‘Art for young collectors’

An interesting mix of works, representing new wave of thoughts and art processes is on view at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke. Though the techniques, styles and media, this new noteworthy group exhibition presents some of the highly talented young artists, who all belong to this new age of visual discourse. An age where the visual has not only freed itself from textual discourse but also begins to assert a cultural supremacy, as a curatorial essay by Rahul D’souza elaborates.

An artist who challenges existing notions and beliefs

Arun KS uses his work to encourage his viewer to be skeptical of the purpose of rituals. He has set before us a challenge. Here he provides us with the ultimate twist in which he wants us to use this skepticism not to banish rituals but rather to strengthen the inner resolve and belief in them.

The artist challenges both the notion that skepticism frees humans from rituals as well as the notion that faith can be destroyed by the enquiring mind. The work forms a powerful visual demonstration of this belief. The work illustrates a multitude of Christian children depicted in costumes that demonstrate they are on the verge of being introduced to the ritual of receiving communion. This depiction is imposed on top of pages from the bible that are barely visible, calling the viewer to cast of the veil of this popular and pious ritual in order to study the underlying textual justification for its existence.

Merging folk and natural motifs with a contemporary processes

The contemporary miniature has been freed from its long-standing dependence on text, having been merely an illustration for deep philosophical, romantic and mythological treaties. The miniature work of artist Arundhati Saikia has entered this framework and has taken the form one step further by juxtaposing its illustrative nature with a theatricality that she derives from her own background.

Folk and natural motifs form the centerpiece of her works, ornamented by the standard symbolism of miniatures – arches, arabesques and solid temple structures. The hypnagogic characters in her work betray a hidden story, a lost opportunity for textual imperialism over the paintings, creating at once a symbol of liberation and of the new socio-political discourse which enters the world of the popular visual.