Art News: Bangalore Art Scene

'The Unity of Opposites' by Tanya Mehta at Gallery Sumukha

 A nationally and internationally exhibiting artist, Tanya Mehta works with photography and New Mixed Media to realise her vision through technology. She explores the gaps between our different constructions of knowledge – philosophy, art, science, the metaphysical – and finds, in those gaps, bridges. She hopes to take the audience over those bridges to move to the singular reality or truth that exists for all of us. The key is the imagination.

‘Unity of Opposites’ aims to explore the differences between human perception and reality through an understanding of non-dual opposites. Using portals, circular imagery and various looping mediums to depict the infinity of the universe around us, we explore the narrowness of human perception through what we define as opposites but are, in reality, unified.

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NGMA Bangalore in collaboration with BFS invites you to the screening of the films Child as an idea and image in cinema from 25th June 2017 @ 5.00 PM

NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART BENGALURU

(Ministry of Culture, Government of India)

in collaboration with

Bangalore Film Society

invites you for

CHILD

as an idea and image in CINEMA

June 2017 screening of films 

All the films will start @5 pm. Entry is Free on first come first serve basis. All are invited!

Children are everywhere in films – the child as a figure, an idea, image, narrative - a contested site of symbolism, romanticisation and controversy. The child is an ambivalent figure flitting between endurance and despair, vulnerability and violence. 

The films in this series examine the world from the child’s perspective. Here we see children who are dealing with serious situation like death, poverty, war and oppression. The films offer unique insights into these tiny minds who are witnessing and at the receiving end of harsh realities of life.  

Sunday 25th June 2017 

Pather Panchali / Satyajit Ray / 1955 / Bengali / 112 minutes

Pather Panchali is an adaptation of a 1929 novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. It was the first part in what became known as the Apu Trilogy, charting the life journey of a young boy in rural Bengal. Lyrical and sensitively observed, Pather Panchali documents the hardships of peasant life and the sadnesses of time passing, but doesn’t stint on the wonders and excitement of youthful discovery.

Tuesday 27th June 2017 

Ivan’s Childhood / Andrei Tarkovsky / 1962 / Russian / 95 minutes

The debut feature by Andrei Tarkovsky, Ivan’s Childhood is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky’s film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children.

Wednesday 28th June 2017 

The Spirit of the Beehive / Víctor Erice / 1973 / Spanish / 97 minutes

The protagonist Ana lives in a small village that is showing Frankenstein for the first time. While Ana wonders endlessly about the monster’s intentions, she stumbles upon a wounded revolutionary soldier who is hiding in a barn. The soldier’s death at the hands of the Francoist police, and Ana’s father’s anger over the situation lead to a strange hallucination in which Ana meets Frankenstein’s monster in the woods. Erice’s film is not only a subtle examination of Franco’s power, but it also introduces us to Ana, a dark-eyed child whose powerful gaze represented both an inquisitive youth and a rebellious spirit. Ana examines the world through an escapist fantasy, which takes her away from the realities of war. She represents the innocent generation of Spain that was unaware of Franco’s power and oppression.

Thursday 29th June 2017 

The Apple / Samira Makhmalbaf / 1998 / Persian and Azerbaijani / 86 minutes

The story of twelve-year-old sisters who have been kept confined in their home by their strict religious father and blind mother, who believe exposing their daughters to the outside world will lead to their corruption. It’s a film perched on the line between fact and fiction. Not only is the situation described a real one, but each of the characters in the ‘story’ is played by their real-life counterparts. When social workers force the parents to allow their daughters out into the street, the film documents the two sisters’ tentative first impressions of an outside world that’s so long been denied to them. Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf at the age of only 17, this astonishingly mature first feature combines a swipe at an oppressive society with a joyous ode to awakening senses.

