"She Creates to Conquer" on 20 September 2014, 6 pm at Gandhara Art Gallery

“When an artist is a woman she is called ‘a woman artist’. On the other hand, when an artist happens to be a man, he remains just an artist. The ‘man’ in him seems to go for a toss!” – These were the opening lines of an essay by Art Historian, H. A. Anil Kumar on Indian Women Artists and Visual Culture in an exclusive edition of a renowned art magazine of the country a few years ago where he raised the question that ‘why is the Gender Issue so much Gendered...’ It was while contributing in the same edition of the art magazine as an art-critic and writer I was struck by this issue that visual art in India, despite its liberal reputation is still predominantly “A Man’s World”. 

Sarmistha Maiti

Filmmaker - Curator

In a country where the practice of art has flourished boundlessly since the inception of civilization and been at par with international standards even in modern times, why does then history fail to acknowledge even ten female artists who have reached legendary heights like their male counterparts in the last century? What is the necessity of this separate gender bracket of ‘women artists’ and how far is it justified? Is there anything really “feminine” or “masculine” about art? Do female artists only address “women-centric” issues in their art? What are the complex politics of “feminine”, “feminist” and “female-centric”? It’s high time to decode these issues which actually form the great ‘Gender-divide’ in the field of visual arts in India that has otherwise been essentially naturalized or taken for granted.

Standing in the second decade of the twenty-first century we are indeed at a crossroad of time. It is true that the scene for women artists has evolved a lot from the past with the opening of different forms of experimentation in different kinds of newer art medium and more and more women artists are getting prominence! But have we really arrived at a time when all gender norms will be thrown away and women will walk shoulder to shoulder with men? But why then is there so much unrest, so much violence against women and so much chaos and oppression? Is it the darkest hour of the night before a new sun can rise? Does future really hold good news for women? Will the coming century finally see women succeeding as much as men in every sphere of work including the field of visual arts?

‘She Creates to Conquer’ - the exhibition of Contemporary Art is a part of an independent documentary film also titled, ‘She Creates to Conquer’ by National Award winning Filmmaker Sarmistha Maiti who is also an Art Critic and Curator and this exhibition has been conceived by her that comes as the closing in the film, which is now in its production stage. ‘She Creates to Conquer’ is primarily a cinematic exploration of the position of female artists in the field of Contemporary Indian Visual Arts while focusing primarily on the artistic journeys of Amritah Sen, Nobina Gupta and Falguni Bhatt – three young female artists in the new millennium experimenting with newer and alternative mediums and striving to make their presence felt in the art world. The works of these three artists from different stages of their vocation will be showcased in this exhibition. The filmmaker-curator expresses her heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Sudipta Sen for lending her benevolent support by allowing this exhibition to happen at her gallery, the Gandhara Art Gallery of Kolkata.

AMRITAH SEN: Amritah Sen is a young Visual Artist from Kolkata. She did her graduation and post graduation in Fine Arts with specialization in Painting from Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan. After completing her formal training in 1999, she came back to Kolkata and started on her own in the creative journey and in all these fifteen years, she has come a long way bringing changes into the perception of art and aesthetics through her executions of non-formal art, largely creating 2 D and 3 D collages, book art, paper installations, art objects, sharing personal anecdotes connecting with the universal thought-process. Amritah’s works have been showcased in many acclaimed galleries nation-wide as well as she has participated in important exhibitions on contemporary art in Germany, Kuwait, Egypt and in the Royal College of Art, London. Amritah loves communicating with people and such interactions become a large part of her works where she refuses to accept the stereotypical notions and norms of art execution and their display. Amritah’s works have been collected by buyers from across the country and also from abroad.

