Art Scene India

4 Feb 2020

Interplay of Visual Contrasts

Juxtaposed by Vaman Pai and Gomathi Suresh at Gallery Manora

Painting by Vaman Pai

The ongoing exhibition of paintings by Vaman Pai and ceramics by Gomathi Suresh at Gallery Manora, explore abstract imagery through two diverse visual mediums. The show is curated by Giridhar Khasnis, who writes, “Involved in different mediums, they create works that are not fixed on any particular notion or theme but imagery that is free and open to interpretation. Silent yet evocative, their abstract constructs and formations are coloured with introspective tones and designs.”

Vaman is a Bangalore-based painter and sculptor, who is essentially self-taught. G S Shenoy, the late senior artist known for his abstracted landscapes had a large influence on his artistic vocabulary. Vaman has been painting landscapes for several years and in this series, his works display a natural fluidity and eloquence. There is an evident spontaneity in the rendering and an inclination to capture subtle atmospheric nuances. Inspired by nature, and the colour and vastness of the sky, he has employed a predominantly blue and white palette, experimenting adroitly with gentle patterns and textures.

Ceramic by Gomathi Suresh

Gomathi Suresh is a Sydney-based ceramist and art promoter, who has exhibited her works in several group shows and at the Ceramic Art School, Tafe Sydney where she completed her 2-year diploma in ceramic art. She is currently pursuing a 2-year advanced diploma in ceramic art.

In this series, which has been produced in response to Vaman’s paintings, her concern for environment, climate change and ecological sustainability form the underlying subtext. She explains, “My body of work for this exhibition is an immediate and gestural response to the painterly abstraction of Vaman Pai's works whilst maintaining the unique nature of my own making, use of surface treatment and three dimensionalities.” Her works often reference land forms and memories of landscapes from her travels around the world.

Gallery view of Juxtaposed by Vaman Pai and Gomathi Suresh at Gallery Manora

Adopting multiple techniques, ranging from the traditional to the more experimental, Gomathi has played with glazes and firing processes to achieve textures, patterns and compelling visual effects that emphasize colours and surface expanses. She says, “l have ﬁred my works several times to achieve painterly, layered atmospheric depths, closely akin to watercolor effects on textured paper; deliberately exposing the marks of my making, just as a painter would with his brush strokes, creating abstract surfaces evoking perhaps the warmth of a sunrise, the mystery of a dark starry night, the glow of sunsets and or an icy bare landscape.”

The commonalities and contrasts explored in the exhibition form an interesting interplay of visual coherence through pluralities of materials and mediums, and artistic viewpoints.

The exhibition continues till Feb 20, 2020 at Gallery Manora

Gallery Manora

55,100 Ft Road Off,9th A Main, Indiranagar-1st Stage, Bengaluru 560038, INDIA.
www.gallerymanora.com

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All images are courtesy the gallery

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28 Jan 2020

Art News: India Art Fair 2020

All Roads Lead To Delhi For The India Art Fair

The India Art fair 2020 combines cutting-edge contemporary visual art with modern masters, vernacular artistic traditions, and an expanded performance and talks programme

Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei, Martin

Cast iron, 230.5 x 352 x 238 cm / 90 3/4 x 138 1/2 x 93 5/8 in. © Ai Weiwei Courtesy of Lisson Gallery

and neugerremschneider Berlin

The India Art Fair previews on 30th January in New Delhi with 81 exhibitors spanning 20 different global cities. In its 12th edition, the fair has evolved into a significant exhibition of modern and contemporary art in the country, combining cutting-edge contemporary visual art with modern masters, vernacular artistic traditions, and an expanded performance and talks programme.

Fair Director Jagdip Jagpal elaborates, “The fair’s programme draws together galleries and artists, private foundations and arts charities, artists’ collectives, national institutions, cultural events and festivals. This enables international audiences to engage in innovative ways with the cultural history and development of the region. Each year, we introduce new elements to the fair that invite and interest audiences of all ages and backgrounds.”

B.Prabha. Fisherwoman 1979. Courtesy of Dhoomimal Gallery

The IAF Selection committee evaluates applications and makes selections based on quality of proposals. Jagpal explains, “2020 will see a diversity of international blue chips, with Indian galleries still in the majority – a defined 70% India, 30% international split – with international galleries showing works not previously shown to Indian audiences. IAF is committed to work closely with galleries to develop India Art Fair’s on-site experience, ensuring the fair is the first place to see and discover artists from the region."

