Category: Arts & Culture

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Artistic Fusion of Myth and Reality

This interactive shadow puppet installation celebrates the rich tradition and invites audiences to explore the mythical world of Jinn characters through storytelling…reports Asian Lite News

Threshold Gallery in the Capital is showcasing ‘Immortal Tales, Fantastical Fables,’ a solo exhibition by Debjani Bhardwaj till April 18.

Drawing inspiration from the animal characters of the Panchatantra and the mythical human-animal hybrids found in Arabian folklore, this exhibition brings to life creatures that possess the power of human speech and thought. These beings partake in dark plots and vengeful acts akin to humans, while also mirroring the inherent traits of their animal counterparts in nature.

The exhibition portrays foxes as embodiments of slyness, deer as symbols of beauty, innocence, and vulnerability, and crocodiles as hidden dangers in seemingly peaceful environments.

The artist creates fantasy worlds that evoke curiosity, imagination, and wonder from her audience as they look into these small windows containing three-dimensional stories. Her miniature tunnel books based on scenes from the Panchatantra tales depict stories that are rich with vivid imagery and moral lessons that bring the timeless stories of the Panchatantra to life in an immersive format.

She also brings Arabian folklore to life in an interactive format which serves as a window into a magical world of perspective and illusion, inviting viewers to embark on a journey of discovery and imagination.

The viewers will be able to watch a shadow puppet film that celebrates the harmony between humans, animals, and the natural world, inspired by the ancient practice of animal-centric yoga asanas.

This interactive shadow puppet installation celebrates the rich tradition and invites audiences to explore the mythical world of Jinn characters through storytelling.

Debjani’s chosen materials, whether paper, clay or glass domes, are treated as mortal entities with their intentions and limitations, adding a delicate balance of control and chance to her artistic process. The fragility and intricacy of her work evoke both tenderness and unease, drawing viewers in with their beauty while subtly unsettling them, akin to a dream from which one cannot awaken.

She invites viewers into intimate spaces to engage in playful exploration, prompting a sense of discomfort that lingers, inviting deeper reflection on the narratives and realities she presents and seeks to make them question the world around them.

“This exhibition helped me delve into wise, pithy and ancient tales and taught me some essential life lessons. Each story unravels into several more, they are nested inside one another like Matryoshka dolls. Precisely why I have used layered tunnel books to explore them,” said Bhardwaj.

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Step Into a World of Allegory and Fantasy

The artist’s concerns are not confined merely to those that meet the eye, but also those that remain hidden — that take place in the home, in the interior of the mind…reports Asian Lite News

Through nuanced paintings that use allegory, magic realism, mythology, and fantasy — the show ‘Within, Without’ is Ranjan Kaul’s expression of what he views as a discordant, chaotic and disrupted world.

The works that will be exhibited here at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre, from March 27 to 31 are reflections on the complexities of contemporary society inured to realities into complacency by altogether new technology-based media narratives.

Among the focus areas of his work include the condition of women and children, self-interest, and the plight of the oppressed and marginalized.

The artist’s concerns are not confined merely to those that meet the eye, but also those that remain hidden — that take place in the home, in the interior of the mind.

Rather than creating a mood of despondency and despair, the works give a glimpse of hope and harmony, of a world with love and romance, music and dance. Rather than depict his serious thematic as realistic reportage, the artist often enlivens his work with a quirky, satirical skylarking, oftentimes using hybrid, chimeric creatures.

After March 31, the exhibition will continue at Urban Fringe – the underground studio at Okhla Phase 1 from April 12 to 22.

A dominant theme in the show is the predicament of women, particularly those belonging to the oppressed groups, given their lack of choice and autonomy and absence of agency. While the paintings depict their onerous social circumstances, they do at the same time offer a glimmer of hope, portraying as they do their strength, resilience, and resolve.

The artist’s ‘Disrupted’ series expresses the trauma that women as well as men go through, faced with the strains of living in a harsh and at times antagonist society that is often unaccepting of the choices they make.

