An international exhibit that maps new India’s socio-cultural aspirations

San Francisco-based Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) works as an integrated site of creative endeavors, leading to a fusion of art, innovation and new ideas in a unique social environment. It’s a curated platform for the convergence of artists, producers, thinkers, inventors, and community to ensure multiple levels of participation, and make live arts and living artists relevant to society.

It hosts a new show of Indian art, pointing to the fact that painting and sculpture have had a long history within sacred as well as secular traditions of Indian art. Also, both photography and video have emerged as popular media in recent years. Contemporary Indian photography, until very recently has had not so much exposure in the US. With a clear focus on staged and ‘straight’ approaches, the photo-based works use either reality-based settings like the formal portrait or informal street shoot - or constructed realities along with imaginary personas.

These photos merge the artist’s vision with the social dynamics of the country’s vast and rich cultural landscape to construct a revealing narrative of today’s life in a fast globalizing world. Sculpture in India, as mentioned above, has a very long tradition within art scene of India, and its impressive legacy of iconography and materiality has had a palpable impact on contemporary art. Both human and animal bodies still play a major role in new perspectives on nationhood as well as on its pasts. This is quite evident in an adherence to traditional forms and in expanded imagery and physical forms that signal the future.

Some of the video works provide a unique window into the lives of ordinary people. The artists are able to extract poignant and powerful narratives from complex situations, offering alternative forms of storytelling. Video also provides an opportunity for shaping multi-referential narratives examining contemporary conditions such as displacement and community formation, unlikely personages and lost artistic legacies, often against the backdrop of colonialism and other forms of occupation.

The exhibition looks to contribute to a deeper understanding of rapid shifts and their emotional, spiritual and intellectual effects on the contemporary artists and their communities, and also the immense potential for representing new aspirations.