The idea is to develop a stronger and expanded public programme, to create a truly distinct cultural experience that reflects and is inspired by India’s cultural heritage, and constantly - developing modern-day identity. And, continue to place the artist’s voice at the centre of the programme.

Olafur Eliasson. Dew Reflector 2019. Partially silvered glass spheres paint black yellow stainless steel ©Studio Olafur Eliasson. Courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider Berlin

In this edition, new entrants include Art Explore, Arts of the Earth, Gallery White, Pichvai Tradition & Beyond from India and 4 new international participants - Saskia Fernando Gallery (Colombo), Gallery Tableau (Seoul), PSM (Berlin), Marc Straus (New York).

BMW Group India continues its association with the IAF and will showcase the BMW Art Car by Andy Warhol – one of the nineteen prominent artists from across the world to have created Art Cars using contemporary BMW automobiles of their times, all offering a wide range of artistic interpretations. This will be complimented by The Warhol Talk.

Andy Warhol's BMW Art Car, 1979. Courtesy of BMW Group India

The Performance Art Programme has been successful in bringing new audiences, and this year will present a strong line-up of leading artists including -Maya Krishna Rao, national-award winning theatre performer and social activist; Lagos based multimedia artist Jelili Atiku whose works address political concerns for human rights and justice; multi-disciplinary artist Piyali Ghosh following from her recent exhibition at the Venice Biennale; and Raisa Kabir, an interdisciplinary artist exploring the politics and cultural anxieties around globalised neo-colonial textile production and nationhood.

Priyantha Udagedara Orientalism XII 2019 Mixed Media on Canvas 122cm x 183cm Courtesy of Saskia Fernando Gallery

6 large-scale installations by high profile Indian and international artists will be showcased as Outdoor Art Projects and will include pieces by Anita Dube, Farah Mulla, Martin Parr, Rathin Burman, Sameer Kulavoor and Vijay Pichumani.

Idris Khan. The Old Tune 2019. Digital C print mounted on aluminium.

Courtesy of Galerie Isa

Jagpal reiterates, “India has some of the world’s strongest curatorial exhibitions, whether it is Kochi Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival or Chennai Photo Biennale, which have a significant profile internationally, especially within the arts scene. While issues relating to display and curation may be similar, the challenges of organising a 4-day exhibition across a 12,000 square meter venue are unique. The biggest challenge, however, is to build and de-install temporary exhibition tents in order to give our exhibitors and visitors the best possible on-site experience.”

The fair ensures accessibility for all and will include tactile artworks, braille signages and fair guides, offering personalised accessibility tours for visitors.

India Art Fair: NSIC Grounds, Delhi, India Fair Dates: 31 January – 2 February 2020 Preview: Thursday 30 January 2020

All images courtesy India Art Fair

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23 Jan 2020

Art News: apexart International Open Call 2020-21

apexart International Open Call 2020-21

Accepting proposals: February 1 - March 1, 2020

apexart will accept proposals for its International Open Call from February 1 - March 1, 2020. Four winning proposals will become apexart exhibitions presented in selected locations around the world as part of its 2020-21 exhibition season. Curators, artists, writers, and creative individuals, regardless of location, or past experience are invited to submit a proposal online.

apexart International Open Call 2020-21

The submission process

Proposals of up to 500 words should describe focused, idea-driven, original group exhibitions, and the country and city in which they are to take place. No biographical information, CVs, links, or images will be accepted and submissions must be submitted in English. Jurors rate anonymous proposals based on the idea only. See examples of winning proposals here.

The selection process

Rather than convene a small local panel to review hundreds of ideas, apexart’s crowd-sourced voting system allows hundreds of international jurors to review proposals on their own schedule. An crowd-sourced jury composed of more than 350 individuals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds—as well as many participating university classes—will jury the proposals. Proposals are anonymous and randomized to make sure each submission receives the same consideration. apexart staff do not influence the results of the jury in any way.

The results

The four winning proposals will each receive an exhibition budget of up to $11,000; have an exhibition brochure printed and mailed to over seven thousand international recipients; advertising in major and local outlets; and will be part of apexart’s 2020-2021 exhibition season. Working closely with the apexart team, curators will realize their original ideas into apexart exhibitions. Exhibition curators are challenged, encouraged, and required to work within the funding provided to transform their winning proposals into small, focused, noteworthy exhibitions.

To submit an exhibition proposal, visit https://apexart.org/opencalls.html between February 1 and March 1, 2020.