Some of the paintings weave narratives around the wider socio-cultural landscape — these include a series of five paintings loosely inspired by Shelley’s poem, ‘Masque of Anarchy’, wherein the poetic imagery is juxtaposed with imagined scenes from current times.

Another two satirical works depict the growing obsession with the self, of makeovers, body-shaping and selfies, while another is a tongue-in-cheek image of a cocktail party.

“The primary focus of this show is to give imaginative articulation to what I believe are the disruptive and disquieting conditions we are living in. I use a range of devices and visual languages – from mythology and literary references to flora symbolism and human-animal hybrid characters,” says Kaul.

He further adds, “I have explored a variety of styles, treatments, and choices of the medium in consonance with my shifting thematic — from heavy, textured layers of acrylic using the palette knife, watercolour, mixed media, to working with thick brushstrokes using oil. I find sticking to a particular style or theme rather constricting, and thus remain free from conservative constraints that can inhibit an artist from innovating, discovering, learning.”

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‘Electric Floral Fantasy’: A Surreal Fusion of Natural and Synthetic

With her abstract photographic compositions that are created by employing a range of image production techniques, she creates a dialogue between the natural and the unnatural, immersing the viewer in the details of its elements…reports Asian Lite News

Method Kala Ghoda will present ‘Electric Floral Fantasy’, Eeshani Mitra’s solo exhibition (till April 7) at Method – Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, where Mitra lives and works. This new body of work includes a series of printed photographic installations, video installations and wax works.

The exhibition continues Eeshani’s exploration of natural and synthetic materials, giving rise to works where the foreign and the familiar collide.

With her abstract photographic compositions that are created by employing a range of image production techniques, she creates a dialogue between the natural and the unnatural, immersing the viewer in the details of its elements.

Extending beyond traditional narratives and formats, the body of work is a window to a surreal world, which is scanned and sometimes moulded in wax by the artist. Interested in the physical interaction of the viewer and the work, Eeshani’s wax-works invite the viewers to touch and investigate the surface of her immersion experiments. Textures emerge, as the nooks and grooves that tend to go amiss, show themselves amongst the space occupied in the wax by floral articles, nylon, paints, plastic, moss and other organic materials.

Eeshani finds inspiration in an emulsive blend of organic and inorganic materials. Her work starts with elements that intrigue her. She observes and understands how the pieces come together, creating textures and patterns each unique to the blend, resulting in compositions that are surreal and dreamlike.

The artist experiments with a range of drying and blending techniques with the materials while at the same time, preserving a balance of elements in her compositions. The textures created in her images are a result of playing with different viscous mediums such as oils, glycerin, detergent, colours, and water. These mediums are placed in a flat-bottomed glass container, where she mixes each synthetic element independently in steps to discern the formation of textures slowly before adding organic materials such as flowers, leaves, and moss.

For her images, she makes use of a large format scanner, capturing the highly detailed textures and minutia of her emulsions. Aside from using glass containers for holding the mediums while scanning, Eeshani often drains out the remaining liquids and transfers them between plastic sheets. These sheets are then carefully placed over the scanner glass and manipulated by hand while the machine begins to scan the ever-changing shapes created by these distortions.

Through multiple attempts by the scanner to create imaging of the fluid compositions, the artist finds and enhances the parts that speak to her.

To make the wax sculptures, Eeshani begins by melting natural wax in a deep container placed over a hot water bath. Gradually, she adds colours and selects various elements such as preserved floral articles, acrylic, and plastic colour gels. She frequently integrates pieces of moss such as preserved reindeer lichens, which are meticulously positioned inside a square silicone mold. Subsequently, she pours the molten wax over them and adds additional layers of elements on top.

Once the sculpture is prepared and repoured for vibrancy, the mold is set aside to prevent dust accumulation during the curing process. It remains undisturbed for a day before being removed from the mold.

