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Autonomy for NGMAs
National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bangaluru, opened its doors for the public in February 2009. Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, while inaugurating the gallery with its maiden exhibition, ‘Signposts of the Times: From the Collection of NGMA’, said that the gallery would be a platform for the Karnataka artists’ community and also it would bring national and international shows to the city. Besides, the NGMA, Bangaluru is expected to function as the Southern Regional Centre for arts. . read on »
Story of a Double Murder
The Metamorphosis
Baroda based artist Satyanand Mohan recently had his major solo show at the Guild Gallery, Mumbai. Titled ‘Reliquary’, this show is an artist’s effort to negotiate between time- tested philosophies and indispensable individual doubts, says JohnyML in this cover story. read on »
Art and Embraces : Mithu Sen
‘Up close and personal’ is a shared diagram locating lives of significant figures in Contemporary Indian Art over the last four decades. The locus of this diagram is drafted through first person accounts, situations, art works, projects, events, texts, issues, people, cultures and geographies thereby trying to articulate an ‘artistic context’ that is simultaneously personal and historical. In this edition, Kavitha Balakrishnan looks at the works of Mithu Sen and creates a narrative around the notion of embrace and gift. read on »
Caution- Fading Zone Ahead
The Arab world appears to be priming itself to become a mecca for art institutions, art and artists, writes Anupa Mehta in her picaresque monthly column that will offer a vantage view of exhibits, trends, art and artists. read more »
Abhijit Paul
Born in West Bengal, Abhijit Paul got his BFA and MFA in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University, Baroda. His works reflect the individual’s sense of loss and engagement with his own surroundings. He is a recipient of the Inlaks Foundation Award (2006). He is based in Baroda. more »
Saikat Surai
‘The Tremor’ is a video installation, which had been showcased at Chisel Crafts, Kolkata, featuring seven artists of Khoj Kolkata – the last in the series of nine successive exhibitions titled ‘Art Against Terrorism’. The series is a joint venture of nine Kolkata based galleries including the one mentioned above. Artist Saikat Surai gives a first person narrative on his video installation project, ‘The Tremor’ . more »
The Landscapes of Where
Nancy Adajania, the curator of ‘The Landscapes of Where’ at the Mirchandani+Steinruecke Gallery, Mumbai, in her catalogue essay approaches landscapes not as a route to sublime but as a crucible of debates. more »
Shifting the Sands of Time:
Lakeeren Art Gallery’s Onward Journey
Against the backdrop of ‘The Other (Indian) Story: Retrospecting Lakeeren’, curator Arshiya Lokhandwala looks into the notion of (Lakeeren) gallery as an intellectual platform with rhizomatic tendencies. Also she speaks of the works presented in the show and how the re-visit is all the more important in the current art scenario. more »
We Were Post-Feminists
Art historian/critic, curator and gallerist- Arshiya Lokhandwala wears three caps in one go. She calls it her three ‘avatars’. Founder Director of Lakeeren Gallery, Mumbai, Arshiya initiated several public and private projects. Once bitten by the doubt on curatorial practices and positions, she went to do research in curatorial practice, first in UK, then in the US. Ten years of ‘work’ from ‘outside’ has equipped Arshiya to comment on the boom and recession in Indian contemporary art. In this candid interview Arshiya speaks to Amrita Gupta Singh about curatorial practice, art and art market. Excerpts »
The Future of Museums
What should be the role of museums in our society and how do we go about setting up future museums; these were the issues that the international museum experts discussed in a recently held symposium at the KMoMA, Kolkata. Oindrilla Maity features the proceedings of the symposium for artconcerns. more »
Landscape Of The Body … In A Language Of Silence
Shibu Arakkal has the heart of a painter and the mind of a photographer. In his latest series of works, curated by Giridhar Khasnis, Arakkal traverses through human bodies for framing the silences involved in the making of the ‘body’. In this short feature, Khasnis explains the dimensions of Arakkal’s photographs. more »
Ranbir Kaleka
After a gap of ten years, noted artist Ranbir Kaleka recently presented his solo show titled ‘Reading Man’ at the Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi. JohnyML visits the five paintings and comes up with his ‘reading’ in this review. more »
Chance Encounters
Seven Contemporary Artists from Africa namely Berry Bickle, El Anatsui, J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, Myriam Mihindou, Nnenna Okore, Safaa Erruas and Uche Iroha were showcased by the Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai recently. Curated by Bisi Silva, this show gave some shiny glimpses of the African contemporary art. Kanchi Mehta in her review narrates how an art scene still unpolluted by the ‘market’ produces interesting works of international standards. more »
Drawing Trails
Baroda based veteran artist Nilima Sheikh recently had her solo show, Drawing Trails opened at the Gallery Espace, New Delhi. Rikimi Madhukaillya visits the show and says that Nilima’s works have moved from the feminine/domestic realm to the public/political realm. more »
‘Re-claim/ Re-cite/Re-cycle’
Re-claim/Re-cite/Re-cycle, a group show curated by Bhavna Kakar was recently presented at Delhi’s Travancore Art Gallery. JohnyML in his review speaks of the pros and cons of this refreshing curatorial project. more »
