Art News: India Art Fair 2020

All Roads Lead To Delhi For The India Art Fair

The India Art fair 2020 combines cutting-edge contemporary visual art with modern masters, vernacular artistic traditions, and an expanded performance and talks programme 

Ai Weiwei 

Ai Weiwei, Martin

Cast iron, 230.5 x 352 x 238 cm / 90 3/4 x 138 1/2 x 93 5/8 in. © Ai Weiwei Courtesy of Lisson Gallery 

and neugerremschneider Berlin 

The India Art Fair previews on 30th January in New Delhi with 81 exhibitors spanning 20 different global cities. In its 12th edition, the fair has evolved into a significant exhibition of modern and contemporary art in the country, combining cutting-edge contemporary visual art with modern masters, vernacular artistic traditions, and an expanded performance and talks programme. 

Fair Director Jagdip Jagpal elaborates, “The fair’s programme draws together galleries and artists, private foundations and arts charities, artists’ collectives, national institutions, cultural events and festivals. This enables international audiences to engage in innovative ways with the cultural history and development of the region. Each year, we introduce new elements to the fair that invite and interest audiences of all ages and backgrounds.”

B.Prabha. Fisherwoman 1979. Courtesy of Dhoomimal Gallery

The IAF Selection committee evaluates applications and makes selections based on quality of proposals. Jagpal explains, “2020 will see a diversity of international blue chips, with Indian galleries still in the majority – a defined 70% India, 30% international split – with international galleries showing works not previously shown to Indian audiences. IAF is committed to work closely with galleries to develop India Art Fair’s on-site experience, ensuring the fair is the first place to see and discover artists from the region."

The idea is to develop a stronger and expanded public programme, to create a truly distinct cultural experience that reflects and is inspired by India’s cultural heritage, and constantly - developing modern-day identity. And, continue to place the artist’s voice at the centre of the programme.

Olafur Eliasson. Dew Reflector 2019. Partially silvered glass spheres paint black yellow stainless steel ©Studio Olafur Eliasson. Courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider Berlin

In this edition, new entrants include Art Explore, Arts of the Earth, Gallery White, Pichvai Tradition & Beyond from India and 4 new international participants - Saskia Fernando Gallery (Colombo), Gallery Tableau (Seoul), PSM (Berlin), Marc Straus (New York).

BMW Group India continues its association with the IAF and will showcase the BMW Art Car by Andy Warhol – one of the nineteen prominent artists from across the world to have created Art Cars using contemporary BMW automobiles of their times, all offering a wide range of artistic interpretations. This will be complimented by The Warhol Talk.

Andy Warhol's BMW Art Car, 1979. Courtesy of BMW Group India

The Performance Art Programme has been successful in bringing new audiences, and this year will present a strong line-up of leading artists including -Maya Krishna Rao, national-award winning theatre performer and social activist; Lagos based multimedia artist Jelili Atiku whose works address political concerns for human rights and justice; multi-disciplinary artist Piyali Ghosh following from her recent exhibition at the Venice Biennale; and Raisa Kabir, an interdisciplinary artist exploring the politics and cultural anxieties around globalised neo-colonial textile production and nationhood.

Priyantha Udagedara Orientalism XII 2019 Mixed Media on Canvas 122cm x 183cm Courtesy of Saskia Fernando Gallery

6 large-scale installations by high profile Indian and international artists will be showcased as Outdoor Art Projects and will include pieces by Anita Dube, Farah Mulla, Martin Parr, Rathin Burman, Sameer Kulavoor and Vijay Pichumani.

Idris Khan. The Old Tune 2019. Digital C print mounted on aluminium.

Courtesy of Galerie Isa

Jagpal reiterates, “India has some of the world’s strongest curatorial exhibitions, whether it is Kochi Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival or Chennai Photo Biennale, which have a significant profile internationally, especially within the arts scene. While issues relating to display and curation may be similar, the challenges of organising a 4-day exhibition across a 12,000 square meter venue are unique. The biggest challenge, however, is to build and de-install temporary exhibition tents in order to give our exhibitors and visitors the best possible on-site experience.”

The fair ensures accessibility for all and will include tactile artworks, braille signages and fair guides, offering personalised accessibility tours for visitors.


India Art Fair: NSIC Grounds, Delhi, India Fair Dates: 31 January – 2 February 2020 Preview: Thursday 30 January 2020

All images courtesy India Art Fair

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Art News: KMB 2018 - Kochi-Muziris Biennale releases curatorial note and expanded list of participating artists

Kochi-Muziris Biennale releases curatorial note and expanded list of participating artists

· The fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale will be held from December 12, 2018 to March 29, 2019

Kochi, Sept. 7: With less than 100 days to go for the opening of the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the Kochi Biennale Foundation has released the Curatorial Note and an expanded list of participating artists for the largest contemporary art event in South Asia.

