers, presidents and MP's who sat with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the dais, was indifferent.

And finally, that was what the miracle was about: not some cheap stunt of the rain stopping, by some power, or just a freak chance, which would have had many in religious ecstasy. But thousands of performers transcending adversity — which that day took the shape of unexpected cold and rain — through their devotion and love of their Master, and in the process, attaining heights of performance, which they might not have achieved in perfect conditions.

And in this union of their minds and bodies, not only were they forgetful of the rain, but different people from different countries, religions, cultures, some of them even hostile to each other, blended, naturally. And the message, which this gathering was to give, went through effortlessly: that the whole world can come together, while celebrating harmony in diversity. This is the miracle of love, this is the miracle of the rain. And even the sceptics rose as one man as the laser show and thousands of cheering spectators.
Mr. Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister for Tourism, Govt of India, Mr. Nitin Gadhkari, President, Bharatiya Janta Party represented India. “Humanity needs the wisdom of ancient India to heal the wounds of terrorism. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the ambassador of peace, a modern rishi who has come to unite the world”, added Mr. Nitin Gadhkari.

“I congratulate The Art of Living and Sri Sri for the truly transforming work being done in over 150 countries which has touched the lives of millions of people and of the younger generation in particular.” added Mr. Sahay.Sheikh Fahad from Kuwait, Minister for Information and Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh, Mr Abul Kalam Azad and Deputy Minister for Development from Israel Mr Ayoub Kara were also present on the dias.

Lauding the organization for its humanitarian work, congratulatory messages poured in from various dignitaries across the world such as Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and the President as well as the Prime Minister of India. “I hope that the festival will be able to spread the values of various cultures while celebrating harmony in diversity.” said a message by Mr. Manmohan Singh. The President of India smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil also congratulated by sending message.

Sri Sri also received the prestigious Human of the World Award from General Major Alexander Stephanov, President of the Academy of National Security, Russia.
Dignitaries from India and abroad including Monika Griefahn Co-Chair Right Livelihood Award, Elmar Brok German Member of the European Parliament and the former Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nirj Deva, Member, The European Parliament, Prof. Peter Eigen founder of the advisory council of Transparency International along with several Congressmen, Members of the European and German Parliament, ambassadors, business leaders, academicians and NGO representatives attended the festival.
Sri Sri spoke both in German and English to the cheers of the local population.

Excerpts of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s speech at the World Culture Festival, Berlin, July 2-3.

I am so happy to be here in this city where the walls came down between people, it is time walls come down between cultures and civilizations. We all should remember we are a one world family. We need to bring everyone together in a spirit of love compassion, service.

When we started, we had this idea, the theme song was rainbow colors and the rains have come! Singing in times of difficulty shows that we have achieved something. Whatever the circumstances are, we will continue to serve the world as one human family with differences.

It is time to celebrate the differences and celebrate life on this planet. With all the volunteers, we are sure we can create a stress-free, violence-free society for our children. Poverty eliminated, differences celebrated and connection to the inner Divinity. One Divinity, one humanity, celebrating differences, this is our sacred duty.

Celebrating Diversity for a Peaceful Tomorrow, the World Culture Festival at the Olympiastadion Berlin!

2011-07-02T17:04:00.006+05:30

“Thirty years of The Art of Living: a milestone has been achieved. We are inspired to continue with more enthusiasm and greater speed to realize the dream, where life becomes a celebration and the world will become one family. The World Culture Festival is a celebration of achievements and a vision to do better,” said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living founder.

630 dignitaries from India and abroad including the deputy foreign minister of Russia, past Presidents and Prime Ministers, Ministers, Congressmen, several Members of the European Parliament, the German Parliament, ambassadors, business leaders, academicians, NGO representatives, religious and spiritual leaders will attend the festival. Mr. Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister for Tourism, Government of India; Mr. B S Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka, India will be representing India.

The festival, with a theme of ‘Celebrating Diversity and Enriching Life’ will see over 70,000 people from across continents, religions, traditions, backgrounds sit together. Sri Sri will lead a meditation for world peace. One of the highlights will be the Grand Guitar Ensemble for Peace - an enchanting symphony of 2,000 guitarists, 30 Grand pianists and 3000 choir singers. Other than the German and the European National Anthems, Vande Mataram will also be sung.

The festival will also have shows featuring classical music from India and America, contemporary music from Malta, Shaolin Monks from China, traditional flutes from Turkey, folk dances from Russia and Bulgaria and a variety of performances by German artistes. Lotus dance from Japan, Aboriginal dance from Canada and Swiss groups, Austrian Alpine Horns will vie for the eyeballs during the two-day jamboree.

Four continent-based pavilions from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe, will showcase the cultural heritage, food, dance, music, poetry and literature from many countries. The stadium will be transformed into Europe’s biggest participative Yoga Park where visitors can experience yoga workshops from different countries and explore the effect of it on physical and mental health and inner peace. A unique Yoga Museum will chart the evolution of Yoga from ancient sages to its global application in the 21st century and also illustrate the societal impact of Yoga in peace building and its application in humanitarian projects around the world.

More details of the festival at: www.artofliving.org, www.worldculturefestival.org

LIVE Webcast on www.artofliving.org: Jul 2nd at 8 pm IST, Jul 3rd at 1.30 pm IST

M F Hussain, the legend is no more, India has lost its Picasso, and not even on its own soil

2011-06-09T20:16:00.003+05:30

Maqbool Fida Husain, 95, the renowned contemporary and progressive artist who put India on the world's art map, died today in London's Royal Brompton hospital, after a month of illness. Husain died of a heart attack at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.
Husain's art made him a legend. He was undoubtedly India's best known painter who presided over a cult following for more than six decades. However, his contribution to the Indian art goes beyond his numerous celebrated works. In many ways, his life, turbulent in its twilight, was a reflection of the churning that India faces through polarised debates on religion, personal freedom and art.

The man who graduated from painting hoardings for films to becoming India's most celebrated painter was born on Sept 17, 1915 at Pandharpur in Maharashtra. His mother, Zunaib, died in his infancy and his father, Fida, remarried and moved to Indore, where Husain went to school. As a child, Husain learnt the art of calligraphy and loved to read poetries while he resided with his uncle in Baroda. He joined the J J School of Arts and started to earn his living by painting billboards for feature films. In 1947, Hussain won an award for his paintings at the annual exhibition of the Bombay art society and this marked the beginning of a distinguished career ahead waiting for this art maestro.

Husain's creativity, style and innovation in paintings have made him reach the pinnacle in Indian art. In the 1947 annual exhibition of the Bombay Art Society, his painting Sunhera Sansaar was shown. This was his first exhibition. After the Partition later that year, Husain decided to stay in India. Soon the Progressive Artists' Group was formed. F N Souza, a member of The Progressive Artist's Group, invited Hussain to become a member of it in 1948. Through it, Husain was exposed to, and strongly influenced by, the work of Emil Nolde and Oskar Kokoschka.

From 1948 to 1950 a series of exhibitions all over India brought Husain's work to the notice of the public. In 1951 Husain travelled to China. In 1952, had his first solo exhibition in Zurich, and over the next few years his work was widely seen in Europe and the USA. In 1966 Husain was awarded the Padmashree by the Government of India. In 1967, he made his first film, 'Through the Eyes of a Painter' which was shown at the Berlin Festival and won a Golden Bear. Husain went on to make two more films: 'Gaja Gamini' (2000) with his muse Madhuri Dixit and later 'Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities' (2004).

In 1971, Hussain was invited along with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial. Apart from the several solo exhibitions, Hussain has many studios in major metropolitans of the country. In 1973, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, in 1989, the Padma Vibhushan and was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986.

Some of his best known works are called the Sufi paintings, and were first exhibited at the Pundole Gallery in 1978. During these years Husain slowly grew into a public figure, often embroiled in controversies. His Shwetambari exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery consisted of two halls shrouded in white cloth, whorls of which also shared the floor with torn newspapers. Later, he gave a public performance at the Tata Center in Calcutta. For several days a crowd watched as he painted pictures of six goddesses. On the last day of the exhibition he destroyed his paintings by painting the whole thing white.

Husain had become a photogenic icon, and the newspapers loved him. The stuffy Calcutta Club was pilloried when it refused admission to a barefoot Husain on the grounds that he violated their dress code. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1987, and during his six year term he produced the Sansad Portfolio. In the early '90s, several collections of his paintings were made accessible to the public in exhibitions of permanent galleries. The most interesting of these is the Husain-Doshi Gufa in Ahmadabad, collaboration between the painter and an architect in the construction of a gallery.

Soon, Husain went on to become the highest paid painter in India. His single canvases have fetched up to $2 million at a recent Christie's auction. The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) (Massachusetts, USA) showed a solo exhibition from 4 November 2006 to 3 June 2007. It exhibited Husain’s paintings inspired by the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. In early 2008, Husain’s Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12, a large diptych from the Hindu epic, fetched $1.6 million, setting a world record at Christie's South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale.