NOBINA GUPTA: Nobina Gupta is a Visual Artist in her early 40s based in Kolkata who has been formally trained in fine arts from Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan with painting as her specialization. Nobina is one such exponent of contemporary Indian art who has largely voiced on environmental issues, preservation of flora and fauna, the significance of the microbial world through her art connecting the physical reality of survival and the struggle behind it to the greater philosophy of existence. Oriental philosophies constitute a large part of her drawings and paintings both in the level of formal execution and thought process. She has done a number of solo exhibitions that included her drawings, paintings, experimental sculptures, installation, and video art providing an array of creativity to the audience to perceive. She has showcased her works in the international galleries in Basel and Zurich in Switzerland where most of her works were sold out on the opening days of the exhibitions. She is a UGC NET scholar and was also a Lecturer at the Apeejay School of Designing in New Delhi. Apart from her regular exhibitions, she was selected to execute a huge installation, “Kalpa-Taru- The Wishing Tree” for the India Art Fair that has been permanently installed in an art hub in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. Last but not the least, she takes a lot of interest in Public Art projects and this year she is one among the six participants who has been selected for the “Earth Project” from all over the world by the Japan Foundation to be held in Leh-Ladakh.

FALGUNI BHATT: Flaguni Bhatt’s journey in the art world began in 1992 when she joined the BFA course in Sculpture in MS University, Baroda and finally completed her MFA in 1999 from the same University. She took interest in Ceramics during the end of her graduation course. She has majorly changed the perception of ceramic art and transformed this generally perceived as craft material into experimental and avant-garde art. Clay has remained to be the most intriguing element in her art execution and she has worked with this material to the optimum and played with architectural space in devising the subject her work through hanging installations etc. Since the beginning of the new millennium she has remained dedicated to this alternative sculpting medium and took her journey ahead. Apart from setting up ‘Aorang Studio’ in Kolkata which happened after her marriage, Falguni has done regular exhibitions nation-wide and is the recipient of Residency Scholarship at Barcelona, Spain in 2005. She is also an AIFACS award winner, a national level exhibition held in New Delhi and has largely showcased her works in Kolkata, Bhopal, New Delhi, Baroda and many more cities of India.

You are cordially invited to the opening of the exhibition of contemporary art , "She Creates to Conquer" on 20 September 2014, 6 pm at Gandhara Art Gallery, Flat 5 A, Palm Spring, 1 B  Gurusaday Road, Kolkata 700019. (The exhibition continues till 22nd September 2014 , 1 pm - 7 pm.)

 

(Note : This PRESS RELEASE for all Indian news paper and Media, leading PR Agency  and online social media, please share )  

National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai

 National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai in collaboration with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and The Museum Society of Bombay, Mumbai cordially invites you to a musical programme by Smt. Neela Bhagwat on 1st October 2014 At 630 pm.

Venue: Auditorium, NGMA - Mumbai

(Note : This PRESS RELEASE for all Indian news paper and Media, leading PR Agency  and online social media, please share )

Own individual identity with different impressions and their expression- “ Five fingers “

“ Five fingers “  a word define five important elements of Visual art like Expression, Emotions, Compositions, Concept and Surface.

Harshil Patel, Prexa Kapadia, Rakesh Patel, Roma Patel and Vipul Prajapati, each artist have their own individual identity with different impressions and their expression. We develop our own language in Indian art scene, how ever we are growing  together and doing practice in same time and place with an individual process with signature style of our own work.

Rakesh patel:

Emotions, the most important feeling that connects us and brings us close to one and all. My recent series of work involves around these emotions that I have mainly tried to capture specially in children. The innocence and purity in their emotions is what appeals me the most. Every character of the child in my work has a story that somewhere reveals their life especially their surroundings. As I travelled extensively to explore what actually is the reason for them being so happy in spite of not having any luxuries of life which we generally connect happiness to, and the reason I found is that it is the real “CHILDLIKENESS” that somewhere bounces and reflects in their character, though necessary they don’t need any material things to be happy. While working I have not only taken the portraits but also created interesting backgrounds focusing mainly on their environment the kind of job or work they do and their interaction in daily life and transformed and amalgamated  all these element with the characters  in my work.  The entire process is not only interesting but also very interactive.