Curated by eminent contemporary artist Anita Dube, who is known for her politically-charged works, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018 will focus on the theme of “Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life”. The main exhibition, along with an ancillary programme of talks, seminars, workshops, film screenings, and music, will take place across multiple venues in Kochi, over a period of 108 days, beginning December 12, 2018.

“At the heart of my curatorial adventure lies a desire for liberation and comradeship (away from the master and slave model) where the possibilities for a non-alienated life could spill into a 'politics of friendship.' Where pleasure and pedagogy could sit together and share a drink, and where we could dance and sing and celebrate a dream together,” Dube said, in her curatorial note.

As an artist, Dube has consistently challenged cultural norms and championed critical engagement across media. Her vision for the upcoming Biennale carries forward, at its core, a spirit of ongoing and decentralised collaboration.

The expanded list of participating artists includes nearly 80 practitioners from Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and the Americas.

Curatorial Note by Anita Dube:

“I remember Guy Debord’s warnings of a world mediated primarily through images—a society of the spectacle—as I write this note. That such a society is fascism’s main ally, we are all discovering in different parts of the world today.

Virtual hyper-connectivity has paradoxically alienated us from the warm solidarities of community—that place of embrace where we can enjoy our intelligence and beauty with others, where we can love—a place where we don’t need the 'other' as an enemy to feel connected.

At the heart of my curatorial adventure lies a desire for liberation and comradeship (away from the master and slave model) where the possibilities for a non-alienated life could spill into a 'politics of friendship.' Where pleasure and pedagogy could sit together and share a drink, and where we could dance and sing and celebrate a dream together.

In this dream, those pushed to the margins of dominant narratives will speak: not as victims, but as futurisms’ cunning and sentient sentinels.

And before speaking, they will listen, like K P Krishnakumar’s Boy Listening—to the stone and the flowers; to older women and wise men; to the queer community; to critical voices in the mainstream; to the whispers and warnings of nature—before it is too late.

If we desire a better life on this earth—our unique and beautiful planet—we must in all humility start to reject an existence in the service of capital. Through the potential of social action, coming together, we ask and search for questions, critical questions, in the hope of dialogue.”

K P Krishnakumar, Boy Listening, 1985. Painted cloth, fiberglass, plaster.

Expanded list of Participating Artists

Aernout Mik (Netherlands), Akram Zaatari (Lebanon), Arunkumar HG (India), Anju Dodiya (India), Annu Palakunnathu Matthew (India/US), Anoli Perera (Sri Lanka), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook (Thailand), BV Suresh (India), Bapi Das (India), Barthélémy Toguo (Cameroon/France), Bracha Ettinger (Israel/France), Brook Andrew (Australia), Chandan Gomes (India), Chitra Ganesh (USA/India), Chittaprosad (India), Dennis Muraguri (Kenya), Domenec (Spain), EB Itso (Denmark), Goshka Macuga (Poland/UK), Guerrilla Girls (USA), Hassan Khan (Egypt), Heri Dono (Indonesia), Ines Doujak + John Barker (Austria + UK), Jitish Kallat (India), Julie Gough (Australia), Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba (Japan/Vietnam), Juul Kraijer (Netherlands), KP Krishnakumar (India), Kausik Mukhopadhyay (India), Madhvi Parekh (India), Marlene Dumas (Netherlands), Martha Rosler (USA), Marzia Farhana (Bangladesh), Mrinalini Mukherjee (India), Mochu (India), Monica Mayer (Mexico), Nathan Coley (UK), Nilima Sheikh (India), Otolith Group (UK), PR Satheesh (India), Pangrok Sulap (Malaysia), Prabhakar Pachpute (India), Priya Ravish Mehra (India), Probir Gupta (India), Radenko Milak (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Rana Hamadeh (Netherlands/Lebanon), Rehana Zaman (Pakistan), Rina Banerjee (US/India), Rula Halawani (Palestine), Santu Mofokeng (South Africa), Shambhavi Singh (India), Shilpa Gupta (India), Shirin Neshat (Iran/USA), Shubigi Rao (Singapore), Song Dong (China), Sonia Khurana (India), Subhash Singh Vyam + Durgabai Vyam (India), Sue Williamson (South Africa), Sunil Gupta + Charan Singh (India/UK), Sunil Janah (India), Tabita Rezaire (France/French Guyana/South Africa), Tania Bruguera (Cuba), Tania Candani (Mexico), Tejal Shah (India), Temsuyanger Longkumer (India/UK), Thomas Hirschhorn (Switzerland/France), VALIE EXPORT (Austria), Veda Thozhur Kolleri (India), Vicky Roy (India), Vinu VV (India), Vipin Dhanurdharan (India), Vivian Caccuri (Brazil), Walid Raad (Lebanon/USA), William Kentridge (South Africa), Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (South Korea), Zanele Muholi (South Africa)

