Female artists from India in spotlight - II

This is the second part of our series in which we track the female artists in spotlight at a recent international auction and those who need to be watched closely from the market point of view:

Nasreen Mohamedi's diary entries during the time these complex works were done let us a very deep insight into the overall thought processes, which motivated her to execute them. Whilst serving as a precursor to a series of gripping geometric paperworks from the mid-1970s onwards, those of the decade ago were an equally critical part of her vast oeuvre.

Zarina’s multi-faceted practice embraces and amalgamates sculpture, architecture, woodcuts etc; tactile in the diverse materials used, packed with meaning yet minimal in its expression. Her preferred media are paper that she manipulates with dexterity (including papier mâché forms), and wood that she carves (the wooden printing blocks).

Having trained at the prestigious Munich Art Academy in the '60s, under Expressionists Tony Staedler and Heinrich Kirchner, Meera Mukherjee came back to India, keen to seek her artistic idiom and spontaneous creative expression closer home. She evolved an iconography that was indeed unique. Opposing pulls of mass and movement, vulnerability and strength infuse an intense character into her fascinating figures enhanced by the textural play created by the usage of decorative elements on the surface. Many of her sculptures depicted womenfolk working on and off the field - repairing fishing nets, stitching and toiling away.

Meanwhile, a private collection of Indian court paintings, entitled The Garden of Epics, made £494,625 ($770,131). It was followed by the Arts of India sale which totaled £903,125 ($1,406,165) that included a large selection of fine classical paintings, from 17th century Mughal portraits to Rajput, Pahari and Company school paintings. Fine decorative and courtly objects illustrated the breadth and wealth of Indian art, spanning centuries of the sub-continent’s history. ‘The Garden of Epics –Indian Court Paintings’, a curated selection of forty-five paintings from a private collection, featured rare and important examples of Pahari paintings, together with Rajput and Mughal works.

Female artists from India in spotlight - I

Here, we track some of the established female artists from India in spotlight thanks to a recent international auction and those who need to be watched closely from the market point of view:

Chitra Ganesh, an internationally celebrated artist, uses her work as a means of questioning the many opposites that exist within the rigid framework of the so-called ‘society’ we live in. Her practice has been informed by recovery of buried histories for bringing them into a contemporary and public realm. There are political figures and mass mediated imagery – both contemporary as well as historical. She explains, “This imagery hasn’t been fully explored and these stories incorporate question marks to be best articulated through imaginative visual idiom.”

Her diverse oeuvre includes sculptural works and installations, largely emanating from a mélange of aspects like mythological narratives, lyric poetry, present day imperialism and queer politics apart from erased moments especially in South Asian history. She treats them as a starting point to integrate the same with her mythic imagery for conceiving a hybrid world that articulates both historical conflict and psychic transformation.

Yamini Nayar’s creations appear trapped in between dream like scenarios and post-explosive moments of reality. At the root of her geometric interventions lies latent inventiveness. Her redesigning of damaged cityscapes is done so as to indicate further possibilities. Here, she builds order out of chaos, to seek sense where there are only the post-destruction remnants.

‘Ethnographic Series from 'Native Women of South India' by Pushpamala N.,Clare Arni is an important piece of art and creativity for the former in her highly promising career graph thus far. In her works, the talented performance artist refers to various genres of image-making leading to richly layered hybrids with multiple references. She is invariably the central protagonist in these dramas; the works function as oblique self-portraits, as critiques of representational constructions, and as documents of performances.

Encapsulating Jehangir Nicholson's passion for art

After his wife’s death, Jehangir Nicholson found succor in art and his attachment with paintings filled a personal vacuum created after his wife’s death. This feeling was quite palpable in the way he chose to address his works, using terms of romanticized love, at times. The first canvas he acquired cost him Rs. 500. It was ‘A Scenery’ by Sharad Waykool, which he spotted at the Taj Art Gallery.

He gradually began visiting the Chemould and Pundole art galleries on a more regular basis, and was introduced to young painter Laxman Shreshtha (just 24 year old then) by the founder of Pundole, Kali Pundole. This was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship. His collection gradually became archival in nature. A key indicator of its intrinsic value is reflected in two of Souza’s milestone works – ‘Mammon’ (1961) and ‘Death of the Pope’ (1962) – that belonged to him. He actively engaged with his collection and loved discussing the coveted possessions in great detail and depth, facets that are inherent to a genuine and committed collector.

