Monday, January 14, 2013

Contemporary India’s evolving art scene and PAG

The response of PAG to the challenges – social and artistic - apparently was apolitical. Their grouping together in the very year of Independence was purely coincidental. What the members of the group were more exercised and concerned about was the fact that art as practised till that point in the country had to change. Their collective manifesto called for a break with the past traditions and its stultifying cultural and artistic constraints.

PAG was joined for a brief while, in the fifties, by artists like Mohan Samant, Krishen Khanna, V. S. Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta and Bal Chabda. The group made a major contribution to India’s contemporary art movement by seeking a new form that could describe the reality around post- Independence. Such myriad movements and influences have greatly enriched Indian art.

The country's independence in 1947 might have actually seemed like the catalyst for a form of expression to match the spirit of the occasion. However, the so-called 'artists of transition' like K.K. Hebbar, Shiavax Chavda, Sailoz Mukherjea and N.S. Bendre were more engrossed in a contemplation of life's simpler, smaller pursuits through their art practice….

Fast track to the 21st century and you realize that dynamic contemporary Indian art and the talented artists are mapping global trends as well setting their own benchmarks, drawing the attention of the global art world with their innovative art practices and novel themes.

In the backdrop of overwhelming attention being provided to contemporary art from Southeast Asia, interest in Indian art is rapidly rising. Avid art lovers, tuned to the churnings in contemporary art globally, well understand and appreciate the fact Indian art is growing in stature.

A new generation of artists from India is slowly but surely starting to acquire centre stage in the international contemporary art arena. It is not surprising that astute collectors are scrambling to acquire works of sculpture and painting from the country.

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