Looking back at Indian art exhibitions in 2010

A series of both solo and group shows this year have brought a host of talented Indian artist into international spotlight. Here is a quick recap:

‘The Empire Strikes Back’

The grand show courtesy Saatchi Gallery (January- May) offered a striking and intriguing interpretation of new India through works by both emerging and established artists like Atul Dodiya, Chitra Ganesh, Probir Gupta, Rashid Rana, TV Santhosh, Subodh Gupta, Tushar Joag, Jitish Kallat, Reena Saini Kallat, Bharti Kher, Rajan Krishnan, Kriti Arora, Justin Ponmany, Schandra Singh, Hema Upadhyay, and Pushpamala among others.

‘Where Three Dreams Cross’ and ‘The Self & the Other’

A group show ‘The Self & the Other: Portraiture in Contemporary Indian photography’ (October 2009- March 2010) focused on the photographer’s gaze. Curated by Devika Daulet-Singh and Luisa Ortínez at North Gallery courtesy ARTIUM (Vitoria-Gasteiz) and Palau de la Virreina (Barcelona), it gave an intimate view of contemporary life in India through the lens of 16 renowned photographers.

Another significant show at London's Whitechapel Art Gallery (January- April 2010) offered an insightful view of modern India along with Pakistan and Bangladesh through the lens of artist-photographers like Rashid Rana, Dayanita Singh, Raghubir Singh, Pushpamala N., and Rashid Talukder among others. Over 400 works were drawn for ‘Where Three Dreams Cross’ from important collections and images by leading contemporary artists.

'Burning Flags', ‘Holy Smoke’ and ‘Public Notice 3’

TV Santhosh’s 'Burning Flags' (May- June) at Aicon Gallery in London was a suite of paintings in the burning green, yellow, red, and orange hues, also incorporating a close-up of a figure gazing at the viewer. Ebenezer Sunder Singh’s ‘Holy Smoke’ (May- July) at RL Fine Arts, New York included a group of portraits of famous creative ‘artists’, pictured with their personal accessory, a cigarette. Art lovers in France had an opportunity to discover Rashid Rana’s remarkable talent with some of his most exciting works that formed part of his series ‘Perpetual Paradox’ (July– November) on display at Musée Guimet, a leading museum in Paris.