A visual artist and zine maker, her work spans various media, including photography, video installation, sound, print and sculpture. By employing a range of image production techniques, she juxtaposes common objects—floral articles, linen, wax, vinyl, and other synthetic materials—to create vivid imagery where the foreign and the familiar seem to collide. Eeshani lives and works between Kolkata and Mumbai.

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Chandigarh’s First CIFF: A New Era for Regional Cinema

Talk to her about the challenges synonymous with the debut edition of any major film festival, and she opines that most existing ones already have an audience while they will need to “build” one…reports Sukant Deepak

 Even as Chandigarh gets set to host its first-ever international film festival, Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF), its Artistic Director, Beena Paul is optimistic that the event, besides introducing the audiences to some of the best in Indian and world cinema, will give a major push to filmmaking in the region — Punjabi, Haryanvi and Pahari.

“This is considering that CIFF Market will be bringing together filmmakers who need funds with potential producers. There will be masterclasses, producer meets and platforms to understand the Indian cinema market,” she tells.

A pass-out of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Beena Paul, a major film editor is the recipient of two National Film Awards and three Kerala State Film Awards. Besides, she has held several positions including the artistic director of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and the vice chairperson of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

Stressing that Chandigarh was chosen after much deliberation considering its strategic location, she adds, “The urban towns in India are the ones that are growing, and one can witness a hunger for cutting-edge events there. We wanted to find a place slightly ‘more’ than Delhi, Mumbai and Goa.”

Talk to her about the challenges synonymous with the debut edition of any major film festival, and she opines that most existing ones already have an audience while they will need to “build” one.

“So, we are showing films that are interesting and accessible and not full-blown art- house. The curation aims to make the viewer more curious.”

Stressing that film festivals are always instrumental in giving a push to new filmmakers who want to tell stories differently, she cites the example of Malayalam cinema.

“I give immense credit to the IFFK, which exposed young filmmakers to movies that were not Bollywood or Hollywood. Young filmmakers realised that a film could be treated in several diverse ways, and that it was perfectly alright to follow one’s peculiar vision,” says Beena Paul, who apart from editing over 50 documentaries and feature films has also directed four documentaries.

For someone who was instrumental in shaping IFFK right from its inception and was its Artistic Director for more than two decades, not to mention the head of programmes at the International Film Festival of India for three years and curating its 50th edition in Goa, smiles, “Yes, building IFFK was tough and there were many challenges. But I look back at it with wonder as we had so much courage.”

In February 2017, Beena Paul co-founded the Women in Cinema Collective, India’s first association that aims to work towards equal opportunity and dignity of women employees in the film industry.

She says before that there was no thought about how women would fend in the industry.

“Individually, we all have suffered and put up good fights, but yes this collective has been good for women working in the industry,” she feels.

While OTT platforms may have introduced everyone to different cinemas of India, she feels most platforms are uncurated.

“Suppose I want to see the works of a particular director… Mubi is an exception.”

As she gets set to bring 85 films from across the country and the world to Chandigarh, she stresses, “We have paid special attention to the Children’s section, and it is completely different from what they see on television. I feel it is extremely important that they are exposed to good cinema from a young age.”

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Art Alive Gallery Presents ‘Contours of Continuum

The ethereal compositions transport us to an endless and fluid landscape where we are invited to lose ourselves in contemplation…reports Asian Lite News

Art Alive Gallery in the capital is set to present ‘Contours of Continuum’, a solo show exhibiting paintings by Mumbai-based Yashwant Deshmukh from March 15 to April 5. Deshmukh is a contemporary Indian artist known for his contemplative style depicting the lack of movement or the stillness of space.

His abstract and meditative style heavily relies on symbolism and functions as a bridge between the material and the spiritual. At his latest exhibition in Art Alive, the artist invites viewers into a world of otherworldly serenity. In this realm, the boundaries between form and space dissolve, and objects take on a mystical significance as conduits for metaphysical exploration.

The ethereal compositions transport us to an endless and fluid landscape where we are invited to lose ourselves in contemplation.

