Indian art and artists map global trends

Many upcoming and talented artists from the country are looking to break into new vistas of expression, keen to share their socio-political concerns in a new idiom, which is their very own.
Artists belonging to the new-age, dynamic India are clearly influenced by global developments in contemporary art thanks to greater exposure to the international art world.

Importantly, they are striving to maintain a balanced relationship with Western art based on an identity deeply rooted in the rich artistic and cultural traditions of the country. Indian art and artists have truly gone global with a string of shows – solo as well as group – involving both established and emerging artists.

An investigation into a wide array of themes encompassing today’s concerns and burning social issues drawn from their immediate milieu and touching the common people’s lives, these artists are leaving their distinct mark on the global art scene.

Among the areas of their interest are areas conflicts around urbanism, politics and mythology, culture and myths, and a re-visitation of Indian art history as well as popular culture. The issues of class and migration, and rising volatility or violence within South & West Asia are reflected as subject matter in their work.

Several leading artists of this new generation are known for their proven ability to successfully engage with a spectrum of new media, encompassing painting and sculptural installation, video and performance – deftly blending them. Their dominating positions in a growingly complex and globalized world only reflect the rising stature of India as a country in the last decade or so.

Mention must be made of talented artists like D Ebenezer Sunder Singh, Nikhileswar Baruah, Amarnath Sharma, Heeral Trivedi, Rahul Chowdhury, Jignasa Doshi, Hindol Brahmabhatt, Jagannath Mohapatra, George Martin, Théodore Mesquita, Nitish Bhattacharjee, Prasanta Sahu, Jagdish Chander, Anu Agarwal and Meetali Singh. Mention must also be made of those like Subodh Gupta, Riyas Komu, Atul Dodiya, Chintan Upadhyay, Bose Krishnamachari, Baiju Parthan and T. V. Santhosh, among others, who all work in a diverse range of genres, styles, subjects and mediums.