Stale Wine in New Bottle

The much hyped India Art Summit is once again turning into a case of lost cause. The last year’s summit had avoided MF Hussain, SH Raza and completely ignored the regional artists from Eastern India and the South. But art lovers still showed their support hoping that things will become better in 2009.  Alas Indian bureacracy is capable of being more inefficient than it is often thought to be.

Subodh Gupta has not made anything else than readymades in the last few years. What is there to see in these works?

Last year the summit oganisers were criticized for playing into the hands of few commercial galleries who ended up showcasing only their own artists. The quality of display was very poor and most galleries stayed away from discussions, debates and other events that were organised durimng the three days. It gave an impression that the galleries were only interested in quick sales and much less in academic discussions.

Photographs placed side by side to make a large blow-out. Something that the galleries in Indian are popularising. is this art?

This year the government is  no longer playing in the hands of commercial galleries. Instead the government has decided to desert the field completely so that the galleries can do whatever they want. So what are the galleries doing? Showcasing old works of fallen artists like Jitish Kallat, whose works got the maximum beating the last year as most international art houses his prices not only over-inflated but also over emphasised. Another artist who had become the toast of the art world was Subodh Gupta. But Gupta since then made notheing else other than steel utensils. These so called sculptures are now found in almost every gallery and so many are they that there is no buyer for these. Now Art India summit is giving an opportunity to pull up Gupta’s sagging image.

Chintan Upadhayay, Manish Pushkale, GR Iranna are some of the other highlights. All these artists have got a beating because of the recession. Yet India Art Summit is showcasing their works. Why?

Stripping, Carrying out indiscreet acts, generating shocks is all that is a part of contemporary art scene. Unfortunately Governmet sponsored Summit is also showcasing these same set of commercial artists

It is now being said that the summit is now being used by these artists and their spurious galleries to re-establish their markets. These artists had all become famous with the aid of an obnoxious nexus of business people who were trying to extend their betting habits onto the art field, self styled art curators who promoted anybody who gave them good money and some willing artists who made nothing but what the market demanded.

Lot of genuine work had taken place during this time in India. Devajyoti Ray had initiated a new genre of art called Pseudorealism which aquired international recognition. Sushanta Mandal made very deeply moving installations which were aquired by The Guggenheim gallery. Vivan Sundaram orngasnised art camps accross cities trying to restore the pristine glory of creative impulse that was once a staple of the art world. Chandramohan suffered for the expression of his sub-cultural ethos. MF Husain remained aloof from India.

All these artists deserved a mention in the Art Summit. But they are all absent. Along with them are absent Indian origin artists who got accolades outside but remained unnoticed in India. Artists like Anish Kapoor, Sacha Jaffri, Kaushik Mukherjee and Pritam Singh Pal would probably never understand the workings of an Indian Art Summit organiused by a corrupt bureaucracy and self-serving private galleries.

This year the Summit organisers have claimed that more number of galleries are participating. But what they do not mention is that some of the best galleries like Pundole (Mumbai),  Shrishti(Hyderabad), Art Eterne (New Delhi), Kalakriti (Bangalore) and CIMA (Kolkata) have stayed away from the farce. The slots have been sold in black to any gallery who were willing to pay more than the official rates. 

When would sanity ever return to art market in India?  

   

Art Beyond Mart

“……….. The past one year had not been very good for the art world. Yet the best of India’s artists have not been found complaining. Rather many have simply entered a cocoon to remain immersed in their art in these hard times, only to come out occasionally and take stock of the world. This is one such occasion for us to take stock of the art world and its artists…” these are the words that form the preamble of an unique show that is soon too be launched at New Delhi’s Visual Arts Gallery.

15 of India’s top names in the art world would be showing their latest works under a common roof of the newly formed Galerie Art Eterne of Sudhanshu Paliwal. the artists include Jatin Das,   Devajyoti Ray,  Laxman Aley,  Sanjay Bhattacharya,  Rupak Goswami,  Jai Jharotia among others. What is unique about the show is that the artists would be putting up their works on their own without the interference or guidance of the gallery.  It is an artists’ endeavour executed by artists themselves.

Bold new abstracts of Raushanallah

The role of Gallerie Art Eterne would be minimal in only arranging the show.  Curiously titled ‘Art Beyond Mart’ ,   the show is likely to be the biggest draw this year in New Delhi.  However how far the phrase  “Art beyond Mart”  is justified is yet to be seen. 