Roma patel :

Painting is to look at, to dream, to feel and to enjoy. It creates an illusion that goes beyond sight since it strikes reason, generates feelings and emotions, activates fantasy and brings the spectator near the aesthetic enjoyment. To look at is not a simple act if what one wants, just to see. In fact, to see is to exhaust the range of what the eyes can reach, to overcome the limits of an image and go long way of perception, understanding, grasp of knowledge and the discovery of spiritual emotions. Painting is an experience to look at it calmly, quietly and reverentially; it arouses a desire to understand, willingness to see, ambition to comprehend in order to reach and feel the immense enjoyment of aesthetic experience. Roma’s work is intense. She paints with rigor and order. She prefers ocher, blue, white, and intensely cold colors and combines very light areas with dark bodies that generate tension, reveals balance and give the composition a serene dynamism. She introduces long and vigorous brushstrokes. She sometimes uses cracking and, often introduces daring and expressive textures. She wants the finish of the work to reinforce the expressive sense with exquisite visual and tactile sensory. Roma’s painting full of lyricism and subtleties reflects youth, vigor, experience and maturity seasoned with the characteristic simplicity of the people who make art and culture the essential part of their lives. Her work is thought to surprise and move spectator, to arouse feeling and transmit emotions. Her paintings drive to contemplation, meditation and introspection. Roma’s painting is solid, rigorous, sincere, warm and suggesting. It arrests the spectators’ attention and captivates their look and speech.     

 Harshil Patel  :

The latest series of artworks is result of amalgamation of three different theories, ideology and philosophy of Hinduism and materialism with visual popular culture of world . The concept I have introduced in my artwork is that you can touch, feel, listen, smell, express, and interact with the piece; it is highly simplified through visual communicative language and intimate through its intellectual esthetics. I have tried to play the symphony between the contemporary painting and sculpture in my artwork, by applying natural sacred elements, additionally added sound and fragrance which shall enhance the appeal of atmospheric art. I like to merge different ideologies in my artworks . The deep philosophy of Hinduism and pop-cult, The extravagant way of materialistic window display at high streets like London, Florence, and Paris is highly contemporary in accordance with the glamorous western style of displaying objects on window display as comparable way at Hindu temple. I have used repetition of nonliving object form as a rhythmic way for creating world  of  live objects which posses give liveliness such as chanting mantra in Hinduisam. Use of sacred natural medium such as like, charcoal(black), turmeric powder(yellow), gulaal(pink)),sandalwood(brown),crimson(red),abil(white), sindoor(orange), lime, silver and golden leaf, betel nut, sacred thread, skin of tree, cow dung, and Silver foils which are considered to be auspicious and used to decorate deity as an important gesture, is the uniqueness of the series.

Through this series, I have tried to reduce the gap between common people and intellectual art community. According to me, an intellectual may say a simple thing in a complex manner while an artist communicates a complex vision in a simple way. 

Prexa Kapadia :

A painting is meant to be a revelation of the artist's authentic identity.  The gesture, the artist's "signature", is evidence of the actual process of the work's creation.

Gestural line or mark-making, unique textures, and dense layering create the illusion of energy, movement, and compressed space-time. Grids, biomorphic and abstract forms imply structure or order within the composition. Painting are made on paper and canvas and explore a variety of shape, size and techniques. Abstract painting is a physical manifestation of a journey depicted in form, texture, color, signs or symbols that has specific meaning and are part of her life. Having always been fascinated with the symbols, color of galaxy, and astronomy, they appear intuitively in her works.

 Scraping away, repainting, pouring colors, whipping, dripping.... creative work is an inexplicable process and she try all possibilities of what can be done with color on canvas to embrace spirituality. Prexa, in her new serious of art works is trying to create an art expressing mood. She not go beyond the state of mind and a series of expressive colors and shapes, independent of things. The Mood in the second case is very different from the first mood. A mood which is partly identified with the conditioning object, a mood dominated by clear images of detailed objects and situations, and capable of being revived and communicated to others through these paintings, is different in feeling tone, in relation to self-consciousness, attentiveness and potential activity, from a mood that is independent of an awareness of fixed, external objects, but sustained by random flow of private and incommunicable associations.

