Ravaged landscape of picturesque Kashmir inspires this sensitive artist

Though Nilima Sheikh grew up in the capital city of India, Kashmir has invariably had a place in her heart. Incidentally, she spent her early years in the land, blessed with pristine beauty and cursed with endless violence, and had shared a sort of curiously vexed relationship with it. Nilima Sheikh’s series ‘Each Night Put Kashmir in Your Dreams’ took eight long years to fructify.

The show almost got shelved. As its opening neared, the Kashmir Valley flared up in fresh violence. The distraught artist decided to cancel the event, asking, ‘what meaning does it really have, given the reality?’ However, photographer Ram Rahman and others Sahmat members made her to change the mind. Commenting on the complex history of the state, she states, “The turmoil is owing to our lack of understanding (of the place and people there) as Indians. For example, even while most of us know about Kashmir’s rich Hindu and Islamic heritage, few are aware of Buddhism’s deep imprint of there. The artist’s role is to bear witness - to both the past and present.”

For several years, Nilima Sheikh has assiduously and actively engaged with the historical fates and trajectories of turbulent landscape. In her work inspired by Kashmir’s ravaged landscape, there is a deft blending of historical textual references and medieval verses, contemporary writing and folktales from/on the state. Visual references originate from Himalayan, Turkish, Persian, South Asian and at times even pre-Renaissance Italian art. What emerges from this intense exploration is a series of introspective works on paper and scrolls on canvas.

After the inner turmoil that she experienced post the Gujarat riots in 2002, she was spurred o take up a long-pending art project that dealt with the Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali’s soul-stirring verses full of pain that inspired it. Nilima Sheikh won’t term references in her work as religious, but more art historical in nature, all part of a history that we tend to term tradition or mythology. Actually it is history, part of one’s past, she explains, adding that it’s not merely western art history.

Techno art for iPad-wowed audiences

Famous Indian ad guru K V Sridhar, fondly known as Pops, has evolved his own unique style of painting without canvas, paper, or paint thanks to the tech-savvy, iPad-wowed viewers. He is now keen to advance the ‘painting’ technique further. The techno-domain of digital painting has come in spotlight thanks to the iPad, as one can paint with a brush in one’s hand and easily can smudge lines etc.

After displaying his works at Mumbai-based Scarecrow Gallery, he has opened up a channel of interaction with aspiring artists for exploring the new genre of art. The founder director of the gallery, Manish Bhatt, has been quoted as saying: "When the entire world is in the realm of cutting-edge technology with air taxis and hybrid cars, we wish to be something more than a gallery. We wish to give art a whole new perspective. Pops is doing just that." He discovered the latent talent in Sridhar while he was doodling something on his tablet and offered him a chance to exhibit his work.

His works done on an iPad, and printed on archival canvas have drawn rave reviews. ‘iPOPS - a preview’, his path-breaking exhibit comprised paintings, took place last month followed by a workshop. The ad guru says he started painting at the tender age of 3, and was greatly inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

He even studied at an art school and held several solos during 1976-81 and featured in many group shows as well. Until 1979-80s, he would regularly paint but once he took up advertising as a career, he had to keep aside painting. His artworks are in the collections of Salarjung Museum, the AP Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA), and many other private collectors in India and internationally.

According to the curator of the show, Niyatee Shinde, his revolutionary work deftly locates itself in the dynamic domain of new media art and presents degrees of conceptual sophistication after a cursory viewing. Sridhar reveals he is keen to experiment with his style.

The fashion trendsetter Yves Carcelle loves and patronizes Indian art

Nothing could probably stop Yves Carcelle from arriving for probably the biggest occasion for contemporary Indian art in Paris, France. His love and passion for art is simply awe-inspiring. Even at the ripe age of 60 plus, he watches every bit of development in the field and keeps looking for new, exciting talent.

The head honcho of internationally renowned fashion label Louis Vuitton made it to the event on a wheelchair, having broken his leg. His presence added a touch of aura to an ambitious show of contemporary Indian art, entitled ‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay’, at the Centre Pompidou.

While viewing and collecting art is mostly a personal passion just like wearing fashion, again a matter of one’s taste and choice, the haute couture trendsetter- art collector is hopeful to make it a larger and broad based activity in India. He wants to expand the label in leading metros of India, New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai – as well as other cities. The brand is looking for the right opportunity in Chennai and Puducherry.