If the show succeeds, the Group would then consider putting up similar shows annually.  An introductory write-up is being presented by art-curator and erstwhile director of Travancore Academy, A R Raju. In an era of individualism in the art world, this formation of a group is rare. 

One should watch for the colourful renderings of Devajyoti Ray’s latest series on Bridget Riley and bold strokes of brush in emerging artist Raushanallah’s abstracts. Also there would be a new series of paper based works of veteran artist Sanjay Bhattacharya and Oil paintings of Jatin Das.   A must see.

Emerging Artists hold the key

Sudhanshu Sutar

The consecutive three quarters of economic recession has hit the Indian art market badly and artists, collectors and galleries are groping for newer strategies in the coming years.

One of the reasons for the phenomenal rise in art prices during the last few years had been the emergence of the expatriate Indian community abroad who were investing in Indian art. Galleries and artists were ever eager to cater to the needs of this community and accordingly the three years between 2005 and 2007 had seen a steep rise in production of art works.

Experts had always been suggesting that this phenomenal rise in prices and the commensurate large scale production of art works was not sustainable. Now that the economy is on a downswing, there is suddenly a glut in the art market. Artists whose prices rose the most are hit he worst now. Galleries and collectors who were holding their art works are not likely to realize the full value of these works in the next one to years. Clearly this is not a time in India to sell. 

Nonetheless experts say that this the best time to buy. Though Christies’ and Sothebys’ have cancelled all the auctions of Indian art for the entire 2009, they have not closed down their offices and seems to be acquiring newer works which would be sold later when the market firms up. Borubudur Auction House and Siddhartha Auctioneer which specialize in Asian art are also traveling in India to spot the next big name.

So who are the artists of future? One artist whose name seems to be ringing is Sudhanshu Sutar whose show in early 1996 in Japan had gone ignored in India. But now there is a demand for the artist’s works in Asian market. Dhananjay Sing is a sculptor who remained mostly aloof from the Indian market but was working successfully in Australia. Arunanshu Chowdhuri is another likely contender for the top slot in coming years. He had been a recipient of Greenshields Foundation Grant way back in 1995 and yet his art career did not take off well all these days. Another artist who has acquired laurels abroad in recent years is Devajyoti Ray. Cuban National Museum of Fine Arts has acquired a work of Ray. According to Charles Saatchi, Ray’s new style of art called Pseudorealism is an original new genre of art in India. It is likely to emerge as the next big thing in world art. Among the other emerging artists whose art works are still available at affordable prices are Shakila, Farhad Husain and Suresh Dhamani.

Dayanita Singh : an artist among photographers

Very few photographers in India has remained committed to the presentation of their craft as art. Dayanita Singh is one of that rare breed. While most other contemporaries of Singh has drifted to either fashion photography or journalistic works, Dayanita Sigh has steadfastly put up shows in art galleries till she got accepted by art-collectors.

Singh had initially studied Visual Communication at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and had later on studied at New York and then shifted to Goa. She has worked with a variety of themes, the best among which had been her works on an eunuch named Mona. Singh had always chosen thematically explosive ideas to communicate her thoughts. Apart from photography Singh had also written books and made documentaries and worked with nternatioanl writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and Film Directors like Deepa Mehta. Singh was also chosen to work with the prestigious Frith Street Gallery of London.

However within India, Singh’s works are seldom seen in regular art shows and it is only lately that Indian buyers are seriously investing in her signed photographs. Dayanita  Singh’s works have also been auctioned at Saffron Art and a number of other shows.

Sahabuddin in India

Sahabuddin Ahmed is perhaps the most important surviving artist of Bangladesh. For long he had been settled in Paris, visiting his country once in two years. But unlike most other Bangldeshi artists 

Shahabuddin Ahmed

Sahabuddin had not held any solo show in India. But this year at the initiation of Ganges Art, a Kolkata Based Gallery, Shahabuddin came to Kolkata and held a show of some 36 of his works. Most of the works were old, but there were a few new works too. The exhibition was inaugurated by another important artist Sunil Das.

The response in Kolkata has encouraged many galleries to take his works in other shows. In New Delhi’s much publicised Indian Art Summit, Sahabuddin will be presented by IndianArtCollectors an online art-site alongside imposrtant artists like Jogen Choudhury, Sunil Das, and contemporaries like Devajyoti Ray and Chintan Upadhyay.