His name was also included in the list of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World, issued by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in Amman, Jordan. At the age of 92, Husain was to be given the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award by the government of Kerala. The announcement led to controversy in Kerala and some cultural organisations campaigned against the granting of the award and petitioned the Kerala courts. The Sabarimala Trust went to the Kerala High Court and it granted an interim order to stay the granting of the award until the petition had been disposed of.

With the rise of Hindutva in the 1990s, some of Husain's works became controversial because of their portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner. The paintings in question were created in 1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed in Vichar Mimansa, a Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher". In response, eight criminal complaints were filed against Husain. In 2004, Delhi High Court dismissed these complaints.

In 1998 Husain's house was attacked by Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal and art works were vandalised. Shiv Sena endorsed the attack. There were also reportedly death threats. In January, 2010, he was offered the citizenship of Qatar, which he accepted. He was living in Dubai and London since, and breathed his last at a London hospital on 9th june 2011.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

INNOCENT DIVINE, a solo show by artist Ajay Mohanty

2011-01-07T18:47:00.000+05:30

Started at Ashok Art Gallery, It will be on vew till 6th of february

little about: The art tradition in India is so very strong that artists adapt the visual elements with subtle changes to suit contemporary makeover. In the case of Ajay Mohanty, one could easily consider these remains. They have emerged with subtle aesthetic layers with focus on the compositional patter. Stylistically different though but the gestures and colour have strong reference points. The only deviation perhaps is that of the space treatment and that make it visual strong and appealing.His works hover on the verge of resolve, oscillating between fragile spaces and painterly surfaces arrived at by a variety of means. While his interest in painting's history is visible, each painting is treated as an open ended exploration. The work functions with its own internal logic yet is firmly rooted in the world of experience, displaying a gentle but insistent emotional undertow.

Each of the works on display require time and scrutiny to reveal their quiet intelligence and strong determination to capture the poetic capabilities of the artists' chosen medium. In this technology driven era, it is easy to forget the role of the handmade object and the importance it plays in a contemporary context. Not overly pretentious or garishly imposing, Ajay the artist in this exhibition force the viewer to look beneath what is literally seen to reveal questions about their mediums' historical burden.

Ajay Mohanty received his BFA from Utkal University at B.K. College of Art and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 1996, He was awarded by Lalitkala Academy as best child artists at his age 11, after his fine art education he shifted to Delhi and working on creative field, over the past five years, participated in numerous group shows.His works has been showcased in both the Indian Art Fair, India Art Summit, New Delhi and Art Expo India, Mumbai by Ashok Art Gallery.

INNOCENT DIVINE

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

The messengers of love may be the cloud, swan, dove, Malyani (Flower woman) or a portrait , Art Exhibition Review

2010-12-27T17:42:00.001+05:30

VERMILION VERSES a Solo show by Baladev Maharatha , held in Indian Capital Delhi, showing Indian classical Art like wash paintings, tempera and acrylics on canvases at India Habitat Centre Venue: Open Palm Court Gallery Dates: 22nd - 26th Dec. 2010 , inaugurated by Ms Sangeeta Bahadur, Deputy Director General, ICCR on 22nd December 2010 at 5.00 P.M. Exhibition has been organized by Ashok Art Gallery in association with Art India International attracted a healthy crowd and became most discussed show of the year.

The Chemistry of creativity is the outcome of the ripples created at the cerebral sphere. The creator imbibes the nuances from various avenues and his creativity is catapulted to such a height, which is called colossal. When the creation reaches colossal heights, the creator becomes a colossus. His masterly uniqueness receives rave views. At times he tries to transform one avenue to the other and the visual media is acutely susceptible to that. Such is the truthfulness with Baladev Maharatha who has been quite meticulously transforming the great poetic lines on to his canvasses, Bucking Ford Paper and the poetry is heard to mind and soul of the viewer, with jugglery of colors and balanced space. His iconology is as per the lines of the poetry and at places, the same surpasses the lines even.

Baladev is not a novice to this type of transformations. He had already so many magnums opus poetic work form Kalidas to Kavi Samarat Upendra Bhanja the pioneer of medieval Oriya Poetry.

Baladev stepped into the particular avenue by vividly osmotising the finer elements of imagery, iconography and form and the essence would provide him to paint the woman, the Nayika in so called poetics.

The mediaval poetry has been mostly embracing the “Bhakti Bhaba” and “Shringari Bhaba” (State of Amorous passion ) and are so touchy and lively by depicting the lucidity in love, the ballad of parting for love, exile for love, punishment for love and even death for love that the master painter has been deeply moved by all these descriptions. So the outcome is creation of visual poetry from poetics through palate to paintings.

The painter compares the gracefulness and the aesthetics and femininity as depicted in the medieval poetics with the psyche prevalent with the feministic attitude of the contemporary women.“Sringar” happens to be the first “Rasa” for which it is known as the “Aadi Rasa” Beauty and Sringar are having tremendous impact on human mind from times immemorial. The medieval poetics has profusely embraced such “Rasas” . In the poetry of Kavi Samart Upendra Bhanj rhetroric frame makes of medieval Oriya poetry, there are enormous depiction of “Maithuna” and Sringar but still the women has been kept with highest esteems.

With the medieval poetics, nature plays a pivotal role. The women are described with the imagery from the nature. The narratives are so lively that the painter finds it quite feasible to transform it to visual medium. Be it the God or Human beings all decline before love for its state of eagerness and belongingness. Hence love is the main bone of contention in medieval poetics. Both animate and inanimate objects are taken as the love messengers here with many texts of medieval poetry.

The messengers of love may be the cloud, swan, dove, Malyani (Flower woman) or a portrait of the lover or beloved all solve the same process of communication in love in a figurative shape.

The painter conglomerates all these nuance to classic contemporary visual art. The aesthetics is a perennial phenomenon with the humanity which connotes the “Bhava” the psychic emotion and the soul which intermingles the classicism attaining the contemporanity. In the contemporary Creativity the depiction at times becomes individualistic but with the conventional themes it caters to vast socio-cultural canvases.

Baladev’s personals believe is that, art should communicate the over all aesthetics and need to be positive with a reflection of soul searching. Aesthetic, inclination and humanity is some how other necessarily required to tell the tale of the truth embedded within the verses

He also experiences, to create the invisible visible and to paint poetics in his own way is a thought provoking job absolutely. To make the time backward and to coincide with contemporary time, is only possible by a creative painter.The pictorial theme which one can conceive form Indian medieval literature, that must be acknowledged globally. So Baladev is glorifying the great poetic elements through his paintings. The poetic depict the creative pursuit gracefulness, ability, surrender, sensitivity, generosity, love for nature changing life style, spiritualism, envy, revolutionary mind, wisdom and the eternal love of womanhood.

Artist has very perfectly imbibed the images from the lucid the poetic lines with various visual descriptions like, the lucid body curvature of the female form as well as the gracefullness and the grief stricken facial gesture

Here the Shnigar Rasa depicts the foreplay lorry signs of the union and the nail marks are visible on the body of the Nayika is never obscence rather realistically depicted.

With some descriptions the pearl necklace of the Nayika is dismantled because of Viraha (parting suo-motu and the doves take it as food gnains and such unique description s have been accutly conceived and painted by the painter.

The depiction of natural beauty scape i.e. the mushroom beads spronting on the ground in series has been portrayed as the pearl Necklace of the nature as described by the medieval poets and so painted by the painter.

The blood red colour of the bathing pond, where red lotus blossom, there the petals spread over the water is a lucid colour jugglery for the painter

Baladev has used the earthy smelled colour scheme suitable to Indian psyche and befitting to the concept. i.e. the geographical scape, architectural ambience and situations with his paintings. He believes that his paintings are the illustrative poetry which narrates or recites poetry in visual form and shape. The dominating vermilion red back ground of the paintings narrate the detoriation and degradation of the value based clarity that we did have in our past.

The painter compares the gracefulness and the aesthetics with the feministic attitude of the comtemporary women

2010-12-19T10:50:00.003+05:30

VERMILION VERSES a Solo show by Baladev Maharatha , It will exhibit Indian classical Art like wash paintings, tempora and acrylics on canvases at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Venue: Open Palm Court Gallery Dates: 22nd - 26th Dec. 2010
Art works showing women, birds,flowers trees & mountains captured in intricate detail have been a beautiful reminder of Indian rich traditions of loving the Nature.That’s the beauty part... of it, and what also keeps alive the business of looking, the flip side of this business being how money and fame can sometimes make dreamers or opportunists out of even the most scrupulous experts & institutions...
With the mediaval poetics, nature plays a pivotal role. The women are described with the imagery from the nature. The narratives are so lively that the painter finds it quite feasible to transform it to visual medium.Be it the God or Human beings all decline before love for its state of eagerness and belongingness. Baladev stepped into the particular avenue by vividly osmotising the finer elements of imagery, iconography and form and the essence would provide him to paint the woman, the Nayika in so called poetics....
Show will be innaugurated by Ms Sangeeta Bahadur, Deputy Director General, ICCR on 22nd December 2010 at 5.00 P.M.
see you there

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Contemporary Classics by Baladev Maharatha from 22nd to 26th Dec 2010

2010-12-06T11:45:00.003+05:30

Coming Show Updates: VERMILION VERSASE
Solo show by Baladev Maharatha , will exhibit Indian classical Art like wash paintings, tempera and acrylics on canvases at India Habitat Centre
Venue: Open Palm Court Gallery
Dates: 22nd - 26th Dec. 2010
invitation and all other updates will come soon

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Present-day Art Trend Colours of Orissa, An article by Kasturi Ray @ The New Indian Express

2010-08-10T20:42:00.004+05:30

Krishna, in azure blue, as the commander with the timeless conch in one hand and the strength of horses and wheels in the background, summarised power. One among a series of paintings on Krishna by Baladev Moharatha, this one arrests attention at first glance. The theme, composition and concept have all the elements of a contemporary art piece that is rooted in tradition as much as in modernity. Dictated to by an inner voice, Moharatha put his creative genius into art and the piece speaks a thousand stories. Like Moharatha, there are many artists in Orissa and beyond who have given their creations their individual identity and are making that the contemporary trend. But the state has also been witness to a negative trend where many artists resort to imitation and follow the diktats of art galleries in their craze for overnight success. A state that traces its art history to traditional stone craft, temple murals, palmleaf manuscript paintings, Osakothi folk paintings and patta and palm leaf engravings and to date takes pride in it, had, at one point in time, seen the effects of the Bengal School of Art emerging as a major trend with the establishment of the Khallikote Art College in 1959.