Carcelle is a self-proclaimed Indophile, whose his association with India started nearly two decades ago. He crisscrossed almost all corners of the country. An avid art lover, he reveals he was always fascinated by Indian art. In 2006, the brand’s Paris based art gallery, Espace Culture, hosted a group show of Indian and French artists.

Sharing his love for contemporary Indian art, he states in a recent interview: “My personal discovery of art from India began with that exhibit. Travel is a mode of cultural exchange. It’s our sincere aim to try and give back to a country and its people we engage with.”

This is why he patronizes art and artists from India, as evident in collaboration with Sudarshan Shetty in 2010 for a giant art installation in Milan. They actively supported the debut exhibition by world-renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor in India. According to him, though Indian art is now booming, it still has some distance to travel before making it to the big league.

Thought-provoking exhibits courtesy the Flag Art Foundation

Through painting, sculpture, photography and installation, One, Another explores coupling and interconnectedness in the realms of love, nature and spirituality. Historically one another is an abbreviation of the one the other and in that form was used only for two people. The clause one another reflects this reciprocal relationship and action between them. The separation of the two words by a comma emphasizes the distinction of a whole and its parts.

Emanating from the painting The Lovers completed in 1963 by Remedios Varo, the exhibition incorporates reoccurring motifs of mirrors, nature, cosmos and existential forces to investigate themes such as transformation, sexuality, love, narcissism and identity. Featured artists include Diana Al-Hadid, Agnieszka Brzezanska, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Cornell, Tom Friedman, Robert Gober, Subodh Gupta, David Hammons, Jim Hodges, Cindy Sherman, Swoon, Rachel Whiteread, Remedios Varo, and Fabio Viale.

Another thought-provoking exhibition at the venue showcased works by Josephine Meckseper, who employs window displays, vitrines, installations, photographs, films and magazines to draw a direct correlation to the way consumer culture defines subjectivity and sublimates the key instruments of individual political agency. The artist presented new works focusing on retail environments and modernist concepts.

The Flag Art Foundation is an exhibition space for contemporary art at the Chelsea Arts Tower located in the heart of New York’s art district. The program includes 3 to 5 professionally-curated shows each year. Each consists of works by established and emerging international artists.

Their objective is to encourage the appreciation of contemporary art among a diverse audience. The venue provides a unique educational environment in which visitors can view, contemplate, and engage in active dialogue with the artworks. Curators select and borrow from a variety of sources to include a wide range of work in each exhibition. It also serves as a resource that facilitates loans of contemporary artworks to museums around the world. An extensive database of available works is maintained and made available to curators.

Tracing the fast-changing face of Indian art

A new insightful volume about major artists of this generation who has taken Indian art to new heights begins with an introductory essay, entitled ‘New persuasions in contemporary Indian Art’ by Gayatri Sinha. The titles of the essays incorporated in the book are self explanatory.

‘Baiju Parthan: Prophesies in Pixels and Paint’; ‘Jayashree Chakraborty: Landscape in time and space’; ‘Surendran Nair: Openness of secrecy’; ‘Pushpamala N.: Self in stills, conflict within the frame’; ‘N.N. Rimzon: The metaphor of irony’; ‘Anita Dube: A lover’s discourse’; ‘Nataraj Sharma: simulated realities & virtual experience’; ‘Atul Dodiya: between the baroque & the minimal’; and ‘Sudarshan Shetty: transforming contemporary sculpture’.

Other artists in spotlight are ‘Bose Krishnamachari: History, memory & postmodern Pastiche’; ‘Anju Dodiya: Beauty’s dark underside’; ‘Subodh Gupta: Object world’; ‘Shibu Natesan: reading the contemporary moment’; ‘TV Santhosh: Between the Satanic Verses and the axis of evil’; and ‘NS Harsha: Making of Good things’ inform us about the crux of their practice.

‘Bharti Kher: of Monsters, misfits…’; ‘Jagannath Panda: Negotiating shifting ground’; 'Riyas Komu: the seekers mind conversation’; ‘Jitish Kallat: Guilt gilded in gold’; ‘Shilpa Gupta: Tracing figures of absence’ are among the other essays. Each of them is accompanied by succinct artists’ conversations with Parul Dave Mukherji, Deepali Dewan, Grant Watson, Arshiya Lokhandwala, Vyjayanthi Rao, Deeksha Nath, Sharmini Pereira, Brinda Kumar, Latika Gupta, Sasha Altaf, Shaheen Merali, Ullekh N.P., Nancy Adjania, and Ranjit Hoskote, among others.

