Friday, July 13, 2012

A grand India showcase in China

In the form of a road movie across 3 continents (Europe, South America, Asia), each stage along the ‘Indian Highway’ is the occasion for a totally new episode.  The exhibition theme, modern and contemporary art representative of a whole subcontinent, is reinterpreted each time to fit changing venues, make room for new works and satisfy curatorial whims.

In a way, the show does a bit more than just travel; it takes a new spin with every stop that it takes. The grand showcase of contemporary Indian art is now being hosted at The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA). Opened in 2007, it’s a not-for-profit art center that serves a global Beijing public. Founded by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens Located right at the heart of the 798 Art District. Through a wide array of exhibitions and programs, it promotes the development of the local artistic environment, showcases the latest in domain of art, design, and other allied fields.

Underlining the significance of this monumental development, an accompanying note to the show elaborates, “It brings together the work of over thirty artists spanning a wide range of media and subject matter. Much of the work explores social and political issues key to the Indian situation, including environmentalism, religious sectarianism, gender, sexuality, and class. The arrival of this international touring exhibition in Beijing will mark the most comprehensive presentation of contemporary art from India ever seen in China.”

The culmination of thorough research done across India by curator-duo of Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine Gallery directors, and Astrup Fearnley Museum director Gunnar B. Kvaran, the exhibit features artists who have made an impact on the international art scene alongside emerging talented practitioners - Jitish Kallat, Subodh Gupta, Sudarshan Shetty, Bharti Kher, Amar Kanwar, Tejal Shah, Dayanita Singh, and Nikhil Chopra. Each one of them deals with specific social and human issues.

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