It was in the 1960s that traces of modernism sprouted in some parts, largely due to the colonial influence. The trend continued until the 1990s after which the global contemporary style and the pan-Indian style took over most canvases. All these influences came together in diverse, eclectic, yet sustaining ways to shape the contemporary art scene of the state.While Mukunda Moharana, Raghunath Prusty, Shatrughna Karan and Dharinadhara shaped the traditional arts scene through their palm leaf engravings and patta paintings, it was Sarat Chandra Debo, Ananta Panda, Bipra Mohanty, D N Rao, Gopal Kanungo, Bipin Bihari Choudhury, Muralidhar Tali and Bimbadhar Varma who made the modern art scene extremely sprightly through paintings based on surrealism or impressionism. But it seems all is not well in the present day art scenario, with imitation finding its way into art more than originality; with the Internet proving an idea bank instead of personal experience and with financial considerations taking precedence over involvement and commitment.

Modern contemporary art brought with it a lot of scope for experimentation and provided tremendous liberty to artists. Some who did not find the state the right place to give vent to their creative urges left in search of greener pastures. But there were many veterans like Dinanath Pathy, Ramahari Jena, Baladev Moharatha and Siba Panigrahi and others who felt contemporaneity did not necessarily need an artist to sever ties with his own surroundings. “Moving out could give you a broader viewership since there are galleries galore in metros but it is the way you conceive of a subject and its analysis in detail that gives an artist’s creation its relevance. These days, Oriya artists are doing good jobs in New Delhi and their art is considered global now due to their reach but not many of them are thorough in the literary and artistic traditions of their state to give that traditional touch to their creations,” says Moharatha. To give a piece of art its Oriya identity it is imperative for an artist to know its history, art and culture and then translate it into art,” adds Moharatha.

For example, contemporary artist Jagannath Panda’s style of painting is in sync with the immediate surroundings of his home state Orissa and New Delhi, the city where he now lives. In fact, the artist whose paintings are mostly landscape-oriented, tends to draw energy from wherever he locates himself. In Panda’s work a routine event or any commonplace object is imprinted with a symbolic stature that is oriented to represent collective aspirations. He collates the best of both Western minimalist features, as well as Orissa’s folk art elements. “It’s very important for an artist to develop his or her individuality. For this, the artist needs to look inwards as much as he looks outwards and there is no point imitating someone. I would much rather be inspired by someone or some piece of creation,” says Panda. A piece of art can appeal if it is highly contemporary in style with strands of tradition ingrained in it, he adds.

Another Oriya artist, Anup Chand, also based in New Delhi, who normally paints on issues affecting society such as pollution, concrete jungles and tigers, feels the artists of Orissa are way ahead of their contemporaries in the country and abroad because of their typical Oriya touch in even the modern paintings. “Somewhere there will be a tinge which will identify an Oriya artist and his roots. And the best examples are Jagannath Panda, Alok Bal and Birendra Pani who are world renowned,” Chand adds. Chand’s pieces have glimpses of pattachitra in their decorative and simplified form and his motifs include birds, bees, animals and buildings.

Dinanath Pathy, an artist, writer and art historian explains the present trend: “These days, most paintings look alike. That is because saleability is the buzzword. Many artists settling outside follow what the galleries ask them to do as per the present demand. This stands for all artists irrespective of the fact that they belong to a particular state. So where is the scope for an artist’s own creativity? Art currently is more about going by what the stakeholders want,” says Pathy who is credited with painting innumerable masterpieces. “I call it the Bollywood syndrome,” he adds explaining that artists now want to be Page 3 celebrities. That keeps them away from painting based on their instinct backed by experience and knowledge.

However, most veterans, impervious to this state of affairs feel the present phase is transient. If Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) survived because his heart was in art, even the present-day wavering Oriya artists will return to their roots in their paintings soon. And that will redefine the present-day art trend.
Kasturi Ray @ The New Indian Express

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL PAINTING CONTEST ON ENVIRONMENT'

2010-07-28T19:15:00.004+05:30

We are a product of our environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success - or are they holding you back?We generate our own environment. We get exactly what we deserve. How can we resent a life we've created ourselves? Who's to blame, who's to credit but us? Who can change it, anytime we wish, but us?
Here is an opportunity for all to express our feelings towards a safer and cleaner environment..

‎'RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL PAINTING CONTEST ON ENVIRONMENT'.
Join Right now..!!!

‘Rajiv Gandhi International Painting Contest on Environment’ is an online painting competition for kids, school students and adults around the globe on environment to spread the message ‘Save the Earth’ . The contest was inaugurated by Smt. Sheila Dixit, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Delhi State, India on 5th June 2010, ‘THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY’ and will be ended o...n 3rd August 2010 (60 days online contest).

Join Right now..!!!

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

01. Entry to the online contest is free for all candidates and is open for all Citizens around the world.

02. The contest will be conducted in different ‘Groups’ for kids, school students and adults as follows:

Group A: Children - 4 to 5 years old. (Coloring with Crayons only)
Group B: Class I : (Coloring with Crayons only);
Group C: Class II : (Coloring with Crayons only);
Group D: Class III : (Coloring with Crayons only);
Group E: Class IV : (Coloring with Water Colors only);
Group F: Class V : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group G: Class VI : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group H: Class VII : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group I: Class VIII : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group J: Class IX : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group K: Class X : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group L: Class XI : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group M: Class XII : (Painting with Water Colors only);
Group N: Adults above 18 years old : (Painting with Water Colors only);

03. The online painting contest was started at 5.30 PM (GMT) on 5th June 2010 (World Environment Day) and will be ended at 5.30 PM (GMT) on 3rd August 2010 (60 days contest).

04. The online contest will be conducted through www.facebook.com only. All interested participants must have an account in Facebook and join the ‘Group’ of ‘Congress South Indian Forum (Delhi State Committee)’

05. All interested participants are requested to send your paintings before 3rd August 2010 by e-mail to: facebook.painting@gmail.com.

06. Along with paintings, attach your photograph (PP size) and please write the following details in the e-mail:

Name of Participant:
Father / Guardian’s Name:
Age & Date of Birth:
Gender:
Name & Postal Address of School (students):
Class & Division (students):
Residence Address:
Mobile & Land Phone No.:
E-mail Address:
(Photograph is compulsory for participation)

07. Please don’t write your name or any other details in the painting.

08. One participant can send up to 3 paintings (together or separate) within the contest period of 60 days time. All these 3 paintings will be considered for competition with different Registration Nos.

09. All participants must send their ‘Original Paintings’ along with photograph and registration details by registered post / courier to our Delhi office immediately. All the paintings will be displayed in the venue of ‘Award Giving Ceremony’ which will be conducted in Delhi. Send your paintings to: Mr. Rajeev Joseph, 19/502, N.R. Complex, Srinivaspuri, New Delhi-110065, Mob: +91-9873278090.

10. We will upload your paintings with Registration Nos. to the contest page as soon as we received your paintings and other details by e-mail.

11. All paintings will be uploaded in the group page of ‘Congress South Indian Forum (Delhi State Committee)’.

12. If there is any malpractices in the paintings and registration, those participants will be disqualified from the contest any time.

13. Copyright of all paintings sent to this online competition is to be assigned to the contest organizers (Congress South Indian Forum).

14. Painting that have already been shown elsewhere or accepted for another contest will not qualify for this competition.

15. Paintings that show a particular person, an organization or a brand name will not be accepted in the paintings.

16. The management of ‘Congress South Indian Forum’ has the right to reduce the duration of the contest or extend the contest period, if necessary.

17. The ‘10 Member Team of Judges’ will be declared the winners of ‘Each Group’ on 7th August 2010.

18. The winners will be awarded with ‘Merit Certificates and Trophies’ in the ‘Award Giving Ceremony’ which will be conducted at Delhi on 20th August 2010, the 66th Birth Anniversary of Late Shri. Rajiv Gandhi, Hon’ble Former Prime Minister of India.