Friday 30th June 2017 

Kutty Japanin Kuzhandaigal (Children of Mini Japan) / Chalam Bennurakar /1990 / Tamil / 60 minutes 

This documentary is set in Sivakasi, a small town in Southern Tamil Nadu. It is from here and the surrounding villages that 70% of the requirements of the match box industry and 90% of the fireworks industry are produced. The owners of the match box and fireworks factories proudly refer to their town as “Mini Japan”, a self-employed town. This town also prints millions of garish calendars and election posters which are used all over India. Sivakasi has another dubious distinction. It is the single largest concentration of child labour in the world. Nearly 10,000 children, mostly girl children, are employed in Sivakasi to meet the demands of production. It is these children aged between 4 and 16 who are the protagonists of the film. The film is an attempt to portray their everyday lives, the production process and the complex socio-political reasons that contribute to such a large employment of children in this area.

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Ananya Drishya I Presentation by Amshu Chukki | 30th June 2017, Friday @ 6.00 pm | Venkatappa Art Gallery

Amshu Chukki's practice ranges from site-specific ephemeral installations to drawing, video and sculpture. In his ongoing engagements with the notion of fictionalized spaces and narratives of dystopias, he is interested in the manner in which the boundaries between the real and illusory can fold into one another, keeping in mind an understanding of the filmic and in particular, the tropes of film noir. Further, questioning the ideas of the 'site', 'site specificity' and 'site informativity', his work tries to invite and involve audiences to speculate on the meaning and nature of the fictionalized worlds brought to life.

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RELOOK [35] : Lectures on Indian Art

Curated by Pushpamala N.

The "People without History": Forms of Cultural Memory and the Post-Colonial Archivea lecture by
Indira Chowdhury
Scholar and Archivist, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore

On Sunday 2 July 2017 at 6.30 pm
at 1.Shanthi Road Studio/ Gallery, First Floor,
Shanthinagar, Bangalore 560027

About the Talk

This presentation draws on my attempts over the last decade and a half to create archives of different institutions and organisations and the insights gained from these attempts into the practice of archiving. Echoing the title of Eric Wolf’s 1982 book, Europe and the People Without History (1983) and drawing on the conceptual framework of Edward Said’s Orientalism (1979), this presentation looks back at the colonial collections of archives and material culture in India and asks in what ways is it possible to put together an archive within a postcolonial context? If colonial discourse defined Indians as being steeped in backward traditions and lacking in history, what conceptual problems do we encounter when trying to assemble an archive of a formerly colonised people? Beginning with my visit to a settlement of snake charmers near Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, who claimed they knew nothing about snakes, I go on to look at the collection of botanical paintings at Lalbagh, and the subsequent setting up of the institutional archives of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, The Economic and Political Weekly and the Indian Museum. What does the process of archiving tell us about our relationship to the past? In what ways did institutions that originated in the colonial period reinvent their identities post-1947? How do the colonial foundations of academic disciplines shape the way our museums relate to the past? What roles do state interventions and notions of national identity play in the evolving sense of self? Do conceptualisations of education, development and progress erase forms of cultural memory and oral traditions and create reinvented identities? This presentation will attempt to show how we might re-understand the idea of collecting an archive and the critical ways in which we might interpret them.

Art News: Film Screening on Krishen Khanna

NGMA Bengaluru, in collaboration with Ananya-Drishya, is happy to announce the screening of a film titled "A  Far Afternoon", a film on Krishen Khanna, directed by Sruti Harihara Subramanian, at its premises on Sunday, 15th November 2015 at 4.00 pm. 

Art Buzz: Bangalore Art Scene, October, 2015

Here's what you can do this October - visit these art events in Bangalore. And don't forget to tell me which ones you liked the most.

K.K. Hebbar Art Foundation | Harvest Of Talents | Rangoli Metro Art Centre | Thursday 1st October 2015

 

NGMA Bengaluru

"Celebrating Gandhi" on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Saturday, 3rd October 2015 at 2.00 pm. The event includes drawing competition, sketching and doodling for children in the age group of 12-16 years. The theme of the event is 'Gandhi's Philosophy'.

 

Art Park on 4th Oct

 

"NIGHT FLOWERS", a solo exhibition by Tara Sabharwal, Gallery Sumukha

Artist Statement: My work, like my life, navigates through the real and the imagined. I am fascinated by the overlapping of time –how the time ‘present’, however physically real, incorporates both time past and the time to come. This continuous processing of time through memory and imagination is at the heart of my work. In recent paintings, the physicality of the real world recedes to make room for the incorporeal, allowing for an inherent multiplicity of experience.