In its endeavor to take art to masses, the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery has hosted thematic exhibitions. The latest one, entitled 'Nothing is Absolute: A Journey through Abstraction', brings together the collective narratives of abstract art. Conceptualized by Mehlli Gobhai and cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote, the collaboration is based on long term conversations and discussions the two have shared over the last twenty years. The walls of the gallery, present the different philosophies and sources of inspiration for abstract artists as well provides chronological depth as they link ancient practices, theologies and structures that have inspired abstract artists in different ways.

The Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation curator, Kamini Sawhney, has been quoted as saying:  “The exhibition is a rather unorthodox account of the various strands, which make up the rich history of abstractionism in art that has evolved out of a continual dialogue between Hoskote and Gobhai, leading to a collaboration through that the two bring together the fascinating experiences of the studio, the library the gallery, the museum, and the archive they both have had across three continents.”

Amalgamating love for art and architecture

The idyllic township just near Puducherry, Auroville, has developed into an abode for avant-garde design in the country, over the years. Here architect Ganesh Bala has opted to make space in his home-n-studio for his growing collection of paintings. His extensive engagement with the field of art precedes his 15 years of foray in architecture.

It’s painting that has possibly brought him to architecture school,” according to him. His revelation outlines a familiar narrative, that of the artistically inclined practitioner veering towards architecture or civil engineering largely because of a system driven by hardcore ‘career’ and ‘profession’ oriented demands. In fact, one of the residential projects he undertook, a house apparently floating on an artificial pool of water, won second prize at The Architect& Interiors India Awards in 2011.

Simultaneously, Ganesh Bala mostly creates abstract figurative works, done in acrylic on paper. In the past, he has worked on landscapes and portraits. Presently he is focusing on animals like buffaloes and cows as motifs. Thanks to his architectural background and experience, he has tried to intersect the two streams over time. He also recalls asking the late French architect, Roger Anger, (designer of Auroville) about his prolific output driven by architectural work. The two though connected, had no formal link, Anger had said.

The artist-cum-architect, Bala, himself believes that painting feeds him courage; and it’s the letting go aspect, which is the most vital one to him while working on a canvas. Elements like texture, form and composition are all secondary, he adds. In a recent news story, unraveling the bond between art and architecture, The mint columnist Anindita Ghose, mentions: “Looking at his stunning rammed earth walls and residential spaces whose principal components seem to be reinforced concrete and sunshine, you can know he actually uses this courage well.”

While Ganesh Bala has shown his works of art in group exhibitions, he is perhaps too busy with his architectural responsibilities to push his passion for art and to network with gallerists.

‘Phantom Lady' and other works by Pushpamala N

Pushpamala N’s ‘Phantom Lady or Kismet, a photo romance’ was first presented at Gallery Chemould in 1998.

A photoromance series (2001) at Gallery Chemould followed with another wry and thematic presentation. For ‘Bombay Photo Studio’ (2002-03), she created Triptych, alternately dressing as a Hindu, Muslim and Christian woman. Later, she collaborated with Claire Arni, a British photographer for her series ‘Native Women of South India’ (2005-06) where the duo recaptured existing colonialist, ethnographic and popular images of women, contesting stereotypes as well as the prevalent politics of representing the female body.

Realized through an India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) grant, the concept was explained thus: "Pushpamala N and Clare Arni who has spent most of her life in South India - one black, one white - played the protagonists in a project exploring the history of photography as a tool of ethnographic documentation. Playing with the notions of subject and object, the photographer and the photographed, real and fake, white and black, the baroque excess of the images subverted and overturned each other."

A real, albeit an unconventional film formed the centerpiece of her recent Bose-Pacia solo, entitled ‘Paris Autumn’. It was a kind of ‘cinéma vérité ghost story’. It wasn't a moving picture in the traditional sense; rather a rapid-fire succession of black & white still photos that were arranged in a sequential narrative. As always, the artist played the leading role. She shared the film with other characters, the spirit of the 16th century figure Gabrielle d'Estrées, Henry IV’s beloved mistress, who died, under mysterious circumstances.