19. All the participants will be awarded with ‘Participation Certificates’ in the Award Giving Ceremony’ or it can be posted to the participants who pay the postal charges.

20. The organizers has the right to change the ‘Terms & Conditions’ any time for the smooth running of this contest.

21. If there is any disputes regarding contest results, timings, groups etc. the decision of ‘Congress South Indian Forum’ will be final.

Celebrated Odishan Master Painter Baladev Maharatha

2010-03-31T13:46:00.000+05:30

His forefathers were operating with the weapons the Paik (warrior sect of Odisha) militia has been using in order to combat atrocities and to prevent intruders. The swords and daggers are still preserved in his household as the objects of worship which reminds the past warrior jugglery. But he left the weapons for worship and replaced them with paint, brush and palate. He also imbibed the nuances of the earthy smell of his village soil, the soil once smeared with the blood of the enemy. What he exactly imbibed? He osmoticised the forms on to his mind and his creative pursuit could metamorphose in to various realistic creations with the fluidity and mastermind. The outcome is nothing but his heightening of expressive capability. Periods of crisis especially seam to produce an artist like him and he could channel the anxieties of his time in to his work. Once the personality of an artist is admitted as a factor determining the character of his work of art is well defined. His creativity could function more and more openly as a means of self revelation though he opts for a formalist aesthetics, he could reverse the modernist evolution towards increasingly pure form. His realistic look towards his art is always having a postmodernist sub current within beyond. He is none other than art educator, painter, poet and visualizer. As Baladev’s paintings are having lucid lines and soothing paints some of his literary friends opined that his drawing and pointing are purely poetics so his creations are nothing but lucid poetry. One of his literary friends named him as Chitradev a befitting alias.

His mind never stepped in to endemic sphere, rather he is always exploiting the vastness and magnificence of Indian art, architecture and culture at large. He always creates the established notions and concepts that the piece of art achieves a universal appeal. His distinction is his Odishan flavor with the contemporary mullein and his strokes are dedicatedly distinct and meaningful.

The evolutionary process of Baladev Maharatha have passed through several phases like portraying the Shakti or Mother Goddess Durga on the suspicious day of Durga Mahastami in Dussehera festival day every year from which his creative pursuits could gather tremendous momentum. His profiles of Sadhus(sages), Mother’s with the supreme creations, transforming the verses of medieval poetry like Kalidas’s Ritu Samhara, the male chauvinistic attitude towards the devadasi cult and 108 forms of Lord Ganapati are some of his important series.

His training in art started with Khallikote Art college in Odisha and Then he made his masters in History from Utkal University. He had his special training in fresco painting from late Prof. Sukhamay Mitra, Viswabharati. But his first teacher in art is his mother who could allure him to lines and colors when he was only 5 years old. Her mother was her first admirer of his creation. When he topped the list of the entrance examination to be a student of art in khallikote Art College his family could fell his potency. As he was born and brought up in a rural set-up so his inclination towards the mundane things of life are acute and authentic. He observes conceives and depicts which are the three phases for any creativity, be it performing, visual or plastic art. His mindset could acutely imbibed the rural conceptual motifs and his depictions are always smelling earthy.

His Sadhu(sages) series is the outcome of his intimately intermingling with Indian and Odishan sages. It is not the iconography depicted it is the inner psyche culminated in to well crafted canvases.

His mother series transforms the motherly rearing in to a stupendous convention and his woman takes the form of Janani ( the mother), Bhagini (the sister) and Jaya (the wife).

Baladev is having deep acquaintances with Vedic literature, philosophy and medieval poetry. He took the finer elements from all these texts and transforms the calligraphy in to visual art. His renderings are so exact and soothing that the poetic lines are enlivened with paint and brush. The onlooker assimilates the jugglery of the poetry through the vibrantly colored canvases . He has transformed the poetic lines of Kavi Samrat Upendra Bhanja, the colossal medieval Oriya poet and his Kavya "Koti Brahmanda Sundari" could give vent to exclusively painted canvasses. With a deep sense of Kali Das’s poetry he could thought of the projection. So with magnanimously painted canvasses on Ritu Samhar and Meghadoota Kavya he had his solo exhibition in Orissa Modern Art Gallery where he had his mind and soul put together to provide vigor and strength to his superb creations from where one can feel the poetic fragrament. He is so meticulous that he portrayed the black mole on the check of the Nayika to the long drooping drapery so eloquently that the intricate poetry gets transformed to visual art from. Here the poetic nuances are bewitchingly depicted without any inhibitions. This transformation of these lyrical interpretations on to canvass was first of its kind for the viewers. Hence the literary personalities, intellectuals and critics had rave reviews for these creations as the interpretation is as powerful as the original Sanskrit verses created by great poet Kali Das

Baladev then looked in to portraying Ganapati on to the canvasses. He has manifested Ganesh with many a from in to his canvass on board. Here he has experimented with variety of textures, figures and forms taking the mythical antecedents in to account. Ganesh icons has not been transformed in to total abstraction rather the forms are akin to realistic but never realistic. The sources of inspiration for the painter are meticulously taken from the mythical renderings. So also the space at times encloses the artistic creativity quite effectively with the texture of the subject.

In the year 2007, Delhi based Ashok Art Gallery has showcased his works at the National Capital, in India Habitat Centre New Delhi entitled Dejected Dusk. The theme was Deva Dasi tradition taken as a symbol of femininity temple dancing tradition and a male chauvinistic attitude towards the Devadasis. In a review of the said exhibition, Thea Walstra from the Netherlands commented like this. Over all I am very much impressed by the art of this very talented artist. Hi is able to introduce the world with the symbols of the ancient, incredible India in a very interesting way. At the same time his work shows the globalization of the world and that times are changing, the world I understand and know. I think he has built a bridge in his art connecting, the present India with the modern world. At the same time he is introducing the rich tradition of the ancient India with all the symbols and visual glory.

In the human psyche the male chauvinistic attitude is a perennial concept. In the epical descriptions, the female has always been portrayed as a commodity of enjoyment and the beastly lust always engulfs the feminine sector. Never she has been regarded as the part and parcel of the supreme creation literally but regarded proverbially. But she is always forgotten as the sculptor of life embodiment. In the historical depictions, though there are feministic heroism still the exploitation is optimum. With this current bazaar culture femininity has been commoditized. So Baladev kept the above in mind and he could present the exhibition as a soothing heal for feminism and the real attitude is depicted with paint and canvasses. The exhibition got rave reviews.

Baladev is the only painter who had collaborated with the other avenues of art with his painting and the simultaneous process is known as Yugal Vandi. He had his brush swiftly draw the strokes on canvas while Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia had his music recital with flute. Baladev also painted to the recitation of the popular odia poem Kadanba-Katual by Prof. Dr.Ajay Swain. Then he also painted to the recitations of the poems of Vidyapati a Medieval poet of Mithila in Bihar. It made the spectators spell bound by seeing the use of the brush with quite speedy acceleration. As spiritualism is his soul, he also had another Jugalbandi with Odishi dance recital by eminent dancers and vocal music of "Gita Govinda". on the stage, the visual art form slowly but caringly transformed the performing Art on to a huge canvas in a very limited span of time in the esteemed presence of Gajapati Divyasingh Dev and Sri T.K.Mishra, The chief Secretary, Govt. of Orissa and the huge gathering could applaud this joint venture of creativity.

Baladev Maharatha teaches in B.K. College of Art and Crafts in the capacity of a Professor. He is the head of department Painting in Indian Style. Many a students of his are now established artists. He takes his pupils as friends or brothers and under his tutelage the pupils get a chance to learn the intricacies from their Master Teacher. Many a students of his are not beyond his super influence.

Baladev, not only a lover of poetry, but he is a poet himself. His flowing lines of poetry could allure his readers like his paintings.Baladev is a person with a love for nature and he has planted number of trees and also participated in many a plantation programmes

He believes in. hard work as there is no substitute for hard work, "One needs to have dedication, inspiration and love for the work, make it a way of life and most importantly – seek divine blessings to be an artist. I am inspired by God and my studio is my home" he says.He has received Odisha Lalit Kala Academy award and also many golden feathers have been added to his silvery Cap.

The philosophers say that to paint is nothing but a yogic practice. The superb elevation of Baladev is due to his embracing the spiritual milieu intimately. His creations are therefore having the concealed spiritual norms and for which his paintings are noting beyond soul searching. A spiritual mind can only achieve this type of supreme creativity, he believes.

Baladev is a super human being who cares for all the living things and nonliving in this universe and passionately he loves the human being most. So his creation is always collectively humanitarian. His works are available at Ashok Art Gallery and next solo show will be organized at Delhi on December 2010.

Suresh Balabantray

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi

The objective of this workshop Renewed Intensity was to reach out to the urban mass in a meaningful manner, involving the public and their useful connect in Art

2010-02-04T17:09:00.001+05:30

B.K.College of Art and Crafts, is an art institution that is responsible to bring innovative curriculum into art education in Odisha. Along with art education it has considerably propagated art in the state and beyond. The college is celebrating its Silver Jubilee on the completion of 25 years of its inception in the state. To commemorate this event, a national workshop on Public art and Site Specific art was curated by Jagannath Panda, alumni of the college and illustrious artists of Odisha.