Atul Padia and White Sanctum art gallery present an exhibition titled "108 Vinayaka 108 Kalavinayaka" - 4-7th Oct at White Sanctum Art Gallery

Ananya Drishya - October | Tara Sabharwal | 6 - October - 2015 at 6pm | Venkatappa Art Gallery

If you are organizing an art event and would like it to be listed here, send me a note well in advance. Include the evite (less than 100KB, jpg) which has all the details, 2-3 images (not more than 100KB, jpg, no phone camera photographs please), a caption that captures the essentials - What/Title, Who, When and Time/Duration. Mail it here.

Want to cover art events for Art Scene India? Drop me a line here

Art Talk: 'Recollections Reconnections' by Artist SG Vasudev

Heavy textures gouge out a terrain that is undulating and sinuous, mapping a visual narrative in SG Vasudev's recent works. 

 

I met the well-known artist SG Vasudev at the December ArtPark event at Ravindra Kalashetra, right before the opening of his solo show. The ArtPark is an initiative by the veteran artist to encourage interaction between artists and the general public in an informal environment, outside a gallery setting. It allows visitors to talk to artists, watch them draw and paint and even buy art directly from them. The lush green park with its tall trees, tucked in a secluded corner away from the bustling streets of Bangalore, forms a perfect setting to mingle with your friends and enjoy the art.

We discussed Vasudev’s upcoming show, ‘Recollections Reconnections’, Ananya Drishya - a monthly event where artists and other members present their work, and the possibility of a visual art festival in Bangalore. The driving force behind many public art initiatives in the city, Vasudev is an active crusader in his attempts to popularize art and to position Bangalore as a significant art destination. “We clearly need support from all quarters, and the government and corporates must come forward and encourage art and culture activities,” he passionately argues.

Vasudev’s latest series of paintings shows a perceptible shift from his earlier works. Heavy textures gouge out a terrain that is undulating and sinuous, mapping a visual narrative. The transformation is evident in his visual vocabulary with the granular and textural backdrop assuming greater significance.

The imagery has also undergone subtle changes, shelving the rigidity of the form and progressing towards the abstract. Similarly, the muted colour palette allows greater interplay with the topography, while the embellishments play out like musical notes. Animals, trees, human figures and other elements from his previous works are all there, but have evolved and morphed into figures and forms where their edges fade and amalgamate with their surroundings. A delightful rhapsody that plays out on canvas.

Interestingly, Vasudev first builds layers of white pigment on canvas to form a thick textural background, and then adds colours, only to remove it systematically from most areas. An avid music aficionado, SG Vasudev listens to music as he paints and he likens the process of his painting to the notes in music. “It is similar to the ‘Raga, Taana and Pallavi’ process in Carnatic music, when a ‘raga’ plays out, it is complete by itself. But, when ‘taana’ starts, it initiates another element and when that completes, ‘pallavi’ starts, which normally has verses and it completes the concert,” he explains. And, so for Vasudev, it is the removal of colours which completes the painting.

The exhibition continues till January 10 at Gallery Sumukha.

   
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Related posts,

• Art Park Bengaluru: Meet the Artists on July 6, 2014
• Review of SG Vasudev's Paintings

Art News: Multiple Visages - Narratives of Existence

INVITATION | ANANYA DRISHYA | BHARATI SAGAR & MRIDUL CHANDRA | MODERATED BY NALINI MALAVIYA | 27 SEPTEMBER, 6PM | VENKATAPPA ART GALLERY

 

Multiple Visages: Narratives of Existence

In the depth of my soul there is
A wordless song - a song that lives
In the seed of my heart

- Khalil Gibran

A million slivers of life exist around us - in the numerous stories that await discovery.  Stories of joy, celebration, sorrow and grief. Of ordinary people and their daily lives. Stories that resonate and stay with us and which alter our reality as we reflect and assimilate. Reinvented and retold, these emerge as wordless songs on canvas narrating multiple visages of life, and existence. Bharati Sagar and Mridul Chandra draw inspiration from everyday life and capture these vignettes in their paintings. 