Through his use of colours, textures, and arrangement, Deshmukh delves into the intricate relationship between memory, perception, and intuition, provoking the viewer to reflect on the very essence of existence. He captures the delicate nuances of life and evokes a commanding presence that impels viewers to immerse themselves in the alluring harmony of ordinary moments.

Everyday objects become the lead actors in a tranquil dance, melding their outlines with the boundless void of negative space. Every stroke of the brush is a meditation, every coat of paint a hushed secret, as Deshmukh unravels the enigma of stillness.

The artist shared: “In my work over the last two decades, I have explored the interrelation between form and space. My visual language constitutes a deeply layered palette composed of objects that are often considered mundane, rendered in speculative forms that capture their visual patterns, ambience and atmosphere. I am excited to show these works in the Capital.”

Premjish Achari, the curator added: “Through his use of colours and intricate textures, Deshmukh infuses his pieces with a palpable sense of energy and vitality. The objects in his paintings seem almost alive, their contours pulsating with movement and emotion. With an impeccable eye for detail, he captures the subtle nuances of everyday life and elevates them to a place of profound significance. It is as if every object holds within it the potential to unravel the mysteries of reality, woven together by the ether itself. Each piece serves as a powerful reminder that even amid the chaos, there exists a serene stillness that can be found by simply pausing and appreciating the world around us.”

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Colourful musical encourages us to be proud of who we are

 ‘Bhangra Nation explores how we see ourselves and how we view others’

Bhangra Nation is an uplifting, moving and funny new musical about friendship, family, rivalry and identity, brought to life with boundless energy and joy, incredible dance moves and a truly bhangin’ soundtrack. Originally called Bhangin’ It, this musical was premiered in San Diego in 2022.

As the Uni Bhangra dance team wait nervously backstage to find out if they’ve made it to Nationals, the real showdown has already begun as team mates Preeti and Mary clash over what Bhangra really means to them. Whilst Preeti, who is 100% South Asian, believes that the team needs to stick to tradition, Mary, who is bi-racial, is passionate about shaking things up to belong to today.

Stafford Arima (Director) and Rujuta Vaidya (Choreographer). Credit Craig Sugden

When a huge row changes the team forever, students Mary and Preeti start on journeys of discovery into what they stand for and who they want to be.

By focusing on the two students and their different ideals of dance, Bhangra Nation explores how we see ourselves and how we view others.

At the core of this approximately 150-minute musical is a story about how you fit in, according to its Director, Stafford Arima. “I think, no matter if you are British, South Asian, Canadian or whatever, we all struggle on so many levels on how to fit into the world these days,” he added. Asked what excites him about this musical, “that we’re pulling from the community of Birmingham but also introducing to the community of Birmingham new faces and new voices. We’re making it a big kind of soup of different ingredients from different places.”

A house-full audience reflecting multicultural Birmingham, attendees included director Stafford Arima, media representatives including Indy Deol, Satnam Rana, Amit Roy and Boy Chana, relatives of the cast and TV personality Dr Ranj. At the end, the audience took to their feet to applaud the fabulous cast. After the show, VIP guests were treated to drinks and food, the latter provided by Dishoom. Hats off to The REP’s Communications Team, including Aaliyah Collins, Samantha Lyster as well as Nada Zakula.

Local lad’s dream role

For 22-year-old Ajay Sahota, pictured, this is his first time on a professional stage. Ajay, from Great Barr in Birmingham, plays student Gobind. He had never dreamed he would be on stage at The REP, and is enjoying the experience. “I’ve only done amateur musicals at university and at school but I’ve always loved musical theatre and this show is a combination of dancing, singing and the cultural part of being a South Asian in the UK. It’s the perfect opportunity,”

Ajay Sahota

Parambeer Samrai is a bhangra consultant from Walsall. “This show is fostering an understanding of cultural appreciation whether you’re South Asian, black or white,” says Parambeer. “We’re creating a memorable performance for all ages and we want this show to be accessible to anybody and everybody. Bhangra is a super cool dance and music tradition that lots of people in Birmingham enjoy but it’s not just about dancing. It’s about bringing people together and having fun.”