The objective of this workshop Renewed Intensity was to reach out to the urban mass in a meaningful manner. Many such attempts are made in recent years, involving the public and their useful connect in art, but here, Bhubaneswar is approached with intent to interact rather than reach out alone by artists those, in some way, relate to the situation. The approach was to evolve and propagate providing the continuum in mind to mind overplaying the skill. Renewed intensity is all about focusing on the creative passion and commitment to art by the artists, who once were trained here and practiced art in the national and international forum. They are purposefully brought back to their home (Odisha), re-inventing themselves and re-locating their art in the changed situation.

The participants of the workshop focused on the collective ideology in expressing the content of theme in context. Paribartan Mohanty, Pratik Sagar were invited to the workshop while the BKCAC alumni was represented by Anjan Kumar Sahoo, Helen Brahma, Kanta Kishore Moharana, Nityananda Ojha, Sudarshan Biswal, Sujit Mallick, Sambit Panda and Veejayant Dash.

Anjan Sahoo proposed a site specific work on the eternal journey: a physical transformation with help of clay pots, 108 in number, defining the sahatsra ghatak [pots] with filled water as sent that passes through to attain moksha while Nityanand presented the search for a golden bone referring to simultaneous death of two artists few years back, one at Bhubaneswar and other at Baroda. The memory and pathos were compared quite near to the rituals with incense sticks put around the grave.

Helen Brahma intelligently dealt with a subject on woman nexalites titled `surrender’ that clearly reflected the psychological and physical torture leading to surrender of the self and the male counterpart. The happiness of the familial unity is mentioned in undertone. Kanta Kishore Moharana’s incarnation was a video projection/presentation, allowing the public to pass through the light on screen emphasizing the internal body matter reflected in projection, thereby re-inventing the human body, few subjects with designated choreography.

Sudarshan Biswal and Veejayant Dash performed public art on Green devastation [Rickshaw] and once there was a true respectively. Both of them caught the public attention by motivating common man through participatory dialogue. Sudarshan’s concern of conversion of farm land to growing property enclosure and the harmonic disorder found effective viewers while Veejayant had a radical and direct message. Tree or no tree, infrastructure and life, both are need of time. His concern focused on planning rather than preaching lone. A truncated tree space in form allowed the public to pass through and experience the space-form relationships. Sambit presented a chappal, common man’s footwear pressed against defined garbage, including housefly. House fly is a common fault finder and thus ignored in life. His concern of `can me follow’ seems meaningful through philosophical transformation of the subject. Sujit Mallick, a young artist was a little shy for his appearance in public was for the first time. But he carried a dynamic subject, `hati ne ghoda ne mo pehenkali bajei de’, reflecting the mood of a village shrine and its durative terracotta horse and elephants, commonly found in Orissa and inspires people to forget the communal bias that divide people.

The guest artist Pratik Sagar has successfully experimented in site specific art in the past and his work True sad space God was just another trial in the continuity. The most interesting part lies in his in-definitive result, which increases the curiosity. He tried to definitive/predictable this time involving natural interception. Paribartana Mohanty’s imagery based on a novel titled `Dasyu’. The composition is a transformation of verbal to visual-re-looking at the city that has grown up to the day. The characters, infrastructures, mentality of city as one of the character have witnessed the change-a critical depiction.

The evening of 25th January was devoted to a critical discussion and presentation by artists. All the participants presented themselves through video art, art documentation in AV and announcing their concept. The artist presentation began with initiator Dr. Pradosh Mishra briefly questioning the curator of workshop Jagannath Panda about the origin of concept and its transformation in the urban context. Prof. Deba Patanik, a veteran literature and art connoisseur discussed the public and site specific art in the global context. Dr. Ramkrishna Vedala, Shri Ramhari Jena and Adwaita Gadanayak presented their views on the emerging art trends and local adaptability. The public-artist interaction was ably coordinated and initiated by Dr. Pradosh Mishra introducing the local young artists to a fresh mode.

The young artists assisting the participants were felicitated by alumni BKCAC, while Prof. Deba Patanik did the honor. The AlumniBKCAC also handed over a contributory amount of Rs.5000/- to Shri Ashok Das(class-3 employee at B.K.Art college) who is undergoing treatment after a heart surgery. Shri Subrat Mallick, the secretary AlumniBKCAC presented the formal vote of thanks. The workshop was coordinated by Dr. Pradosh Mishra, Ashok Nayak (Ashok Art Gallery, New Delhi), Sudarsan Biswal, Veejayant Dash, and Anjan Kumar Sahoo. The workshop was supported by the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, Gallery Sanskriti , Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and stage sponsored by Ashok Art Gallery, HYTONE and Immagery. The event continued from 20th to 27th January 2010 at the Lalit Kala, Regional Centre, Kharvela Nagar, Bhubaneswar.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi

Several aspects of creative communication were discussed with regard to literature and art, Silver Jubilee celebration of B.K.Art college a Review

2010-01-25T08:56:00.007+05:30

B K College of Art and Crafts has completed its twenty-five years creative journey in Odisha and its existence resulted in the paradigm shift in art education and propagation both within the state and beyond. To commemorate the success, AlumniBKCAC and B.K. College of Art and Crafts are celebrating its silver Jubilee in Bhubaneswar.

The celebration begun with the inauguration of a public art and site specific art workshop, curetted by Jagannath Panda on the 20^th of January 2010. This National workshop was organized at the Lalit Kala Regional centre, Bhubaneswar along with various other public sites by the participating artists. The participating artists are Paribartan Mohanty, Prateek Sagar, Anjan kumar Sahoo, Helen Brahma, Kanta Kishor Moharana, Nityananda Ojha, Sudarshan Biswal, Sujit Mallik, Sambit Panda and Vejayant Das. This workshop would continue up to 27^th of January 2010.

The college event started with a national Symposium on Creative Communication. Prof. Kanchan Chakraverti, Art Historian from Santiniketan, inaugurated the symposium on 22^nd January 2010. Prof. Ganeswar Mishra, Prof. Sourindra Barik, Dr. Dinanath Pathy and Convened by Dr. Pradosh Mishra. Several aspects of creative communication were discussed with regard to literature and art. The participants focused on methods of communication and its relevance to art and how art needs to be communicated to the audience/viewer. The afternoon session was devoted to the audio-visual presentation by select artists like Ashish Pahi and Kanta Kishore which was coordinated by Dr. Pradosh Mishra.

On the 23^rd of January, an exhibition by the alumni of BK College of Art and Crafts was organized at the college campus on the foothills of the ancient site Khandagiri and Udayagiri. The Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik, who not only thoroughly viewed the works, but also had an intimate dialogue with the artists, inaugurated this exhibition. Dr. Pradosh Mishra briefed the Chief Minster about the displayed art works, present state of art and trends, while Jagannath Panda explained him of the national and international issues related to art. The curator of the show, Sovan Kumar assisted the Chief Minister to release the Exhibition catalogue. Ashok Nayak accompanied the Chief Minister to the annual Art Exhibition of the College. He also felicitated the Former Principal, Kala Bhawan, Santiniketan, Prof. Kanchan Chakraverti, for his contribution to the art historical studies in the eastern subcontinent, Dr. Dinanath Pathy, the first Principal of the college and Shri Adwaita Prasad Gadanayak, President, AlumniBKCAC for collaborating to the cause of art in Odisha. In his address, he emphasized on the rich cultural and art heritage of Odisha and its application in the contemporary art, defining a new approach of continuity. He appreciated the effort of the AlumniBKCAC for the entire event.

This programme was followed by an interaction by the faculty and alumni of the college, with the students under training, under the event title, My College: My Art. Dr. Dinanath Pathy, Shri D N Rao, Shri Baladev Maharatha, Shri Ramahari Jena, Shri Siba Panigrahi, Shri Adwait Gadanaik, Shri Jagannath Panda and Shri Ashok Nayak. As a continuation to the event, many of the passed out students and participating artists showed their creative video short documentations. Both the academic sessions was coordinated and convened by Dr. Pradosh Mishra.

In the evening, His Excellency the Governor visited the exhibition hall and was accompanied by the participating artists. His keen interest in art motivated the young and dynamic students for an intimate interaction. The Governor also felicitated the Teachers and staff of the college for their valuable contribution to the art education. The Governor graced the cultural programme at the college campus at the newly prepared amphitheatre, where Sakhinata, a traditional dance form of Odisha, Odishi, the classical dance form, and Sambalpuri, another folk dance form was presented before him.

The Silver Jubilee functions were supported by Subrat Mullick, Anjan Sahoo, Tarakant Parida, Veejayant Dash, Meenaketan Patnaik, Pratap Jena, Aparna Ray, Bidyutlata Patasahani, Sangeeta Mohapatra, Ramakanta Samantray, Sangram Moharana, Sudarshan Biswal, Projesh Mohapatra, Kirti Kishor Moharana and many other well wishers of AlumniBKCAC.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi

‘Renewed Intensity’ is an idea to bring back serious passion and attitude towards a new art form, public and site specific art.

