Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Official ‘Pavilion of India’ at Arsenale

The Art Expo post (October 31. 2010), quoting media reports, had stated that the government of India was taking definite steps towards setting up an India Art Pavilion at the prestigious Venice Biennale to be held next year. It has already finished the modalities of booking space at one of the world's most ambitious contemporary art events.”

Indian galleries and artists have been regularly featuring at the specially curated shows. However, the official participation will add a formal touch to the Indian showcase at the event that draws the best of international art curated by Ranjit Hoskote.

He has served as curator of many prestigious events like the Gwangju Biennale in 2008. The renowned poet, writer and art scholar recently has crisscrossed the Netherlands, Germany and his home country. He intends to ‘stretch the idea of India’ through the showcase at Venice, built around the issues of history, past connections, migration and irrevocable displacement, laced with a teeming transcultural approach.

The broader theme is to ‘critique the nation-state’s idea as something unitary or territorial.’ Pavilion of India to be erected at Arsenale (Artiglierie) encompasses an exhibition, entitled ‘Everyone Agrees: It’s About to Explode’. The contemporary artists and groups to represent India at the Venice Biennale have been selected after considerable deliberation, based on their talent and ability to articulate diverse visual idioms, ideascapes and constituencies that is crucial while reflecting India’s immense plurality.

The names may sound less fanciful and familiar: Praneet Soi, Zarina Hashmi, The Desire Machine Collective (Sonal Jain & Mriganka Madhukaillya), and Gigi Scaria. But the curator is very assured and clear about his choice. His idea is to represent a gamut of aesthetically rich and conceptually rigorous practices staged in parallel to the mainstream art market.

Transcultural in the range of their conceptions and their practice, these artists remain anchored in a steadfast commitment to the specific historical dynamic of their region and its exploration. Together, they essentially embody impulses drawn from diverse regional modalities, sub-cultural locations, aesthetic choices, philosophical perspectives and religious lineages, within the larger formation of their home country.

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