Art Scene India

6 Tips On How To Approach An Art Gallery And Find Gallery Representation

16 Feb 2018

Art Offers Hope To Artist Stricken With Cancer

Kartikey Sharma's inspirational story of living with cancer and finding hope and solace in his art

Rated among the best graffiti artists in India, Kartikey Sharma was directing artists to paint at Sunburn, while on the other hand, he was waiting for his next session of chemotherapy. His is a story of grit and determination, fighting last stage cancer with paints and a brush for 2 years now.

Graffiti by Kartikey Sharma, Image courtesy artist, Art Scene India

“A routine full body check-up in 2009 came as a shocker to my family and me – a tumor was detected in my chest. Soon it was found to be malignant. Luckily, the cancer was in its second stage when it is fairly treatable. I was in class 12th then. Our entire family moved to Mumbai for my treatment. I was declared fit in September 2009, I recovered and took admission in a Pune engineering college, after scoring 88 percent in STD 12 boards. I made a painting after every exam as a stress-busting activity. Although I was into art during my childhood, it never occurred to me that I could make it a career,” he narrates.

He started painting walls when he was in college, and the first big opportunity that came his way was when someone from Red Bull spotted him and commissioned him to paint a wall for them. He painted for fourteen hours straight and the sheer satisfaction that emanated when it was completed was unanticipated, almost incomparable for him. Thus began his professional journey with art.

painting by kartikey sharma, Image courtesy artist, Art Scene India

Unfortunately for him, the cancer relapsed in February 2016 and spread from his chest to all parts of his body and was diagnosed at Stage IV. “I had to immediately start my treatment and chemotherapy sessions in Mumbai. Doctors had given up on me however my father imported an expensive drug from Germany, which helped me a great deal, but it was a huge financial blow to my family. It has been 2 years since then; I have been under observation in the hospital. The cancer treatment is very painful; gradually one loses patience and the motivation to go on. I came to Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai in January and I am undergoing a bone marrow transplant after chemotherapy failed. I have seen 10 people get bone marrow transplant and 8 of them died,” he explains.

The most important factor in his life have been blood cells - the cancer and its cure both are associated with cells. "I had to go through 'stem cell transplant' in which my mother's cells were injected inside me. These cells saved my life. All my paintings are inspired by these cells. all my paintings are covered with thousands and millions of these tiny cells which together make the complete image."

In the past 2 years while undergoing treatment, he has painted over 80 works and has held a solo exhibition and participated in 2 group shows. He was also invited by TEDx GLIM Chennai to speak about his art and his journey.

“Months and months of looking at pale hospital room ceilings, excruciating pain and powerful drugs in the system is a lot that the body can take, let alone find a colorful way to coexist but I believe that your passion has to be the biggest driving force when you cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel,” he ends on an optimistic note.

You can see and also purchase more of Kartikey’s artworks here.

Write to us to know more about Kartikey’s journey and get in touch if you would like to help in any way.

Please share this article using the social media widgets at the bottom to help Kartikey raise funds for his treatment and do subscribe to receive regular updates from Art Scene India.

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6 Tips On How To Approach An Art Gallery And Find Gallery Representation

1 Feb 2018

Art News: Ode To Nature By Shirley Mathew

Ode To Nature - A Solo Exhibition By Shirley Mathew

Art News: Ode To Nature - Shirley Mathew

Conceived while sitting in front of a Buddhist temple in Bylekoppe, Coorg, Shirley Mathew's latest suite of works delve deep into the interconnectedness between nature and spirituality and translate them onto canvas. The outcome is a beautiful series that is a celebration in brilliant colours.

Shirley Mathew, a graduate in Psychology (Hons), Jesus and Mary College, Delhi, was initially interested in the nuances of drama and theatre in school and college. She has acted in plays and directed skits from a young age. All along she dabbled in art and later enrolled for intensive study in art at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in the US. She further trained in Barcelona, Spain at the Escola Llotja, the institution where Picasso studied in his early years and his father had taught. This was followed by a short residency at the Garhi Studios of Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi that was enriching as an artist. She later trained in Tuscany, Italy and learned new techniques to hone her talent that has led to another dimension in her creativity.

Shirley has represented Karnataka at the Art Fusion Show, Mumbai, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Statehood of Maharastra. A finalist in a National Art Competition, she has participated in more than 50 shows that include several solo shows in prestigious galleries of Bengaluru. She has made a presence in the genre of Abstract Expressionism and has displayed her works in 10 cities of India. Her interest to learn other art forms led to completing courses in Madhubani Painting and Basic paper making conducted by well known artists in the respective fields.

Working mostly with mixed medium, Shirley allows the subject to rule the choice of palette and techniques. Her philosophy is to touch as many lives positively with her creativity and has been conducting art awareness shows for many years in her studio. Shirley has conducted workshops for underprivileged children to raise funds and with professionals in the corporate world to introduce art as therapy.

Her works are in the collection of private homes and Corporate Houses in India, Bahrain, Singapore, USA, Australia, UK and France. She lives and works in Bengaluru.

Exhibition continues till 28th Feb, 2018 at Sublime Galleria, Bangalore

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23 Jan 2018

Art News: OPEN CALL: apexart International Open Call 2018-19

OPEN CALL: apexart International Open Call 2018-19

From February 1 - March 1, 2018 apexart is accepting proposals for its International Open Call for exhibitions. Three winning proposals will be presented as part of apexart’s 2018-19 exhibition season, and can take place anywhere in the world, except for New York City. Curators, artists, writers, and creative individuals, regardless of experience level or location, are invited to submit proposals online.

