Sunday, July 4, 2010

Indian galleries at Art Basel – II

Five galleries from India presented some of the best works, reflecting the current art trends, to a global audience at the just concluded Art Basel 41. These included top names, such as Chemould Prescott Road, Chatterjee & Lal, Sakshi, Nature Morte, and Gallery SKE.

Sakshi gallery presented Taiwan’s Chen Chieh-Jen, whose video work explored issues connected to globalization, in particular labor, consumerism and migration related concerns. Chemould was featured in the new Art Feature section that had select solo presentations, juxtapositions and thematic exhibits from artists representing a wide range of cultures, generations, and artistic approaches.

Its curated booth had two artists from different generations: Bhupen Khakhar and Atul Dodiya. His recent shutter paintings respond to iconic paintings from the 1970s by late Bhupen Khakhar, called ‘trade series’ – namely, ‘Janta Watch Repairing’, ’Sheikh Shoe Mart’ and, ‘Shanker Saloon’ where he depicted middle-class figures from a wide range of professions.

On the hood of each of the rolling shutters are mentioned the actual names of the Bhupen Khakhar’s paintings, giving you the feeling of actually entering ‘Khakhar’s shop’. While the politics of the 1970s provoked him to give an image to and celebrate the diverse workers common across urban India, the new shutter works by Atil Dodiya poignantly refer to the historical moment when their work and lives were traumatically interrupted and threatened.
The presentation at Art 41 Basel contextualized the two artist’s works from these important time periods and the relationship between their respective oeuvre.

Art Basel continues to witness experiments and innovations to sustain the art lover’s interest. Since 2007, it has set aside a section (in the context of Art Unlimited) for a certain type of object: the vinyl record, a symbolic object of the 20th century, especially as many artists now have opted for vinyl as an artistic medium. The new Art Parcours program positioned contemporary art within the city of Basel in an unprecedented way. It was also heartening to see India and Indian artists firmly in the spotlight during this global celebration of art.

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