(Press Release)

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Art News: Noted painter Nilima Sheikh becomes first artist to be selected for Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Noted painter Nilima Sheikh becomes first artist to be selected for Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018  

Kochi, Dec 12: Versatile and provocative painter Nilima Sheikh, whose illustrious body of

works is a scorching portrayal of the turmoil in Kashmir valley and a mystical depiction of women-centric issues, has become the first artist to get the curator’s nod for the fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), which begins exactly a year later -- December 12, 2018.

Anita Dube, the curator of the upcoming KMB that is hosted by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), announced Sheikh’s name today, formally setting in motion the process of selection of her artists for the high-profile contemporary art event that has redefined the cultural landscape in Kerala and India.     

During her over five-decade career, the 72-year-old Vadodara-based painter has produced an incredibly magnificent oeuvre, wielding her brush to make an intense depiction of subjects, with particular emphasis on Kashmir, Partition and displacement. Her strength also lies in the portrayal of grimness of contemporary life like oppressive patriarchy and the silent suffering of women that crack social fabric and she does it through use of traditional idioms and motifs.  

A historian by training before she focused her attention on the canvas, Sheikh delved into the history of Kashmir, and believes that the valley’s turmoil “is owing to our lack of understanding (of the place and people there) as Indians…The artist’s role is to bear witness - to both the past and present.”

“The tender compassion in the paintings of Nilima Sheikh, in their quiet grandeur, aligns the feminine with the mystic and subversive strains in our tradition. She is a voice we must listen to, especially in these violent troubled times,” said Anita Dube.

Hailing the selection of Sheikh, KBF President Bose Krishnamanchari said, “The Kochi Biennale Foundation is thrilled that we are able to make this announcement on 12/12/17, exactly a year to the day the next edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will start. Curator Anita Dube's intentions and ideas for KMB 2018 are reflected in Nilima Sheikh, the first artist she's presenting of the lineup. I can see in her choice reflections of the socially and politically sensitive aesthetics that Anita would bring to KMB-2018.”

Heavily inspired by the literary works of Rabindranath Tagore, Sheikh became interested at an early age in the connection between stories and images, between murals and ancient manuscripts. Beyond appropriating traditional techniques in her paintings, she works with figure and narration in her practice, which has famously translated into theatre sets such as Umrao as well as children’s books.

Her works are rooted in Eastern painting traditions such as miniature painting and oral traditions of vernacular folk songs. For her paintings, she drew inspiration from artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose and K G Subramanyan. Through her own life experiences, Sheikh continues to create bodies of work that evoke mystical imaginary landscapes that address feminine experiences.

Her most recent work, titled Terrain: Carrying Across, Leaving Behind, was produced for Documenta 14, a leading global exhibition held in Kassel (Germany) every five years.

The artist also includes song and poetry as a performative mode of public address, echoing the 14^th century female mystic Lal Dĕd of Kashmir (translated by Ranjit Hoskote), along with references to texts from several writers who have written about Kashmir such as Aga Shahid Ali and Salman Rushdie. 

About Kochi Biennale Foundation

The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), founded in 2010 by prominent artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, hosts the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), which made its debut in 2012. A non-profit charitable trust engaged in promoting art and culture and educational activities in India, it works round the year to strengthen contemporary art infrastructure and to broaden public access to art across the country. These programmes include talks, conferences, performances, educational initiatives, workshops and other forms of wide public engagement.

The KBF is also engaged in the conservation of heritage properties and monuments and the upliftment of traditional forms of art and culture.

A biennial exhibition on the best of contemporary international art, the KMB has shaped up as a seminal event in the realm of art and culture. The 108-day-long third edition of the biennale (12 December 2016-29 March 2017), held at 12 sites, showcased installations of 97 artists from 31 countries and drew over six lakh visitors.

Prominent artist Anita Dube is the curator for the fourth edition of the KMB, beginning December 12, 2018. Her selection by the KBF was in keeping with the Biennale’s long-standing tradition of being an artist-led exhibition. Based out of the National Capital Region, she is renowned for her conceptually rich, politically charged works. An art historian and critic by training and a visual artist in practice, she has been widely exhibited across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including at the first edition of the KMB in 2012.