• The Submission Process: Proposals should describe focused, idea-driven, original group exhibitions. No biographical information, CVs, links, or images may be included within the application - just describe the exhibition you want to create and why. Submissions cannot exceed 500 words and must be submitted in English, and submitters must have visited the proposed exhibition location previously. This year’s submission form also requires the listing of three potential artists, though this list will not be reviewed by the jury. Proposals are judged only by their content and the organizer’s ability to communicate, rather than by familiar names or past accomplishments.

Illegal Kosmonavtika (Installation view), an apexart Open Call exhibition organized by Magda Guruli and Mariam Natroshvili in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2017.

• The Selection Process: An international jury, composed of more than 150 individuals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, rates the proposals. Rather than convene a small panel to review hundreds of ideas, apexart’s crowd-sourced voting system allows many jurors to individually review a subset of proposals. Submissions are made anonymous and randomized for juror review, and apexart does not influence the results of the jury. The organizers of the three highest-ranked proposals each receive an honorarium and funding for the selected exhibition proposal, and work closely with the apexart team to turn their idea into an apexart exhibition.

To submit an exhibition proposal, visit apexart.org/opencalls.php by March 1, 2018.

Proposals will be accepted from February 1 - March 1, 2018.

To learn more about how to submit your 500-word exhibition proposal, visit apexart.org/opencalls.php

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13 Dec 2017

Art News: Noted painter Nilima Sheikh becomes first artist to be selected for Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Noted painter Nilima Sheikh becomes first artist to be selected for Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Kochi, Dec 12: Versatile and provocative painter Nilima Sheikh, whose illustrious body of

Nilima Sheikh, the first artist who got the curator's nod for the fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale which begins on December 12, 2018, Art Scene India

works is a scorching portrayal of the turmoil in Kashmir valley and a mystical depiction of women-centric issues, has become the first artist to get the curator’s nod for the fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), which begins exactly a year later -- December 12, 2018.

Anita Dube, the curator of the upcoming KMB that is hosted by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), announced Sheikh’s name today, formally setting in motion the process of selection of her artists for the high-profile contemporary art event that has redefined the cultural landscape in Kerala and India.

During her over five-decade career, the 72-year-old Vadodara-based painter has produced an incredibly magnificent oeuvre, wielding her brush to make an intense depiction of subjects, with particular emphasis on Kashmir, Partition and displacement. Her strength also lies in the portrayal of grimness of contemporary life like oppressive patriarchy and the silent suffering of women that crack social fabric and she does it through use of traditional idioms and motifs.

A historian by training before she focused her attention on the canvas, Sheikh delved into the history of Kashmir, and believes that the valley’s turmoil “is owing to our lack of understanding (of the place and people there) as Indians…The artist’s role is to bear witness - to both the past and present.”

“The tender compassion in the paintings of Nilima Sheikh, in their quiet grandeur, aligns the feminine with the mystic and subversive strains in our tradition. She is a voice we must listen to, especially in these violent troubled times,” said Anita Dube.

Hailing the selection of Sheikh, KBF President Bose Krishnamanchari said, “The Kochi Biennale Foundation is thrilled that we are able to make this announcement on 12/12/17, exactly a year to the day the next edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will start. Curator Anita Dube's intentions and ideas for KMB 2018 are reflected in Nilima Sheikh, the first artist she's presenting of the lineup. I can see in her choice reflections of the socially and politically sensitive aesthetics that Anita would bring to KMB-2018.”

Heavily inspired by the literary works of Rabindranath Tagore, Sheikh became interested at an early age in the connection between stories and images, between murals and ancient manuscripts. Beyond appropriating traditional techniques in her paintings, she works with figure and narration in her practice, which has famously translated into theatre sets such as Umrao as well as children’s books.

Her works are rooted in Eastern painting traditions such as miniature painting and oral traditions of vernacular folk songs. For her paintings, she drew inspiration from artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose and K G Subramanyan. Through her own life experiences, Sheikh continues to create bodies of work that evoke mystical imaginary landscapes that address feminine experiences.

Her most recent work, titled Terrain: Carrying Across, Leaving Behind, was produced for Documenta 14, a leading global exhibition held in Kassel (Germany) every five years.

The artist also includes song and poetry as a performative mode of public address, echoing the 14^th century female mystic Lal Dĕd of Kashmir (translated by Ranjit Hoskote), along with references to texts from several writers who have written about Kashmir such as Aga Shahid Ali and Salman Rushdie.

About Kochi Biennale Foundation

The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), founded in 2010 by prominent artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, hosts the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), which made its debut in 2012. A non-profit charitable trust engaged in promoting art and culture and educational activities in India, it works round the year to strengthen contemporary art infrastructure and to broaden public access to art across the country. These programmes include talks, conferences, performances, educational initiatives, workshops and other forms of wide public engagement.

The KBF is also engaged in the conservation of heritage properties and monuments and the upliftment of traditional forms of art and culture.

A biennial exhibition on the best of contemporary international art, the KMB has shaped up as a seminal event in the realm of art and culture. The 108-day-long third edition of the biennale (12 December 2016-29 March 2017), held at 12 sites, showcased installations of 97 artists from 31 countries and drew over six lakh visitors.

Prominent artist Anita Dube is the curator for the fourth edition of the KMB, beginning December 12, 2018. Her selection by the KBF was in keeping with the Biennale’s long-standing tradition of being an artist-led exhibition. Based out of the National Capital Region, she is renowned for her conceptually rich, politically charged works. An art historian and critic by training and a visual artist in practice, she has been widely exhibited across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including at the first edition of the KMB in 2012.

*press release

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