Indian art shows in 2011- III

In another indication of its growing stature in the domain of art internationally, the special Pavilion of India at the Venice Biennale represented diverse visual idioms, ideascapes and constituencies, reflecting immense plurality of the world’s largest democracy. Praneet Soi, Zarina Hashmi, The Desire Machine Collective (Sonal Jain & Mriganka Madhukaillya), and Gigi Scaria, selected by curator Ranjit Hoskote stood for a gamut of aesthetically rich and conceptually rigorous practices staged in parallel to the mainstream art market.

The 2011 Prague Biennale comprised a ‘Crossroads: India Escalate’ segment curated by Kanchi Mehtam, who wanted to represent the way contemporary Indian art scene is shaping up, imbibing an array of influences from the life and people around, to analyze them with an open mind. ‘The Word of God Series’ at The Andy Warhol Museum located in Pittsburgh, which examined major world religions and their texts through contemporary art, featured Chitra Ganesh.

Even as the year drew to close, global galleries and museums continued to host exhibitions, striving to redefine Asian consciousness in context of both individual and collective identity as well as investigating philosophical and cultural concerns.

‘Window in the Wall: India and China – Imaginary Conversations’ courtesy Shanghai-based Pearl Lam Fine Arts curated by Gayatri Sinha and Gao Minglu incorporated thought-provoking works of art by several established and talented artists from India. ‘Generation in Transition: New Art from India’ at Zacheta National Gallery of Art in Warszawa, Poland included works by several noteworthy artists.

A series of meticulously curated and thoughtfully conceived showcases all through 2011 refer to an intriguing mix of media and themes, forms and subject matter explored by emerging as well as established artists, to signify the spirit and ethos of new-age India, laced with a touch of tradition. During the whole year, they have been increasingly prominent in the global spheres of contemporary art. It witnessed a series of quality shows right through; here’s a quick wrap-up!