Shahbuddin Ahmed’s life story is as interesting as his art. As a student he had participated in the Independence war of Bangladesh but soon after the assasination of Bangladesh’s first President Mujibur Rehman, Shahabuddin left his country and settled in Paris. Deeply inspired by Gandhi, Shahabuddin had made portait of the latter which was auctioned three years back by the Christies. Yet Shahabuddin never visited Gandhi’s land for almost 20 years.

Indian audience will definitely love Shahabuddin’s fast paced works. Though his style is much inspired by the European styles of the 80s, there is some kind of raw freshness that still makes the apeal of Shahabuddin magnetic.

New Show of Devajyoti Ray

After a long hiatus, Devajyoti Ray held an exhibition of his recent works at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery. The exhibition curiously titled “A Colourful Arena …..in the midst of heat” was presented by upcoming New Delhi based gallery called Sudharts. As the name suggests, the exhibition was a riot of colours as is the hallmark of Ray’s works. But the title suggesting “in the midst of heat” had been quite ironic, now that Mumbai is washed everyday by tumultous showers.  

The exhibition had a total of 29 paintings, depicting as usual scenes from everyday life. But the colour treatment in Ray’s original style of Pseudorealism had achieved an even higher dimension this time. As like always the exhibition had attracted a huge number of visitors, mostly students of art colleges.  Pseudorealism is an original genre in Indian art which has in recent past created a lot of interest among the Europeans.

Ray had earlier held exhibitions in Europe and USA and his exhibitions in Arizona had also been particularly very successful. He can also boast of his painting on Che Guevara which has been displayed at the prestigious Cuban Museum of Fine Arts at Havana, the only one from India. 

This year too most of the buyers of Ray’s works had been from European countries of Norway, Germany and France. The amalgamation of bright flat colours, a feature of most of contemporary European Art and the use of purely Indian subjects is probably what these buyers like the most. Outside regular art auctions of Indian art organised by Indian art houses, Ray is probably one of those few artists who commands some respect among European buyers and can cause sale of art works on their own.  

What is Ray upto next. ”Well an exhibition in Dubai” says Ray. “People of Dubai are showing interest in my work. I am planning for a show at Dubai sometime during the next half of the year” We wish him all the success once again.

Art Fair In Kolkata

Kolkata was abuzz with the news of an Art Fair organised by a conglomeration of art galleries, bookstores, and art colleges. The fair was organised in a newly-built Avani Signature building on Park Street which is being provided by the Avani group. The 3-day fest was spread out over around 24,000 sq ft of space on the ground and first floor of the building between April 25 and April 27.

This is one more sign of Kolkata raising its head in the field of art. Two years back the website named indianmasterpainters.com had started an annual award ceremony where the best artist of the year was awarded a with a golden brush. Birla Academy of Art and Culture organises similar shows every year. Nonetheless, all these had always remained mostly local evcents. So there was a lot of expexctation from this fair and people had thronged in huge numbers. Huge murals adorned the outside wall of the building and it was a true treat to the eyes.

However the selction of artists and art-genres was very poor. It had the regular Kolkata artists like Jogen Chowdhury, Suvaprasanna (who are also fest committee members), Ganesh Haloi, Paritosh Sen, Wasim Kapoor, Dhiraj Chowdhury, Rabin Mondal, Prakash Karmakar, Isha Mohammad, B R Panesar and Suhas Roy. These artists showcased their regular works, mostly painting and sculpture. There was a conspicuous absence of installations, and other types of modern day arts.

Neither was there any presence of some of Kolkata’s best modern day artists like Sanjay Bhattacharya, Devajyoti Ray, Paresh Maity, Chittrobhanu Majumdar, Subba Ghosh or Kaushik Mukherjee. Is it because these artists are not staying in Kolkata any more?

These avant garde artists are less known in Kolkata and more elsewhere. They are attracting international attention and recent auctions show their immense popularity in the international art market. However they have never showed together. This fair could have been an opportunity to showcase their works on a single platform.

May be future fairs would be organised on a larger scale.

Artes Mundi Award for NS Harsha

NS Harsha stays away from the limelight of the art world. Much less known compared to his contemporaries like Devajyoti Ray, Chintan Upadhyay or Bose Krishnamachari, Harsha is a reclusive artist who is identified with the new breed of urban contemporaries only through his style which bears closer resemblance to the newer post-liberalization artists than the elders in the Indian art world.