Bhangra Nation runs at Birmingham REP until 16 March. Receive one free teen (aged 13-19) ticket when you book a full priced ticket for a Mon to Thu performance.

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Arts & Culture India News

24 Writers Honoured With Sahitya Akademi Award

The diversity of languages and cultures was highlighted through the array of winners….reports Asian Lite News

Twenty-four distinguished writers were honoured with the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 2023, a momentous occasion coinciding with the 70th anniversary celebrations of the National Academy of Letters at the ‘Sahityotsav’. The awards recognized literary excellence across various genres, including poetry, novels, short stories, essays, and literary studies. Among the recipients, English author Neelum Saran Gaur was acknowledged for her book “Requiem in Raga Janki,” while Hindi novelist Sanjeev received accolades for his novel “Mujhe Pehchaano.”

The diversity of languages and cultures was highlighted through the array of winners. Sadiqua Nawab Saher’s “Rajdev Ki Amrai” in Urdu and Swarnjit Savi’s “Mann Di Chip” in Punjabi stood out, alongside other notable works in Dogri, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Manipuri, Odia, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, and Sindhi.

Further recognition was extended to outstanding novels by authors such as Swapnamay Chakrabarti (Bengali), Krushnat Khot (Marathi), and Rajasekaran Devibharathi (Tamil). Short story collections were also honoured, representing languages like Assamese, Bodo, Konkani, Santali, and Telugu. Essays in Kannada, Maithili, and Nepali, as well as a literary study in Malayalam, added depth to the diverse literary landscape.

Addressing the gathering, Jnanpith awardee Pratibha Ray emphasized the significance of language and literature in preserving culture and fostering unity. Sahitya Akademi president Madhav Kaushik praised writers for their role in representing the human experience and amplifying the voices of the marginalized.

The selection process for the awards involved rigorous evaluation by jurors or through majority voting. Eligible works were those published within the five years leading up to the award year, underscoring contemporary literary contributions.

Each recipient was honoured with a symbolic casket containing an engraved copper plaque, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. The ceremony served as a testament to the enduring power of literature in shaping societies and bridging cultural divides, reaffirming its universal relevance amidst changing times.

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Katie Kitamura Wraps Up Another Book, Reflects on Creative Process

‘A Separation’ is about a young woman, who has agreed with her husband that it is time for them to separate. As she begins her new life, he goes missing and she reluctantly agrees to go and search for him…writes Sukant Deepak

The conversation starts with her book ‘A Separation’, and the fact that unloving can be such a tragedy for the person who stops being tender, making him/her completely empty. Well-known American author, journalist, and art critic Katie Kitamura replies that starting the book, she thought it was about the end of marriage.

“However as I finished writing it, there was a realisation that it was about grief, and in many ways death. I was interested in a character who was initially playing the part of a grieving widow and then it lead to a a space in between the face and mask, and more than the wife, it is the widow’s identity…”

‘A Separation’ is about a young woman, who has agreed with her husband that it is time for them to separate. As she begins her new life, he goes missing and she reluctantly agrees to go and search for him. She is not even sure if she wants to find him. Adrift in the wild landscape, she traces the disintegration of their relationship, and discovers she understands less than she thought about the man she used to love.

In her last, ‘intimacies’, a woman is caught between many truths. An interpreter at the International Court. She gets pulled into an explosive political controversy when she’s asked to interpret for a former president, accused of war crimes. A woman of quiet passion, she confronts power, love, and violence, both in her personal intimacies and in her work at the Court.

“The guilt of the person can be carried out by another person — it’s how when people feel something for you. Like professional mourners and how someone feels something for you. And it is in many cultures,” says the author.

But in today’s world, how relevant is an institution like the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ)? I think both these institutions are extremely important. Yes, they are flawed in a way that institutions are but I would like them to have some moral authority.

“ICJ’s recent ruling was non-binding and I want for them to succeed. I am not the person who is cheering the demise of these institutions.”

