A well-researched document that focuses on talented artists of our era

Author-curator-researcher Gayatri Sinha’s concerns as a researcher essentially involve constructing a language in order to create a solid theoretical framework for understanding the complex elements that enter and make Indian praxis.

She has given lectures on Indian art– its past and present, at the National Museum, Japan, Foundation in Tokyo, Tate Modern in London, Tate Britain, Asian Art Museum in Singapore etc. She has curated a series of show in India and across the world.

An intriguing mix of some known and upcoming, young and senior, emerging and established names, whose works respond to the present complexities and realities, have generated immense interest in the contemporary Indian art, not just within the country but globally.

In this context, talking about the core concept of ‘Voices of Change’, she states that the artists featured not only work on different media and revisit their own art forms, but also reflect on the dramatic transformations occurring around them.

The writer-editor of the volume adds: “In the 1950s and 1960s, Indian art was largely influenced by the Nehruvian contradictions. The 1970s marked a phase of social conflict. There was a sense of gradually moving away from the ideals of art. Art followed a whole new trajectory in the 1980s and thereafter. It displayed critique about issues like injustice, violence and terror. Artists are now the forerunners in bringing these to the people’s notice.”

Baiju Parthan, Jayashree Chakraborty, Surendran Nair, Pushpamala N, N.N. Rimzon, Anita Dube, Nataraj Sharma, Atul Dodiya, Sudarshan Shetty, Bose Krishnamachari, Anju Dodiya, Subodh Gupta, Shibu Natesan, TV Santhosh, NS Harsha, Bharti Kher, Jagannath Panda, Riyas Komu, Jitish Kallat and Shilpa Gupta are among the significant names whose art, life and practice has been covered in the book.

‘Voices of Change’ is a well-researched document that puts the spotlight firmly on talented artists of our era and their outstanding work that addresses a range of contemporary issues and concerns.