2010-01-16T00:06:00.005+05:30

Renewed Intensity

On the occasion of the silver jubilee celebration of BK College of Art & Crafts, we are attempting to broaden our own horizons by re-introducing some of young and talented artists who are earlier graduates and have earned recognition. Some guest artists are also participating the event by invitation.

The city of Bhubaneswar has become a busy metropolis where both modern and traditional art and culture co-mingle. It has undergone vast developmental changes, shifting the historical & ecological map of the city in the last few years. The point here is to understand the coexistence of the past and the present.

‘Renewed Intensity’ is an idea to bring back serious passion and attitude towards a new art form, public and site specific art. Worth noting inherent in local culture lies this notion. This is first of such a workshop that we have planned: where artists will create the works with multiple approaches and u different medium, exploring art out of unconventional forms or ideas. It will also explore the possibility of varied aesthetic influences and expressions based on Interactive, Performance, Installation and so on. These artistic activates will attempt to understand inter-relationship of nature, culture, city, politics, fictional text and vital inner life. This workshop will create an environment of diverse art forms for the new viewer/audience. In these eight days, artists will produce art works in relationship between ecology and art in public spaces.

While engaged in the workshop, the participating artists will respond to collective cultural needs, developing active roles in environmental and social issues. Some artists will focus on the role of art in encouraging ecological awareness and social activism amongst local people. We sincerely hope our efforts will bring about a constructive change in the art situation in Odisha.

Jagannath Panda

Public art fits a much broader definition than art in a gallery or a museum. In simple terms, public art is any work of art or design that is created by an artist specifically to be sited in a public space. It can tower several stories high, or it can call attention to the pavement beneath your feet. It can be cast, carved, built, assembled or painted. Whatever its form, public art attracts attention. By its presence alone public art can heighten our awareness, question our assumptions, transform a landscape, or express community values, and for these reasons it can have the power, over time to transform a city’s image. Public art helps define an entire community’s identity and reveal the unique character of a specific neighborhood. It is a unifying force.

The impact of public art on a community is priceless and immeasurable and once experienced it only appreciates. Public art has the power to energize our public spaces, arouse our thinking, and transform the places where we live, work, and play into more welcoming and beautiful environments that invite interaction. It enhances the quality of life by encouraging a heightened sense of place and by introducing people to works of art that can touch them and generations to come.

Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork.

More broadly, the term is sometimes used for any work that is (more or less) permanently attached to a particular location. In this sense, a building with interesting architecture could be considered a piece of site-specific art.

In 1966 Robert Barry said:

“(site installation) is made to suit the place in which it was installed. They cannot be moved without being destroyed.”

In 1989 Richard Serra said:

“The works become part of the site and restructure both conceptually and perceptually the organization of the site.”

But later, the concept and relevance of the artwork in relation to the site have evolved.

The artwork in a specific site still explores themes and relationships with its surroundings. However its site can be moved and the artwork can still be relevant.

It’s a battle between ‘what is Public Art’ and ‘what is Site Specific Art’. The art can become site relevant in a conceptual way, yet it doesn’t have to be physically nailed to that exact place. The concept plays a big part, because it can be a very wide subject/theme, which could be relevant in many places. Most importantly it involves the viewer of the work, as they are present on this ’site’. Site Specific Art then becomes audience relevant.

But, this workshop intend not to define the meaning of the terms but more relevant to the celebration and prepare and produce work of art along with the community.

Participating Artists:

Guest:

Paribartana Mohanty (Delhi)

Prateek Sagar (Delhi)

Alumni of BKCAC:

Sujit Mallick (Delhi)

Sudarsan Biswal (Delhi)

Veejayant Dash (Bhubaneswar)

Assisted by

Satyabhama Majhi,

Samarjeet Behera,

Niroj Satpathy,

Satyajeet Das

Nityananda Ojha (Baroda)

Anjan Kumar Sahoo (Bhubaneswar)

Bujing Rao (Bhubaneswar)

Kanta Kishor Moharana(Bhubaneswar)

Assisted by

Smrutisai Mishra,

Manas Moharana,

Somnath Rout

Sambit Panda (Delhi)

Helen Brahma (Bhubaneswar)

Information:

Activity: Public Art and Site-specific Workshop

Commemorating Silver Jubilee Celebration of B.K. College of Art and Crafts (BKCAC)

Concept: “Renewed Intensity”

Date: From 20th to 27th January 2010

Artist Presentation: 25th January 2010 at 5.00 pm

Initiator: Dr. Pradosh Mishra

Chief Guest: Prof, Deba Patnaik and Dr. Dinanath Pathy

Guest of Honor: Ramakrishna Vedala,Ramahari Jena, Adewata Gadanayak

Public Display: 26th to 27th January 2010, 11am to 8pm

Venue: Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, Unit III, Bhubaneswar,

Coordinators: Sudershan Biswal, Veejayant Dash, Pradosh Mishra, Ashok Nayak, Anjan Shaoo,

Curator Jagannath Panda

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi

Review: Commentary in Three Dimensions by Himali Singh Soin

2010-01-12T10:56:00.003+05:30

KANTA KISHORE MOHARANA

Ashok Art Gallery

D-1/31, Rear Portion, Model Town-II, 110009 New Delhi, India

December 11, 2009 - January 11, 2010

Eerily realistic, thought-provoking, rebellious and skillfully crafted: Kanta Kishore Moharana’s mixed-media installations refreshingly bridge conceptualism and formalism, birthing work whose message is embossed within the geometry of the marble, fibre, and bronze of which it is made.

The magic of Moharana’s works is its uncanny realism despite his use of permanent, heavy materials to depict that which is perishable, light, and functional. He sculpts, for example, newspapers from marble—an everyday, perishable item made permanent, heavy—and chisels out real headlines to shape a commentary on society’s ills: words literally ‘set in stone.’ In ‘Restoration,’ he carves a cardboard box being eaten by cockroaches from marble. The weightless, disposable quality of paper and cardboard is ironically effaced by its own depiction as the artist crafts immovable objects from perishable subjects.

This confrontation of our conventional perception of material objects urges the viewer to come closer. But this is an online exhibition, thus hindering the interested from really finding the desired detail in form. Kanta Kishore remarkably does not see this as a disadvantage. “I think it makes my work universal,” he says, “and accessible worldwide.” His background is humble: born to a family of stone carvers in Orissa, he has learned form and technique from his forefathers, yet injected his own ideas to appropriate the work into today’s socio-political and artistic context.

Kanta Kishore’s work with marble is not a traditional sculptural practice that mimics reality. Instead, he utilizes other media to make installations that comment directly on poverty, globalization, exploitation, hunger, and revolution. In his piece, ‘Exploitation,’ Kanta Kishore presents tiny bronze men who are trampled by a giant, red, 6-foot long, ornamented, Arabian shoe. The bright scarlet shoe comments on our contemporary classist society, on capitalism’s fissures in distribution, and on the inhumane manner in which workers, children and adults are treated. Compositionally, each element is carefully balanced in geometry, size, space, weight, color and concept. The specifically Arabian identity of the shoe, however, also implies a potentially provocative interpretation of crowds trodden under the force of the Muslim world.

“There are two aspects in nature:/ The perishable and the imperishable./ All life in this world belongs to the former;/ The unchanging element belongs to the later,” says the Bhagvat Gita. In flipping our perceptions of that which is permanent and that which is temporary, Kanta Kishore provokes us to think more deeply about the meaning and importance of the Absolute in a cruelly relativist world.

-- Himali Singh Soin

(Images from top to bottom: Raw Vision 3; Truth 1; Exploitation. All images courtesy of Ashok Art Gallery and the artist.)

SOURCE: Art Slant

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi

Nicholas Forrest's prediction is that art investment will continue to gain credibility and new avenues to invest in art will open up

2010-01-08T10:41:00.002+05:30

I have been watching the art market very closely over the last year and have to say that I was actually quite pleased with what I saw. The more scholarly and connoisseurial approach to fine art that emerged in 2009 has temporarily re-focused people’s attention on the historical, cultural and artistic value of art as opposed to the social and financial values that dominated the contemporary driven market of the boom period. I say temporarily, because although the glitz and glamour of the contemporary art market has taken a huge hit, and there is no doubt in my mind that the phenomenon that is contemporary art will shortly return to the position of power that has made it a force to be reckoned with in the past. Perhaps sooner than we may think!!

The scholarly and connoisseurial trend of 2009 still has a bit of juice in the tank and should continue to play a major role in the 2010 market. Take for the instance, the work of the rather mysterious Dutch Baroque still life painter Adriaen Coorte, whose work is little known outside the scholarly world and went largely unrecognized until he was rediscovered by a Dutch art historian in the 1950s. Works by Coorte rarely comes to market so when two small paintings came up for auction at Sotheby’s on the 2nd of December of 2009, it was predicted that there would be considerable interest, but not anywhere as much interest as there ended up being. The first painting, a still life of strawberries in an earthenware bowl was fought over by six bidders who pushed the sale price to 1,520,750 Euro which was not only more than ten times the 150,000 euro high estimate but was also a new auction record for the artist. Next on the block was the second work by Coorte which broke the auction record set by the previous painting when it sold for 1,576,750 Euro against the same estimate of 100,000-150,000 Euro. Both paintings were acquired by the same European collector.