Harsha’s work spans from painting to installation to community projects—and are often narratives of mass activity. He uses the tradition of miniature paintings with popular and everyday images of comics and folk art.

The artist’s entry into the world of art was rather strange. He had joined art school not by choice but rather by circumstances. But while doing his masters in fine arts at MS University, Baroda he came in touch with such celebrated veterans like Bhupen Khakhar, Gulammohammed Sheikh and Nilima Sheikh, who left a lasting impression on him. Like Bhupen Khakhar, harsha too brings story telling in his art. But in terms of style, he is closer to contemporaries like Shibu Natesan and Subodh Gupta. Like these contemporaries, he also uses installations in large numbers.

This year is particularly specialk for Harsha as he wins this time the prestigious Artes Mundi Award and then his painting titled ” Mass Marriage” attracted a phenomenal bid of $6.4 million at an auction organised by Christie’s at Honkong. Harsha is probably the only artist from Karnataka to have reached this height in recent years. Those who have missed his previous exhibitions can catch him up at his solo exhibition at Maison Hermès in Tokyo in June. Also on the cards is a show at Mumbai’s Sakshi Gallery and a couple of group shows in Spain and Tokyo.  

Gurusiddapa: New Kid On The Block

This is the year of Gurusiddapa. His painting titled “Thittibhasana on Cloud” won the Lalit Kala Academy’s national award. Then he exhibited his meticulously crafted works at Bangalore and then took the exhibition to Mumbai. What is important however that these works are so fresh and so new that most viewrs were quite at awe at his recently concluded show in Bangalore’s Sumukha gallery.

Sumukha Gallery has not presented any new talent for a long time. They had been mostly concentrating on Bengal’s legendary artists like Ganesh Pyne, Bikash Bhattacharya and BR Panesar. Even though placed in the Bangalore City, the gallery has hardly ever showcased works of Bangalore based artists.  Gurusiddappa’s show is significant from this point of view also. The native artists of Karnataka had faced a tough battle as most bangalore based collectors of art ignored them. Gurusiddappa is however showing a new trend of interest in Karnataka based artists. 

Gurusiddappa completed his BFA in Painting from Karnataka  Chitrakala Parishat and then went on to do his MFA from MS University, Baroda. Gurusiddappa belongs to Chitradurga district in Karnataka and traces of his early days of childhood are evident in this particular series. His style of painting shows however lesser influence of local art-forms and he bears closer resemblance to what is happening in the rest of India’s urban centres. Crisp drawings, colourful renderings, touch of comic and irony in subject matter: these are the hallmarks of Gurusiddapa.

Those who have missed the previous show at Bangalore can now catch him at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai.

Savi Savarkar’s Exhibition after a hiatus

Noted painter Savi Savarkar in exhibiting his recent works at New Delhi’s Lalit Kala Academy. The exhibiting title curiously Eyes re-cast is curated by Parul Dave Mukherji , Dean, School of Art and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi . This is Savarkar’s second major show after a long hiatus of almost a decade. the last major show was also organised at the Lalit Kala Academy by the then fledgling Art Konsult Gallery.

Like the previous exhibition, this one too is directed towards the Dalit cause but this time the works cover dialogues in the realm of sublime rather than simple representation. In the previous exhibition Savarkar had been mostly representative depicting his protagonists with dalit symbols and article used by the dalits particularly in Savarkar’s native Maharastra. But this time savarkar has given lesser importance to symbols and artefacts and tried to engae viewers more towards the underlying ideas that are starnge to Dalit consciousness thereby portraying the vast differnce between mainstream and Dalit world view. Savi Savarkar’s quest for a new linguistic idiom is an outcome of the recognition that most of the existing linguistic options are inadequate to communicate with the expressive needs of an oppressed but multicentered community and culture.

Savi Savarkar often uses the neo-Buddhist ideological positioning in his works, which is quite understandable as Dalit movement in India has largely accepted the Buddhist iconography and philosophy.  But what is interesting is that as the artist grows in time, his symbols are now becoming modern icons in the web-version of dalit movement. A host of web-sites in India today are openly putting Savarkar’s iconography in the context of describing Dalit concers.

The exhibition is thus important from the point of view of an index of Savi Savarkar’s growth. He had difficult time in the past. Even though he was teaching as lecturer at the Delhi’s College of Art, he was hardly much respected by the art world. His works sold much less than others who were his contemporaries. But today Savarkar is  major artist exhibiting his art accross the world, the recent most being held in USA.