 Vipul Prajapati :

Vipul Prajapati is a very promising young artist doing noteworthy, experimental, creative work in mixed media.After completing his Diploma in Painting & Drawing from C.N.College of Fine Arts in Ahmedabad, two year ago, Vipul has been experimenting very seriously and with deep understanding with varied mediums like course cloth, wood, paper and canvas. He employs Black Japan on wood to create drawing and compositions. He has sparingly used colures when necessary. With dry brush he has created drawings in his paintings as well as graphic effects. In a few paintings he has fixed real nails, which go very well with the demand of the subject. The surface of the wood creates its own environment, beauty, and texture. He has artistically and creatively used his own photography of Veraval, a port near Somnath and also the main subject of most of his paintings. During his student life Vipul used to go to Veraval to do sketching of the port and catch its environment as this busy place fascinated him with its renovation and making of small and big ships worker and fishermen. He interested with them in order to know their feelings and also the drudgery of their work and life. He also found interest in the physical appearance of them, particularly their body structure and interesting portraits. In one of his paintings he has shown nails and bolts all over his body, because this person does only work of nails and bolts and as a result he himself has turned into a figure of nails and bolts. What Vipul has so closely observed and felt at Veraval has been very artistically and aesthetically integrated in the interesting compositions of his paintings. Really these innovative and experimental images of Vipul have created their own unique environment and space of the world of the activities and life at Veraval in various prospective.

Jahangir art gallery during 8^th Sep to 14^thSep 2014.

(Note : This PRESS RELEASE for all Indian news paper and Media, leading PR Agency  and online social media, please share )  

        

Similar feelings were inspired during my earlier visits to Varanasi in India -Asit Poddar

My travels in India and abroad opened my eyes to the synergy of art and architecture. In 2010, during a visit to Vienna and Salzburg in Austria, the classical city of Praha in the Czech republic, Bratislava on the river Danube in neighbouring Slovakia and Budapest in Hungary, I was struck by the medieval cathedrals, old museum buildings, quaint bridges spanning rivers, the broad boulevards that grace old Europe. Two thousand long years of history are condensed within its splendid architecture, yet they have not left an impression of fatigue or decay.

Similar feelings were inspired during my earlier visits to Varanasi in India. Located on the left bank of the river Ganges, Varanasi is the holiest city for Hindus. From time immemorial it has been a center for pilgrimage with pilgrims arriving from all over the world. Claimed to be the oldest city in the world, it dates back to the time of Babylon and Nineveh in ancient Abyssinia. With its array of shrines, temples, Ghats and palaces rising in several tiers from the rivers edge, it is one of the most picturesque cities in the East.

Bronze on Architecture by Asit Poddar

This series of paintings express the idea that architecture is the aesthetic manifestation of civilization.

Tapping the traditional roots - Warli paintings by Jiva Soma Mhase.

                  

 Jiva Soma Mhase.

On this auspicious occasion of Independence Celebration week, I felt like tapping the very roots of Indian Art’s tradition and culture. Hailing from Mumbai, situated in Western India, I tapped the very old folk art of painting- Warli paintings. Warli art is purely tribal art, painted by tribesmen living at Thane, Dahanu and other areas at close proximity to Mumbai. Close proximity to urbanized society has not affected the style of Warli painting, though some development has been incorporated. Since Warli painting is commonly found paintings on walls and in courtyards of tribesmen who were illiterates, there are no records of the exact origin. But it was discovered in early seventies. 

(Strictly for illustrative purpose only)

Jivya Soma Mashe is one of the most appreciated Warli artists. His works are displayed at National and International galleries. He is the savior of this Art and also instrumental in spreading his ethnic style all over the world. Like any other Warli artist, he expresses daily and social events of these tribesmen. He too has elaborate presentation of nature and culture of these men in his creations. Along with hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting scenes, there are huts and forms of animals that are the part of their daily life.  

The style of Warli painting in original form is unique. In the sense, it is especially done on austere mud base using one color, white, with occasional dots in red and yellow. This color is obtained from grounding rice into white powder.

Though devout Warli artists prefer to adhere to traditional images, artists like Jiva Soma Mhase understands the value of bringing in new knowledge and ideas in Warli painting and thus we find tradition blended with upgraded knowledge and conflicts of these tribal for survival due to modernization.  

Truly, Warli style murals and paintings look more effective on walls, but as a part of development, they have started spreading their art to non-Warli communities. And now it is often done on paper and cloth incorporating traditional decorative Warli motifs with modern elements, and even these are fast becoming popular.  