Marcus Aurelius Root, Anthony Pritchard, 1850, quarter-plate daguerreotype

Another artist whose work is little known outside the scholarly world is that of Marcus Aurelius Root. An early work by the renowned Philadelphia daguerreotypist of Anthony Pritchard was a feature of the October 8 Miller-Plummer Collection of Photographs sale and reached the astonishing world auction record price for the artist of US$350,500 against an estimate of $20,000 – $30,000. The sale of this work by Root is another example of the current trend that has seen connoisseurs and scholars drive up the demand for works of cultural and historical significance. Root’s photo of Anthony Pritchard is not the only example of antique/vintage photography that has exceeded price expectations; the whole market for antique/vintage photography has experienced a continuing surge of interest as the importance of photography in an art historical context is further realised. 2010 should see a continuation of the interest in antique/vintage photography as collectors and museums vie for the top works in a niche that is still in it’s infancy, and that still presents opportunities for collectors and connoisseurs to acquire works of major cultural and art historical significance at potentially bargain prices.

As a result of the reduction in the demand for contemporary art, emerging markets such as South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, Poland, Singapore, Iran, Greece, etc. have become a focus of dealers and auction houses in an attempt to generate new revenue streams. A deciding factor in the decision of which emerging market to penetrate has been whether or not there is a strong enough force of wealthy European/Western expats to fuel demand for souvenirs of their temporarily adopted homeland. Former expats of emerging markets are also being targeted by market forces in an attempt to encourage a sense of nostalgia that will result in the purchase of a memento of their time abroad. 2009 saw a concerted new ground being broken with region specific auctions, particularly with those of emerging markets such as Greece and Turkey – a trend that I predict will continue gaining momentum in 2009.

With owners of what are considered to be the most desirable and valuable works of art tending to sit on their assets while the art market bottoms out I predict that 2010 will see the slow return of those modern and contemporary works that tend to send the market into a flurry of excitement. Another prediction I will make is that art investment will continue to gain credibility and new avenues to invest in art will open up. A sign of the continuing acceptance of art as a viable alternative asset is the fact that Israeli billionaire Arnon Milchan recently told Forbes magazine that art is the best investment to own. In his words “If you have triple-A art, I’ve never seen it really go down. Great art is the best thing to own. We’ve seen recently the art market picking up fast. The last Sotheby sale broke records.”

Wishing everyone a great 2010 !!

Nic Forrest

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi.

‘Elite Collectors of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art’ opens a window onto a wonderful world of passionate collectors

2009-12-23T01:28:00.004+05:30

Driven by their desire to chart a unique course, authors Purrshottam Bhaggeria and Pavan Malhotra have conceptualized and penned this captivating coffee table book. They take the readers along onto a fascinating journey into the exclusive world of discerning collectors and their eclectic collection. The book makes a honest attempt to highlight their definitive aesthetic vision, deep-rooted philanthropy, support and commitment to Indian art and artists.

As Indian contemporary art shines globally, ‘Elite Collectors of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art’ by authors (Publishers: Elite Media; Price: Rs 15,000 for a limited edition of 2,000 numbered copies) has turned the spotlight on renowned collectors such as Parmeshwar Godrej, Suresh Neotia, Tina Ambani, Harsh Goenka, Rajshree Pathy, Sangeeta Jindal, Abhishek Poddar among others), some are less well known Rakesh Agarwal, Mahesh Chandra, Mahinder Tak, Ashwani Kakkar, Malvinder Mohan Singh, Prashant Tuslyan, Sanjay Lalbhai, Rajiv Jehangir Chaudhuri and Dinesh Thacker.

Then there are some international collectors like Masanori Fukuoka and the late Chester Herwitz who find a mention in this first comprehensive tome on art collectors. Barring a few notable exceptions like Anupam Poddar, Lekha Poddar, Nitin Bhayana, Priya Paul, and the de Boers, this attractive coffee table book reflects the passion of avid art collectors.

The publication is a sincere and research based exercise to provide a glimpse into the rich collections of some of India’s top collectors, and their associations with the artists. ‘Elite Collectors of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art’ opens a window onto a wonderful world of passionate collectors. It introduces the readers to their eclectic and engaging collection.

‘Elite Collectors of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art’ is worth collecting for it showcases selected and favorite works of art of each collector, symbolizing their discerning eye and eclectic tastes.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi.The Best art place on this globe.

Dr. Manmohan Singh: Prime Minister of India @ United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen

2009-12-18T00:24:00.006+05:30

Before leaving, Dr. Manmohan Singh: Prime Minister of India said, I am leaving today to attend the 15th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (UNFCCC).
The UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol embody the international agreed regime for addressing the global challenge of climate change. The UNFCCC is founded on the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. At the 13th Conference of Parties in Bali, the Parties had agreed to launch an Action Plan to enhance the implementation of the UNFCCC. The Bali Action Plan seeks to ensure full, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC through long term cooperative action of the Parties upto and beyond 2012.

It is India’s view that global warming is taking place and taking place here and now and its adverse consequences will impact most heavily on developing countries like India. As a responsible member of the international community, India is therefore fully committed to working with the rest of the world to preserve and protect our environment. This is our common heritage, and this is what we must bequeath to our succeeding generations.

At the same time, climate change cannot be addressed by perpetuating the poverty of the developing countries. Every citizen of the globe has equal entitlement of the global atmospheric space. It is in keeping with this principle that I had earlier announced in Heiligendamm in 2007 that we will maintain our per capita emissions at a level lower than the average per capita emissions of developed countries.

We have, as a responsible member of the international community, announced that we will reduce the emissions intensity of our growth by 20-25% in 2020 as compared to 2005. India has also launched a comprehensive Action Plan on Climate Change and the eight National Missions have been set up. We are willing to do more provided there are credible arrangements to provide both additional financial support as well as technological transfers from developed to developing countries.

I look forward to constructive deliberations in Copenhagen which meet the collective aspirations of all humankind and enable us to move forward in the global efforts to combat climate change.

December 18, 2009
Copenhagen
Ladies and Gentlemen,I would like to thank Prime Minister Rasmussen for his efforts in trying to build a global consensus on highly complex issues, involved in climate change, attempting to balance divergent and varied interests.
We have all worked hard to reconcile our different points of view. The outcome may well fall short of expectations. Nevertheless, it can become a significant milestone. I therefore support calls for subsequent negotiations towards building a truly global and genuinely collaborative response to climate change being concluded during 2010.
Ladies and Gentlemen, As we embark on future negotiations, we would do well to take stock of what we have learnt from our efforts over the past two years. I draw three lessons, which should guide us in the task ahead. Firstly, the vast majority of countries do not support any renegotiation or dilution of the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC, in particular the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.Further, the need for action on our part is more and not less than what was envisaged at the time of the Rio Convention or the Kyoto Protocol. That is why the Bali Action Plan commits us to enhancing the implementation of the UNFCCC.To settle for something that would be seen as diminished expectations and diminished implementation would be the wrong message to emerge from this Conference. We should therefore reaffirm categorically that our negotiations will continue on the basis of the Bali mandate.Secondly, the Kyoto Protocol should continue to stand as a valid legal instrument.
Parties to the Protocol should deliver on their solemn commitments under the Protocol. It would go against international public opinion if we acquiesce in its replacement by a new and weaker set of commitments.Finally, it is clear that any agreement on climate change should respect the need for development and growth in developing countries. Equitable burden sharing should underlie any effective global climate change regime. Any new regime will have moral authority and credibility only if it acknowledges that every citizen of the globe has an equal entitlement to the global atmospheric space.India has a vital stake in the success of the negotiations as we are among the countries most likely to be severely impacted by climate change.We have therefore adopted and started to implement a major National Action Plan on Climate Change, relying upon our own resources.
Our targets include installation of 20,000 MW of solar energy capacity by 2022, improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020 and adding an additional 6 million hectares of forests over the next several years.Excellencies, each one of us gathered here today acknowledges that those worst affected by climate change are the least responsible for it. Whatever emerges from our negotiations must address this glaring injustice, injustice to countries of Africa, injustice to the Least Developed Countries, and injustice to the Small Developing States whose very survival as viable nation states is in jeopardy.
We in India, too, are vulnerable, but nevertheless as responsible citizens of the globe, we have agreed to take on a voluntary target of reducing the emission intensity of our GDP growth by around 20% by 2020 in comparison to 2005. We will deliver on this goal regardless of the outcome of this Conference. We can do even more if a supportive global climate change regime is put in place.Excellencies, we have a difficult task ahead of us. I hope we will all play a positive and constructive role so that we can bridge differences and come up with a balanced and also an equitable outcome during the coming year. India will not be found wanting in this regard.Thank you.
Remarks by PM at the Informal Plenary of HOS/Gs at the 15th COP at Copenhagen

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi.