The author, who earned a PhD in American Literature from the London Consortium, and is currently an Honorary Research Fellow, there, admits that she had to unlearn academic writing to write fiction.

“Yes. It was a long process. And even now I do feel myself slipping into it, especially jargon in fiction can sometimes be a form of deflection or concealment. One thing is clear, you can only write fiction when you feel like being exposed. I do not think I have the skills of a journalist. And I make up the rules in some way when I write fiction. There are many things that are useful for a writer and it is important one writes in ways that you are not used to.”

Japan, for Kitamura, has always held a special place. Not just because her entire family and childhood memories reside there.

“It has a lot of contradictions, even aesthetically. They perceive it as minimal but if you go down a street there, it’s cluttered and there is tension. It is not all minimal and wabi-sabi. There is a lot of pleasure in the country. Yes, my first experiences of language are there and I have not lived there, so there is a strange sense of longing for me.”

Kitamura, who earlier in her life trained as a ballerina debuted as a novelist with ‘The Longshot’, which follows a former mixed martial arts star and his longtime coach over three fraught days as they prepare for his momentous comeback match, says a fight can also be existential in some ways.

“I have never been a fighter. But yes, the world becomes smaller when you prepare for the fight and then it is just the ring. You enter a different reality.”

The author admits that her style changed quite substantially, when she started writing in first person and became interested in trying to find a voice that was less concerned with a kind of riddled down style, but in conveying the movement of the mind including all the repetitions.

“And with a book that is written in third person, you have a different perspective. And in first person, it has a certain looseness to it,” asserts Kitamura, who was also at the recent Jaipur Literature Festival.

And when does she ‘know’ that the idea is ready to take shape on paper?

“Well, Hillary Mantel said that you can ruin a book by writing it at the wrong time and that is so true. The early stages of a book are delicate. I sometimes stop when I feel it is not quite ready. You do feel it is opening up at some points, but that can be found out only by writing,” concludes the author, who has just finished writing another book.

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‘Empower the Experienced for Art Infrastructure Growth’

For someone who has done theatre, and music, besides a film appreciation course from FTII, Pune, Mumbai-based Krishnamachari feels art learning cannot be just a one-direction journey and it is important to make oneself aware of other creative practices…reports Asian Lite News

Stressing that collaboration should be “our future mantra” and it is paramount to encourage collaborations with museums, cultural institutions, writers and artists across contemporary art, theatre, music, performance and audiences, artist and co-founder of the prestigious Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Bose Krishnamachari opines, “I strongly believe we should have more tailor-made travel scholarships.”

“Besides, higher-level educational scholarships for students should be opened, and 24×7 studios and sites should be made available. Curated programs and exhibitions must be commissioned. These are all important towards creating an accessible, nourishing art ecosystem,” he adds.

Krishnamachari has been ranked 38th on the Global Power 100 list of the most influential people in art by Art Review, an internationally renowned art magazine feels that it is high time that governments start paying more attention to art infrastructure, betterment of museums, exhibition spaces and update the syllabus in art schools.

“Our bureaucracy on all levels must seek advice, outsource and commission the right people. They need to give powers to the learned or the experienced – powers to envision projects, infrastructure and public policy,” he tells.

A pass-out from Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai, and a Master of Fine Arts from Goldsmiths’ College, University of London, Bose, who was recently in Saudi Arabia for the AlUla Future Culture Summit, agrees that Middle-Eastern countries are now investing hugely in culture, thus opening up a wide scope for cultural tourism like many countries in Europe.

“I was stunned to see the expanse and extent of culture blooming in the region. One had to see the amazing initiatives to believe. Everywhere in Al Ula, below the sky, the visuals are magical and organic sculpture-scapes in multiple scales. It is one of the best locations to explore more possibilities for a future destination, an intangible and vivacious site in scale. Gio Forma’s designed architecture, 2960 mirror skin absorbing images of surroundings – it was just otherworldly,” he says.