Everything in the film was uncertain. The plot wandered, not necessarily a pure fantasy. There were funky touches. And there were stabs of violence with the interspersing of Web images of Parisian ethnic uprisings. The overall pace was suspenseful and dark, but a happy ending - a cast party in progress - put the film-as-fiction question into a proper perspective. Or did it?

Pushpamala N conceived ‘Paris Autumn’ (2006), an experimental film, during a residency in Paris. The four photographic series had links to cinematic conventions of South Asia. ‘Phantom Lady or Kismet’ was a cryptic takeoff on Indian pop films about the exploits of Nadia, an eternal super heroine. The series had a rich, film-noir atmosphere coupled with a surreal, Bollywood-style narrative structure, which could be reshuffled for different showings. She was both chief actor with a charismatic presence and director.

'Black Eyes and Lemonade: Curating Popular Art'

In 1951 a vibrant and colorful ‘popular art’ exhibition was unveiled at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. It was hosted as part of the renowned Festival of Britain. Amongst a plethora of curious and extraordinary objects on view were a talking lemon, a fireplace done in the shape of a dog, a life-size wax model of a Rabbi and St Paul’s Cathedral’s edible model.

The 1951 exhibit was organized by Barbara Jones, an artist, writer and designer of repute. It was divided in categories like Man’s Own Image, Birth-Marriage-Death, Commerce & Industry, and Home that reflected Jones’s ideas on popular art and museum culture, questioning the cultural values attached to handmade and machine made objects.

Entitled ‘Black Eyes and Lemonade’, after ‘Intercepted Letters’ or ‘The Two-Penny Post Bag’ (a Thomas Moore poem), it presented several everyday objects made in the UK, generally excluded from art galleries and museums.

This archive exhibit incorporates original exhibit material - the iconic Airedale fireplace also among them. Previously unseen fascinating archive material culled from the Design Archives, the Vogue Archives as well as the gallery Archive apart from installation views and ephemera from Jones’s surviving studio together underline her highly innovative curatorial approach towards popular art, pointing to the connections that she was able to draw across objects and images.

For over a century the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered world-class artists from modern masters like Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to contemporaries such as Lucian Freud, Sophie Calle,Gilbert & George, Mark Wallinger etc. With lovely galleries, artist commissions, exhibitions, collection displays, education resources, art courses, bookshop and historic archives, the gallery is open all year round, so there is always something free to see.

It essentially serves as a touchstone for contemporary art internationally, plays a central role in London’s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of the world’s most vibrant contemporary art quarter.

Fathoming The Otolith Group’s work

The Otolith Group was founded by Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar in 2002. Shortlisted for Turner Prize in 2010 and featured at Frieze 2012, it’s named after the calcium carbonate microcrystals within the inner ear that produce and maintain the bodily sense of orientation.

Renowned for their videos, curatorial practice, writing, publications and development of discursive platforms for the close readings of documentary fictions, the group has revisited episodes from the archives of the twentieth century in order to intervene into narratives that aim to capture futurity for market fundamentalism. Their work has proposed aesthetic hypotheses that emphasize methods of comparability and modes of connectability.

Mumbai-based Gallery Project 88 had hosted a show of the group’s exciting works, entitled ‘Westfailure'. The title was adopted from an essay written by British economist Susan Strange in 1999. It’s a homonymic pun that refers to the Westphalia System, the ‘international political system of states claiming exclusive authority and the monopoly of legitimate violence within their territorial limits’, named after the Treaty of Westphalia signed in 1648 by the European powers, in Westphalia outside Munster, Germany.

Strange argued that in order to prosper, ‘production and trade required the security provided by the state. To survive, the state required the economic growth and the credit-creating system of finance. But the latter has now created three major problems that the political system, by its very nature, is incapable of solving. As a term from the recent past of 1999, Westfailure looks forward to our present. ‘Westfailure’ summarizes the pervasive sense of life as it is lived today, in an ideological junkyard strewn with the wreckage of economic systems.

The Otolith Collective is a public platform curated and produced by The Otolith Group. As part of its ongoing series ‘Images Sometimes Tremble’, the collective recently presented the first London screenings of ‘Two Russians in the Free World’ (2012, 30 m) and ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land‘ (2008, 17m), two single channel videos by New York based artists Erik Moskowitz and Amanda Trager.  The screenings were followed by a discussion between the artists, and Anjalika Sagar-Kodwo Eshun.