Showcasing the Contemporary Indian Art

The avalanche of economic downturn was triggered around one year ago, sweeping over the scenario of contemporary Indian art also along with all other facets of human life. Renu Ramanath examines how the Indian galleries fared during the past one year and what expectations do they maintain for the future. . read on »

Meditations on a winged being

‘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 Surendran Nair. more »

Kapoor’s Transcendent Pigment’s - Meenakshi Thirukode

I admire Anish Kapoor’s work. This would be the third piece I’m publishing that presents an extension of my discussion of his works and provides a perspective from which to critically analyse his oeuvre. This essay is wholly related to my previous two articles that appeared in The Hindu. It would seem almost inevitable that all three be read to get a sense of where I’m coming from and why I find the derivations I have made to be a strong and persuasive argument in the study of this brilliant artist. Many who have read the first drafts of this have expressed how Kapoor himself might cringe reading it. I am more than aware of his discomfort in being too closely related to the “Indian” label. If he does then he is missing my point is all I can say. more »

The Sensuality of Indian Movement

Ivan Pulinkala, a US-based contemporary choreographer of Indian origins, attempts to derive an answer to the apparent divide between the sensuality depicted in ancient Indian literature and iconography and the conservative nature of Indian society that had baffled him as a child of Indo-British lineage growing up in New Delhi. more »

Shining the Light

Anupa Mehta raises a toast to Bose Krishnamachari’s new avatar

Opening night at BMB Gallery, Mumbai’s newest entrant on an already overcrowded gallery scene, was akin to wading through knee deep water – so high was the traffic of paparazzi, literati, glitterati, chatterati and arterati, though not quite in that order.  Man of the moment, self professed maverick artist and art-entrepreneur, Bose Krishnamachari stood beaming at the entrance, greeting friends from across India, even as two of his hot-bod business partners, the Birlas, posed for Page 3. A young man from Devaunshi Mehta’s office had been allocated the sorry task of playing guard to a protruding art work, as Ms Mehta, the third partner in this venture, gingerly escorted visitors through the subtly lit gallery. Bose’s business partners drew as much attention as the exhibits. Speculation was rife. Careless whispers vied with hushed observations, as arterati took in the carefully positioned art works. The 1500 strong crush at the opening was enough to dissuade a few arty types from heading to the after party. more »