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21 Jan 2020

Art News: Juxtaposed by Vaman Pai and Gomathi Suresh

G A L L E R Y M A N O R A

J u x t a p o s e d

V A M A N P A I / G O M A T H I S U R E S H

C U R A T E D B Y G I R I D H A R K H A S N I S

January 23 to February 20, 2020

GALLERY MANORA presents Juxtaposed, a two-person exhibition featuring a series of new paintings by Vaman Pai and recent ceramics by Gomathi Suresh. The show opens on Jan 23 (Thursday) and runs through Feb 20.

Juxtaposed by Gomathi Suresh at Gallery Manora, Art Scene India

For both Vaman and Gomathi, creation of art is intrinsically linked with intuition, imagination as well as life experiences. Involved in different mediums, they create works that are not fixed on any particular notion or theme but imagery that is free and open to interpretation. Silent yet evocative, their abstract constructs and formations are coloured with introspective tones and designs. Their common interest in grasping contrasting and complementary views of nature and human feelings manifest in their work. At a particular level, their works seem like mindscapes searching for an unknown idiom and ineffable beauty.

Vaman’s dynamic work with free flowing forms and multi-coloured smatterings exposes his creative energy, fertile imagination and fearless approach to art making. Connecting the tangible with the abstract, his paintings seem to find life both in the fluctuating moods of vibrant spaces as well as the mysterious layers of darkness.

Gomathi’s ceramics with meandering shapes and gentle curves reveal a slow and studied process along with a personal and poetic handling of the delicate material. For this body of work, she has used organic hand-built and thrown forms in heavily grogged stoneware clay. One can see how by treating the surface of layered underglazes using multiple firing techniques, she has brought in both depth and texture to her intriguing works.

What appears central to both the artists is the natural response to the chosen mediums. There is also a craving to be part of the ‘give-and-take’ interplay of forms, ideas and actions. Most of all, it is interesting to see how the artists have inspired each other even while keeping their practices independent and non-intrusive on each other.

Juxtaposed opens on Jan 23 and runs through Feb 20, 2020 at Gallery Manora

Gallery Manora

55,100 Ft Road Off,9th A Main, Indiranagar-1st Stage, Bengaluru 560038, INDIA.
www.gallerymanora.com

*Excerpt from the press release
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All images are courtesy the gallery

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7 Jan 2020

A Journey Into The Past

Nostalgia in Stone

Manjunath Wali’s recent series of paintings depicts landscapes around prominent heritage sites, primarily those located in and around Karnataka, capturing their essence. He brings alive these landscapes that have withstood the passage of time, imprinted with narratives from a distant past.

All works in this series have been rendered plein air, on site, in an effort to represent the ephemeral atmosphere, the changes in light and colour, and effects of light and shadow prevailing at the place. The vulnerability of the monuments and the locations are evident in the rendering; the onsite painting emphasizing the immediacy and transient nature of the event and locale.

The artist’s hometown Vijayapura, and Gadag, where he studied art, are important historical places with several specimens of Chalukya and other significant articulations in close proximity, which kindled Wali’s interest in history and architecture. Combined with his artistic sensibilities, these have formed a recurrent muse for him. Wali’s fascination with these locales has resulted in repeated visits to Hampi which have materialised in this body of work and form a large part of it.

‘Nostalgia in Stone’ captures the paradoxes associated with the sites - the fragility and notions of (im)permanence of the monuments constructed in stone, and the associations with culture and heritage as tangible artefacts. Wali adopts a naturalistic approach, with a focal point, and illusion of details in the foreground, allowing the backdrop to diffuse and recede into the distance.

The soft, sentimentalized atmosphere and the play of light form a sharp contrast to the stone monuments that heighten their frailty and vulnerability. The numerous surviving ruins of Badami, Hampi and neighbouring areas - the Agastya lake, Hemakuta hill, Virupaksha temple, the watch towers, Lotus Mahal and the famous Garuda Shrine are some of the historical landmarks depicted in the paintings.

The morning light, the glorious sunsets and the afternoon shadows frolic amidst the ruins to render an enchanted image, recapturing some of the lost grandeur of the place. The sparkling pools of reflection from the water bodies, dazzling temple gopurams in the sunlight, the view from the watch towers, the glorious Garuda Shrine in the form of a chariot in the Vittala Temple complex that appears to be monolithic, offer glimpses of a magical past.

Wali’s body of work, a visual artistic documentation, is a significant attempt to emphasize concerted efforts required for conservation and preservation of heritage*.

*Excerpt from the catalogue text by Nalini S Malaviya

‘Nostalgia in Stone’ is on at Reves Art Gallery, Bangalore till 12th Jan 2020

All images are courtesy the artist

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