About

Bharati Sagar learnt Commercial Art by correspondence from the British Institute, Mumbai at the tender age of 13 and then studied fine arts at The Fine Arts and Architecture College, Hydrabad. She also learnt Ceramics at The Lalit Kala Academy –Kolkata. She is well versed in landscape painting especially seascapes, has dabbled in
abstract art though she is better known for her sensitive portrayal of women and children.
Bharati has had solo shows and participated in several group shows in metros in India and abroad for more than 3 decades. Her most recent shows were in New York - 2012 and 2014 at a group show, where two of her works were projected on the buildings around Time Square-NY. In 2013, 10 of her paintings were projected on big screens at a gallery in Miami. 

Mridul Chandra graduated from the JJ School of Art (Mumbai) in 1978. She worked with the Sharat Das Consortium (architects for Indraprastha Stadium, Delhi Asiad 1982) and designed furniture and interiors for the stadium. She pursued graphics for a while, before getting into fine arts on a full time basis and has taught I.B. Art to the students of Canadian International School, Bangalore.
She derives inspiration for her works from travel, allowing her to juxtapose various scenes in a figurative format with textured backgrounds. The scenes narrate the reality of what she observes during her travels: migrant worker, laundry man, chai shop, teeming cities and towns – the pageant of the human being in an urban context, thus communicating her insights. Portraiture is her favourite medium and her compositions have a sense of celebration and renewal. 

Nalini Malaviya is a Bangalore based art consultant, writer and blogger. She has been writing for the media since 2003, and has been an art columnist for Financial Times (Delhi and Bangalore) and Bangalore Mirror. She has contributed to Times of India, Femina and several other publications including art magazines and catalogs. An occasional fiction writer, Nalini has published short stories as part of various anthologies. She also curates shows and conducts workshops for artists. 

Nalini runs www.artsceneindia.com, a popular blog cum Ezine featuring art news, events and articles. The website functions as an artist resource and also promotes artists. Currently, she is working on creating an eBook from her published articles.

Documenting the Bangalore Art Scene with Perfumes!

Suresh Kumar, an artist and self-appointed documentarian has documented several years of the Bangalore art scene, when collective groups and spaces were at a nascent stage.

 

Suresh Kumar of Samuha fame, who most people in Bangalore will recall had initiated a collective project run in 2009 in Bangalore, where over a period of one year a number of artists had slots for exhibitions in a space that was collectively rented. The project was widely appreciated and Suresh went on to present his ideas and vision about Samuha on various fora. Then, Suresh went on to video record events in Bar1, Chitrakala Parishad and Ananya Drushya (you can read more about this initiative here).

Perfumed Arts all over Bangalore

Calling it the Perfumes project, Suresh explains, “I was trying to present Bangalore artists and the scene online in a more organized way. The name Perfumes is a combination maybe of Performance and an idea of a bouquet…”

Suresh writes a detailed introduction on how he took up the role of a documentarian and how he views the current art scene, especially in Bangalore. He laments about the current state of art matters, how art students are going back to their native towns after graduation and how Suresh had to step up and adopt the role of a ‘recordist’.

He has recorded events at Samuha, Jaaga, 1Shanthi Road and the government-owned Venkatappa Art Gallery. You can read about his experience here and then follow the link to view the videos here.

Ananya Drishya presents Suresh Kumar G

Ananya Drushya, an initiative by eminent artist SG Vasudev is a Bangalore based organization - a cultural trust that promotes music, literature and art that aims to create awareness about visual arts in schools and other sections of the society. Readers will remember that a few years ago, the visual chapter of Ananya had started with a group show, where seventy artists from the city had contributed their paintings. It was immensely successful and helped to raise funds for their activities.

According to Vasudev, “Ananya Drishya aims at a three-pronged approach. We conduct regular lecture and discussion sessions on art and art appreciation programmes. Then we have outreach programmes for school children to develop awareness in them about visual art and culture. Simultaneously, we are developing archives of Karnataka art from pre-Independence period onwards. So, while discussion sessions connect with the present, archives and working with children bridge the past and the future.” (quote from Bangalore Mirror, October 09, 2011)

Since then Ananya has been organizing monthly talks and presentations by artists, which have been very well appreciated and well attended. Last year, I moderated a presentation and interactive session with artists Murali Cheeroth and Ravikumar Kashi. Continuing this series, next is artist Suresh Kumar G making a presentation on Jun 11, 2013.