Clearly, the Art market is on the threshold of an upswing in terms of investor confidence

2009-12-02T00:39:00.003+05:30

Art analysis firm ArtTactic’s confidence indicator for the Indian art market has more than doubled, sending positive signals to investors.

In fact, recovery in the Indian art market could occur earlier than expected, according to the latest research report released by the London-based art market analysis firm. The report suggests there is renewed confidence evident in the market that incidentally had dipped to an all-time low only six months ago.

The report holds significance since ArtTactic, set up by Anders Petterson almost a decade ago, is an internationally reputed agency. It comes up with research and commentary by combining both quantitative and qualitative tools. Its studies are backed by an in-depth knowledge of the art market’s .

ArtTactic employs analytical frameworks and methodologies for the art market often employed by economists and the financial experts. Anders Petterson, ArtTactic managing director, elaborates, “The survey sample is a cross-section of key players in the Indian art market many of whom have a long-term interest in it, and hence their answers are not driven by short-term decisions.”

Its confidence indicator for the Indian art market is now pegged just under the 50 mark, at 49. The 50 mark importantly, suggests there are an equal number of negative and positive responses on the outlook for the art market in the near term. In May, the indicator was well in the negative territory, pegged at an abysmally low number of 20.

Clearly, the market is on the threshold of an upswing in terms of investor confidence. This really is a positive indicator coupled with the Indian economy that is showing early signs of revival.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit New Delhi.

If this decade in human civilization has presented us with any resonant knowledge about our world, it is that energy is culturally precious.

2009-11-28T00:27:00.003+05:30

From vertical farms to solar forests, neutralizing the carbon footprint of urban centers is one of the most popular trends in design.

Los Angeles firm Emergent Architecture has come up with a concept that combines public art with creating biofuel. Called a "photobioreactor," the aquarium-like structure would contain green algae colonies, also known as pond scum, which produce an oil that can be processed into a biodiesel fuel that can replace petroleum-based diesel fuel.

Even better, green algae consumes carbon dioxide, which is the leading driver of human-propelled global warming.

The system would use "tuned LED lights which vary in color and intensity to support algae growth at different stages of development, maximizing output," according to Emergent. (I'm not quite sure what this means, but suspect it has something to do with recent developments in using nano-materials to create LEDs that surpass their conventional cousins in the colors of light they can produce.)

A thin-film solar array strung into the branches of nearby street trees would collect energy during the day; stored in batteries, it would power the bioreactor's systems at night.

The firm has imagined a Los Angeles-based installation of bioreactors into the sides of buildings, as well as a public art piece for a Perth, Australia involving freestanding bioreactors built to evoke the shapes of cellular structures.

Rather than just stand and symbolize something, say the designers, the installation would also be doing something useful: using and creating clean energy. "Now, one could argue that artwork shouldn't actually do work," they acknowledge. But "if this decade in human civilization has presented us with any resonant knowledge about our world, it is that energy is culturally precious, that it is possibly the ultimate medium.

"Energy may indeed be one of the most timely mediums for art."
by Emily Gertz

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists,we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit New Delhi.

Indian art heritage , its rich tradition of Art and Culture

2009-10-27T10:21:00.004+05:30

Indian art heritage is as rich as most of the established art based countries like

Egypt

, Greek,

China

Japan

France

Italy

and Spain etc. It has a specific manifestation in the field of Indian society, art, religion and human sentiments. It touches every sphere of human being and its adaptation is so wider even simple palm leaf and rock wall speaks its merits of beauty, aesthetics and pleasure. Each part of the whole nation express the spectromic echoes of art pleasure. It links urban to a rural, layman to a super human, poor to rich but not tired of to lubricate the long passed echoes of Indian artists spirituality, rather has become an integral part of our everyday lives.Indian Traditional Art was remained in the hands of the rural artisans. They used to deal with the indigenous materials, organic and inorganic materials readily available in their locality. Art activities were well linked with our religion, ritual and everyday lives. A group of people accepted art activities as their main profession who were well known as Kalakaras, they accepted the profession from father to the son, mother to the daughter without much variation in form, style, color, pattern, design and the subject matters. They were not only the painters, sculptors and architects but had good depth on literature, texts and allied grammatical resources.

Indian art is understood through its own grammar of Rasa theory, Sadanga(six principles of Indian art), attitude to Indian art principles of image making etc. It was based on

India

mythology, poetry of romantic love stories, raga-raginis on the value of Indian society, religion. beauty aesthetics and pleasure. Art education is completely based on ones attachment to the process and entirely not accomplished through an art institution said Sir Baladev Moharatha, Head of Deptt. Painting (Indian Style), He said, “ Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of LIVES-LIFE of values and life of valuables, values are left aside and when values are ignored the person concerned gets devalued. While the commodification of art is a slogan all-around, some people are still there experimenting with the values of art which is beyond commercialization”.

Smt. Sailabala Nayak, Instructor Deptt. Of Painting(Indian Style) said, “ The Tradition and culture are the real identity of a civilized status or of a family. Now in the process of globalization it is difficult to protect and preserve the tradition and culture. Likewise when the student of an art institution displays a picture or submits for exhibition or competition, interestingly enough, the beholders or jury members search for modernity, then in facing the remark that the pictorial language is not readable. Such contrast opinion compels a student, sometimes, to be confused and express him/her- self in a vaguely modern way. But this should not happen”.

It seems reasonable to assume that the Indian art has the potential in terms of both artists and buyers to rival the recent gains made in the Chinese art market and to present itself as a real global participant in the international art market. However, there are some key issues that concern the potential players. These issues have to do with

India

’s moribund art market infrastructure, which is simply not robust enough to support a major art market.

India

must develop structures and professionals who can bring order to what in many cases is seeming chaos. Its rich cultural heritage should be come out in form of art works. If this chaos is allowed to continue unchecked, the long term credibility of both

India

's art and its artists could be irrevocably undermined.

Contemporary International Artists and Art Works

The art world’s in action, Art Market,Savvy dealers, Power players, player stealers.No more need to put out feelers

Art Market and its Ten of World's most expensive paintings

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer ($135,000,000)

Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur ($106, 500,00)

Garçon à la Pipe ($104,100,000)

Dora Maar with Cat ($95,200,000)

Portrait of Dr. Gachet ($82,500,000)

Le Bassin Aux Nympheas ($80,451,178)

Bal Au Moulin de la Galette ($78,000,000)

Massacre of the Innocents ($76,700,000)

Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe ($71,500,000)

Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe ($71,500,000)

Marni Kotak the woman who gave birth in an art gallery!!a look at some of our favorite controversial artworks of the last century

As an alternative investment to gold, art has over years proven to be a real solid investment

This is an art market that’s definitely gotten its swagger back

The death is generally Good for Artist's Prices

Forgery, hoax and theft are the three main crimes that regularly appear on the art market.

The Gentleman Artist and Padma Shri Jehangir Sabavala is no more

Art Market trends detected in the practice of fine arts in India

Art Market: Top 10 Best Selling Lots, Top 10 Most Disappointing Lots and Top 10 Most Surprising Lots

One of the questions that surround art as an asset is how to quantify an income stream from any sort of collection

Western world have suffered from many of the same biases and prejudices that have infected analyses of Indian philosophy and culture.

Fine art is confidently viewed by financial experts as one of the best performing asset categories

While celebrating harmony in diversity, this is the miracle of love: The World Cultural Festival a review

Celebrating Diversity for a Peaceful Tomorrow, the World Culture Festival at the Olympiastadion Berlin!

M F Hussain, the legend is no more, India has lost its Picasso, and not even on its own soil

INNOCENT DIVINE, a solo show by artist Ajay Mohanty

The messengers of love may be the cloud, swan, dove, Malyani (Flower woman) or a portrait , Art Exhibition Review

The painter compares the gracefulness and the aesthetics with the feministic attitude of the comtemporary women

Contemporary Classics by Baladev Maharatha from 22nd to 26th Dec 2010

Present-day Art Trend Colours of Orissa, An article by Kasturi Ray @ The New Indian Express

RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL PAINTING CONTEST ON ENVIRONMENT'

‎'RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL PAINTING CONTEST ON ENVIRONMENT'.Join Right now..!!!

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Celebrated Odishan Master Painter Baladev Maharatha

The objective of this workshop Renewed Intensity was to reach out to the urban mass in a meaningful manner, involving the public and their useful connect in Art

Several aspects of creative communication were discussed with regard to literature and art, Silver Jubilee celebration of B.K.Art college a Review

‘Renewed Intensity’ is an idea to bring back serious passion and attitude towards a new art form, public and site specific art.

Review: Commentary in Three Dimensions by Himali Singh Soin

Nicholas Forrest's prediction is that art investment will continue to gain credibility and new avenues to invest in art will open up

‘Elite Collectors of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art’ opens a window onto a wonderful world of passionate collectors

Dr. Manmohan Singh: Prime Minister of India @ United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen

Clearly, the Art market is on the threshold of an upswing in terms of investor confidence

If this decade in human civilization has presented us with any resonant knowledge about our world, it is that energy is culturally precious.

Indian art heritage , its rich tradition of Art and Culture

‎'RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL PAINTING CONTEST ON ENVIRONMENT'.
Join Right now..!!!