Spotlight on top 20 contemporary Indian artists

The idea of a recent volume, entitled ‘Voices of Change: 20 Contemporary Artists’ (publisher: Marg; pages: 308; price: Rs 3,500), by Gayatri Sinha is to map the contours of their art practice that deals with various facets of challenging day-to-day existence in a country marked by opulence as well as its seamier underside.

This eclectic collection of essays, launched last year to coincide with a group show courtesy Religare Art, signals an informed inter-textual reading of the new generation of Indian artists that has left an indelible scene in the 21st century. Establishing themselves in international sphere and drawing applause as well as curatorial attention, they explore several pressing issues of concern to the modern Indian society in a wide array of media like photography, painting, drawing, large scale sculpture, video installations and mixed media work.

In this context, this seminal volume collates views of several renowned scholars, critics, anthropologists, and museologists, to offer a unique perspective. Incidentally, these artist’s creations formed part of an exhibition, entitled 'Looking Glass', curated by Gayatri Sinha. It engaged different cultural organizations, later translating the project into an art walk. The idea was to build an art movement and create a dynamic platform to encourage learning, appreciation and recognition of Indian art. That’s exactly what the book looks to achieve.

The author has edited a number of noteworthy research documents like ‘Art and Visual Culture in India: 1857-2007’ (Marg Publications, 2009); ‘Indian Art: an Overview’ (Rupa Books, 2003); ‘Woman/ Goddess’ (1998); ‘Expressions and Evocations: Contemporary Indian Women Artists of India’ (Marg Publications, 1996). The renowned art expert has contributed to several Indian and international publications. Her core areas of enquiry are woven around the structures of gender and iconography, economics, social history and media.

As the title suggests, the ‘voices of change’ records the new tunes and trends in contemporary Indian art.