 Do drop in at Venkatappa Art Gallery if you are in the vicinity.

Ananya Drishya

Art Buzz (Bangalore) Ananya Drishya

An evening with JMS Mani

Last week I went for Ananya Drushya’s interactive session with the artist of the month. This month features JMS Mani, who most of you will know from his very popular ‘Badami’ series. Mani was invited to talk about his art and events that have shaped his artistic career. Initially reluctant to speak, Mani did talk at length about his early days with RM Hadpad (Founder of Ken School of Art), his exposure to different media, making prints, turning down a seat at the MS University, Baroda (which he admitted he regrets sometimes) and so many other lesser known facts associated with his life. He sportingly shared anecdotes that were not only delightful but refreshingly honest and sans frills. Such a pity that there were so few of us in the audience! Fortunately, (SG) Vasudev felt the need to repeat the interactive session at a later date and hopefully it will happen again sometime this month.Incidentally, Mani studied and then taught at Ken School of Art and retired from there as the Principal recently. The prints of his works that were on exhibit offered a valuable insight into his growth as an artist – lithographs, drawings and paintings from his early days to the present were on display. As Vasudev pointed out, Ananya attempts to showcase a retrospective wherever possible. I liked Mani’s early black and white works much more than the colourful men and women from the ‘Badami’ series. But, it so happens that this series is what defines him. The rustic appeal and the apparent spontaneity of vibrant colours in these paintings draw the viewer. For so many successful artists this can be such a vicious trap – they are forced to paint what the buyers want, but then critics pan them for repeating their works and not trying out anything new. A Catch 22 situation for them, don’t you think? Maybe sometimes we are too quick in judging artists; it helps to remember that at the end of the day this too is a profession for them. Artists also need to make ends meet and have families to support.
But then, I find artists today are much more experimental in their approach and are willing to take risks. If you look at the results of a few past auctions, what stands out is that contemporary artists who are trying out different media and genre are doing exceptionally well.

The Baroda connection

A few months ago I was in Baroda and when Rameshbhai Pandya, retired professor from the department of fine arts, MS university, found out that I was in town, he very graciously invited me for a preview of an art show at Sarjan Art Gallery. I reached the gallery half an hour after the specified time (in fact quite early according to Bangalore standards) and was surprised to find the place jam-packed, where everyone knew everyone. This despite the fact that there were no cocktails but only tea and snacks (Gujarat is a dry state!). In any case the retrospective exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Ahmedabad based Piraji Sagara, a founder member of Progressive Painters' Group was a delight to see. In a non-conventional approach, the artist had used different mediums, combined them and presented figurative as well as non-figurative works. The 1931 born artist took the trouble to take me around and to show me each of his works and explain the various nuances associated with it. Wood, metal, beads, he had experimented with various mediums and textures. A very interesting show!

Back in Bangalore, I visited artist Jasu Rawal at his studio, who is incidentally also from Gujarat (born 1939), and completed his MFA from M.S. University, Baroda. But he has been living in Bangalore for several decades. Jasu bhai as he is fondly called is a fine artist and a fabulous human being, and he known in the city for his abstracted landscapes that often combine elements of still life. He, in fact, recently had a retrospective exhibition of his works spanning 40 years of his career. He has been awarded twice with the Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy Award in 1972 and 1980. This particular exhibition was organised by Ananya Drushya, where the photographs of his paintings were displayed at the gallery premises. Now, Ananya Drushya is an organization that aims to create awareness about visual arts in schools and other sections of the society. Readers will remember that about two years ago, the visual chapter of Ananya had started with a group show, where seventy artists from the city had contributed their paintings.
This is a great initiative but it needs more focus and probably greater involvement from its members to make the Karnataka arts scene more vibrant and to be able to reach out to a larger audience.

(Published in Bangalore Mirror)