This thoroughly researched document puts the spotlight firmly on the best artistic talent from the country and their outstanding work that addresses a range of issues like the expanding city, religion and mythology in the context of modern urbanizing India, war and violence. With a touch of humor and irony, depth and insight, they deal with some of the complex aspects of our social polity through multiple devices.

‘Voices of Change’, in a way, acquaints us with the changing face of Indian art by encapsulating the practices, themes and thoughts of some of the top contemporary artists from the country.

Spotlight on top 20 contemporary Indian artists

The idea of a recent volume, entitled ‘Voices of Change: 20 Contemporary Artists’ (publisher: Marg; pages: 308; price: Rs 3,500), by Gayatri Sinha is to map the contours of their art practice that deals with various facets of challenging day-to-day existence in a country marked by opulence as well as its seamier underside.

This eclectic collection of essays, launched last year to coincide with a group show courtesy Religare Art, signals an informed inter-textual reading of the new generation of Indian artists that has left an indelible scene in the 21st century. Establishing themselves in international sphere and drawing applause as well as curatorial attention, they explore several pressing issues of concern to the modern Indian society in a wide array of media like photography, painting, drawing, large scale sculpture, video installations and mixed media work.

In this context, this seminal volume collates views of several renowned scholars, critics, anthropologists, and museologists, to offer a unique perspective. Incidentally, these artist’s creations formed part of an exhibition, entitled 'Looking Glass', curated by Gayatri Sinha. It engaged different cultural organizations, later translating the project into an art walk. The idea was to build an art movement and create a dynamic platform to encourage learning, appreciation and recognition of Indian art. That’s exactly what the book looks to achieve.

The author has edited a number of noteworthy research documents like ‘Art and Visual Culture in India: 1857-2007’ (Marg Publications, 2009); ‘Indian Art: an Overview’ (Rupa Books, 2003); ‘Woman/ Goddess’ (1998); ‘Expressions and Evocations: Contemporary Indian Women Artists of India’ (Marg Publications, 1996). The renowned art expert has contributed to several Indian and international publications. Her core areas of enquiry are woven around the structures of gender and iconography, economics, social history and media.

As the title suggests, the ‘voices of change’ records the new tunes and trends in contemporary Indian art.

A well-researched document that focuses on talented artists of our era

Author-curator-researcher Gayatri Sinha’s concerns as a researcher essentially involve constructing a language in order to create a solid theoretical framework for understanding the complex elements that enter and make Indian praxis.

She has given lectures on Indian art– its past and present, at the National Museum, Japan, Foundation in Tokyo, Tate Modern in London, Tate Britain, Asian Art Museum in Singapore etc. She has curated a series of show in India and across the world.

An intriguing mix of some known and upcoming, young and senior, emerging and established names, whose works respond to the present complexities and realities, have generated immense interest in the contemporary Indian art, not just within the country but globally.

In this context, talking about the core concept of ‘Voices of Change’, she states that the artists featured not only work on different media and revisit their own art forms, but also reflect on the dramatic transformations occurring around them.

The writer-editor of the volume adds: “In the 1950s and 1960s, Indian art was largely influenced by the Nehruvian contradictions. The 1970s marked a phase of social conflict. There was a sense of gradually moving away from the ideals of art. Art followed a whole new trajectory in the 1980s and thereafter. It displayed critique about issues like injustice, violence and terror. Artists are now the forerunners in bringing these to the people’s notice.”

Baiju Parthan, Jayashree Chakraborty, Surendran Nair, Pushpamala N, N.N. Rimzon, Anita Dube, Nataraj Sharma, Atul Dodiya, Sudarshan Shetty, Bose Krishnamachari, Anju Dodiya, Subodh Gupta, Shibu Natesan, TV Santhosh, NS Harsha, Bharti Kher, Jagannath Panda, Riyas Komu, Jitish Kallat and Shilpa Gupta are among the significant names whose art, life and practice has been covered in the book.

‘Voices of Change’ is a well-researched document that puts the spotlight firmly on talented artists of our era and their outstanding work that addresses a range of contemporary issues and concerns.