Art News: Sparsha, Indian Art Exhibition at Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany

Sparsha, a contemporary Indian art exhibition is set to open at Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany

An exhibition exploring reflections on Hindu rituals by contemporary Indian artists previews on 2nd November at Kunstmuseum Bochum Germany. This exhibition titled Sparsha will display videos, installations, sculptures, miniatures as well as Tantric art.

Mahirwan Mamtani, an Indian artist based in Germany will be showing 21 works from his series Transmuted-Fotos as part of Sparsha. Mamtani is a painter, graphic and multimedia artist, who grew up in India and moved to Germany in 1966. He was awarded a scholarship by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to study painting at the Kunstakademie. Since then he has been living and working in Munich.

In the 1960s, influenced by Constructivism and Tantra art Mamtani came up with the series Centrovision, which consisted of more than 3000 works in 1990. “The inspiration for Mahirwan Mamtani's conception of "Centrovision" is derived from the manifestation of tantric doctrines. Emanating from the centre toward the outside, his forms are akin to the mandala concept, the visual manifestation of which are based on the axiom of microcosm versus macrocosm,” explains Dr. L.P. Sihare.

Regarding Transmuted-Fotos, Mamtani explains, “These are the photographs of my dance performances which I have over-painted with acrylic colours.” He performed dances wearing several mandala masks, which he painted on wood. These dances were recorded in the form of photos and videos and then painted over the surface of the resulting photo sheets with acrylic colours, creating a series of new mixed-media works of art. The result is human figures with mask like faces assuming new identities, and poised as enigmatic creatures. The performative stances and theatrical settings heighten elements of mystery, drama and the absurd.

According to Günter Ebert, “Mamtani´s figures appear with a mysterious aura and gravity begins to dissolve. What is invisible in the real world is visible here. The background of his paintings consists of molecular structures floating in the atmosphere, the so-called “orbs”. This transmutes the body thus a fantastic world of thought takes shape and opens the doors into a hidden world.”

Exploring plurality of cultures, the diversity and paradoxes existing in India and its linkages with ritualistic traditions,Sparsha promises to be interesting. The other artists invited to participate in this exhibition include Desire Machine Collective, Chitra Ganesh, Sunil Gawde, Subodh Gupta, Amar Kanwar, Subodh Kerkar, Nalini Malani, Mahirwan Mamtani, Monali Meher, Prabhavathi Meppayil, Pushpamala N, Mithu Sen, Tejal Shah, Viveek Sharma, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Sudarshan Shetty, L.N. Tallur and Thukral & Tagra.

The exhibition will open on 2nd November 2014 and will continue until 1st February 2015 at Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany

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