*press release

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• Art News: Anita Dube declared curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

 

Art News: Anita Dube declared curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Anita Dube declared curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Kochi, March 29: Anita Dube, one of India’s most provocative and versatile contemporary artists, was announced here today as the curator for the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) beginning December 2018. The selection is in keeping with the Biennale’s long-standing tradition of being an artist-led exhibition. 

The reveal – made by Culture Minister Shri A.K. Balan during the KMB 2016 closing ceremony at Durbar Hall Wednesday evening – followed the unanimous decision made by a high-powered panel of renowned artists and prominent personalities to bring Dube’s unique artistic insights and sensibilities to the Biennale – the largest celebration of contemporary art in South Asia. 

“Through three editions, the KMB has gained a reputation for being one of the most important exhibitions of its kind around the world. It is an honour and a very big challenge to be declared curator of this wonderful platform. I am delighted that the jurors thought I can deliver. I accept the responsibility with excitement and humility. It is early days yet and my thoughts will no doubt undergo several changes going forward, but I view this as an opportunity to do something special,” said Dube, who was present at the function.

Dube takes over from Sudarshan Shetty, whose vision for the third edition of India’s only Biennale saw 97 artists from 31 countries showcase their production – across a variety of forms, styles and disciplines – over a 108-day period starting 12/12/16. Spread out across 12 venues, KMB 2016 received more than six lakh visitors.

Based out of the National Capital Region, Dube is renowned for her conceptually rich, politically charged works. An art historian and critic by training and a visual artist in practice, she has been widely exhibited across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including at the first edition of the KMB in 2012. Dube’s practice uses found objects and industrial materials, photography and ‘word architecture’ to critique contemporary socio-political realities.

Her aesthetic idiom, in many ways, reflects her background as a member of the Indian Radical Painters and Sculptors Association – a short-lived but hugely influential collection of artists and art students who rebelled against what they perceived to be the commodification of art in India.

In fact, Dube’s selection comes nearly three decades after she wrote the manifesto of the group’s seminal exhibition ‘Questions and Dialogue’ held in 1987 in the western state of Gujarat – that called for an explicitly radical, socially and politically conscious approach to art making. The group focused on inexpensive materials and found objects to produce works that resisted commercialisation and connected with working-class audiences.

Describing Dube as a ‘thinking artist’, KMB co-founder Bose Krishnamachari said, “Anita’s sensitivity towards materials, incorporating everyday objects derived from informal, craft and industrial sources and spaces, is profound. As is her wordplay and use of mediums, gestures and imageries – all of which will make for varied experiences and resonances in a space as adaptive and accommodating as the Biennale. Her oeuvre features both knowledgeable consideration and skillful melding of the sensibilities and styles of abstractions with real, contemporary concerns. This will doubtless be reflected in her curatorial vision.”

Krishnamachari, who is also President of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) – the organisers of India’s only Biennale, was part of the ‘Artistic Advisory Committee’ that selected Dube as curator. The other panelists were KBF Secretary Riyas Komu, Velu Vishwanadhan, Sarat Maharaj, Ravi Agarwal, Dayanita Singh, Sadanand Menon, Kavita Singh and V. Sunil.

“Anita’s selection not only reinforces our commitment to having artists at the helm, but also our mission to address contemporary social-political-cultural concerns. Anita is a strong proponent of making art accessible to the public through effective political and social engagement. This is precisely what the Biennale tries to do,” Komu said.

Dube is also a board member at KHOJ, an international artists’ association she co-founded in 1997 in New Delhi. Over two decades, the initiative that began as a modest annual workshop has become one of the most important platforms shining a global spotlight on South Asian art, organising and hosting international ‘itinerant’ workshops, residencies and exhibitions.

Besides KMB 2012, she has been represented in various national and international biennales and festivals such as ‘Biennale Jogja XI’ (Indonesia, 2011), ‘Against Exclusion’ 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2009), ‘iCon: India Contemporary’, Venice Biennale (Collateral event, 2005), ‘Yokohama Triennale’ (Japan, 2001) and the ‘7^th Havana Biennial’ (Cuba, 2000).

Dube was also a participant in the groundbreaking 2009 exhibition, ‘Indian Highway’, an itinerant collective show curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones and Gunnar B. Kvaran, which represented the growing importance of the sub-continent’s creative panorama – especially the vibrancy of its contemporary art scene – and the economic, social and cultural developments in the region over the past 20 years.

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