Impressed to see an array of talented and educated young women who studied abroad and returned to their origin, the artist adds, “Absolute enthusiasm and inquisitiveness with positive energy. Signs of women leading the culture scene in Saudi and in the UAE – what a great thing! And let us not forget the Louvre by architect Jean Nouvel and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be ready in a few years.”

For someone who has done theatre, and music, besides a film appreciation course from FTII, Pune, Mumbai-based Krishnamachari feels art learning cannot be just a one-direction journey and it is important to make oneself aware of other creative practices.

“This exercise gives you confidence in complementary subjects and frees you from the conventions of schooled thought and forms. A multicultural, multilingual, multi-race, multimedia and ultra-media and secular place is more creative than a mono-discursive site,” he asserts.

In the last one decade, one has witnessed a spate in the number of private museums and art foundations in India with many more coming up. Pleased with the development, the artist feels it is a welcome change, but they too must, like universities, invest in artist support structures.

“Production spaces are the most important – photo processing studios, printmaking studios, woodworking studios, laboratories of material science and experts, metal foundries etc. Present and future universities must transform into universities of culture, aesthetics, design and technology-based laboratory studios. And finance will follow them,” he concludes.

ALSO READ-Calcutta Painters’ Exhibition: A Celebration of Six Decades of Artistry

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Calcutta Painters’ Exhibition: A Celebration of Six Decades of Artistry

Emerging from the dynamic art scene of New Delhi, this collective has been instrumental in shaping the avant-garde art narrative in India…reports Asian Lite News

The Dhoomimal Art Centre in the Capital will host an exhibition from March 4 to 16, featuring ‘Calcutta Painters,’ a distinguished collective of artists originating from Kolkata.

The event commemorates the sixty-year journey, during which the group has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern art landscape of India.

Participating artists include Jogen Chowdhury, Sudip Banerjee, Subrata Ghosh, Anup Mandal, Gautam Bhowmik, Shibaprashad Kar Chowdhury, Susanta Chakrabarty, Rakesh Sadhak, and Niren Sengupta.

Founded in 1964, the ‘Calcutta Painters’ epitomise artists dedicated to pushing the boundaries of artistic expression. Their commitment to fostering art and artists domestically, while making notable contributions to the global art community, remains steadfast.

Presently, Jogen Chowdhury serves as the president and Sudip Banerjee is the vice president of the group.

Emerging from the dynamic art scene of New Delhi, this collective has been instrumental in shaping the avant-garde art narrative in India.

The artistic vision and techniques, pioneered by Bijon Chowdhury, Rabin Mandal, Prakash Karmakar, and Nikhil Biswas, continue to resonate after six decades.

Jogen Chowdhury is widely acclaimed as the master of unbroken lines. His drawings in the exhibit depict female figures intriguingly devoid of sexuality or provocative postures. Vulnerability emanates through textured skin and lucid lines, showcasing the artist’s unique approach.

The deliberate confinement within a smaller space reflects Chowdhury’s reverence for humanity and nature, crafting a thought-provoking artwork where vulnerability meets unconditional portrayal, creating a vivid and impactful narrative.

Subrata Ghosh’s series of exhibits delve into various manifestations of the sea, offering a glimpse into his unique perspective on life. It’s as if everything in our lives is adorned with a touch of romance. We often cling to history, mythology, and societal beliefs, yet when the tide of time washes everything away, we confront harsh realities. We oscillate between romanticism and reality, seeking equilibrium.

Mohit Jain, Director of Dhoomimal Art Centre, said: “It brings me great joy to present the Calcutta Painters group, a dedicated force instrumental in shaping the modern art scene since 1964. I am thrilled to underscore the invaluable contribution such artistic collectives make, not only in nurturing the development of art and artists within our borders but also in making substantial contributions to the global art community. As the ‘Calcutta Painters’ mark their sixty-year milestone, they stand as a formidable presence in our nation’s cultural landscape, embodying a rich legacy in the realm of art.”

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