All the traditional inclined art lovers can always approach this non-arrogant, simple and rustic artist for more interesting facts of this tribe and its art. 

by Pankaja JK 

ONLY IMAGE  :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jivya_Soma_Mashe

ART TALK by Priti Tamot, 23rd August 5.30 at Art Gate Gallery

When Nature is resurgently splendid amid decay :Pirti Tamot

( Pirti Tamot working in studio )

As one gazes at the prints on display at an exhibition of Priti Tamot’s work at the Kala Parishad one is struck, first of all, by the literal and visual highpoints. As a child the artist was fascinated by a passage from kalidasa’s ‘Meghdootam’ where Megha, the cloud was told by the Yaksha that a hill from on high would resemble a woman’s breast (shades of the tortured priest in Maugham’s ‘Rain’?). This lending of a whole new perspective by a change in the observer’s position stayed with her and the ‘birds-eye view’ is the predominant perspective in her creations.

PT: The future isn’t very bright for the simple reasons that people here do not understand graphics. Most of my work is purchased by foreigners. The only thing that people in India are interested in is canvas as there is a misconception that prints (which are published on paper) do not last. I would like to say here mat a print if conversed by glass and taken reasonable care of can easily last 70-80 years. What further confounds the public is the printing of Xeroxes of printings of who wonder why they should pay, say RS 10,000, for a print when they can get a copy for a pittance. They should understand that a print is the original, not a copy.

Upon closer inspection one notices the recurrent themes of erosion and dilapidation. Of palaces and forts fallen prey to the ravages of time. These harbingers of a glorious era reclaimed by nature. The melting together of stone and creeper in such a manner they are not separate entities anymore but part of the same continuum. It is not so much nature run amok as returning to stake its claim as the rightful owner after a brief interlude by pretenders to the throne. And one can’t help but think of the magnificent monuments as interlopers. An oberration, no less so for having been cast in stone. The annexation, however, is from any element of coercion.the undulating vines slowly seducing the arches while moss plays footsie with the courtyard; a testimony to the wiles adopted by nature.

(Rare Prints by Priti Tamot)

When one is finally face-to-face with the artiste one scrutinies the forty-something lady seated across the table to discern any traces of inner turmoil or a vestigial loneliness that find expression in her work, of which decay and depredation is the leitmotif. One may as well look for meaning in an Aditya Chopra flick. Comfortably ensconced in her beautifully constructed house the lady exudes serenity and a quiet confidence. Dressed in a printed sari with her hair pulled back in a no-frills bun she seems the archetypal Hausdorff whose worst nightmares would comprise a dust- speckled mantelpiece or God forbid, roaches in the kitchen.

Meet Priti Tamot; graphic artiste extraordinaire. Honoured with a national fellowship by the government of India and winner of the 71 st annual All India Art Exhibition (AIFACS 2000) as well as the all India Art Exhibition, 2001 Tamot was the recipient of the MP state Award in 1999. Success rests lightly on the shoulders of this diminutive woman who has exhibited her works at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Jehangir and Zen galleries in Mumbai, Bharat Bhavan, Alliannce Francaise Bhopal as well as in Europe. When asked about future plans, with touching modesty she expresses a desire to’improve’.

Born academically in lnelined parents (her father was a sanakrit professor and Amateur painter) she did her BSc and followed it up with an MA in Fine Arts from Vikram University, Ujjain. Marriage and looking after her children kept her away from her avocation initially but it wasn’t long before she succumbed to the muse. She joined the Bharat Bhavan workshop in 1988 and hasn’t looked back since.

During a lengthy chat with the Central Chronicle, interspersed with frequent trips to the kitchen for cups of steaming tea, Priti Tamot revealed many shades of her personality, the vibrancy of which is, perhaps, matched only by the hues of her palette. Excerpts from the interview:

Sk: When did you start painting?

PT: As far back as I can remember I have wanted to paint. When in Ujjain I took classes in art from Vishnu Sridhar Wakhandkar, who discovered the cave drawings at Bhimbetka. He was in the midst of his search in those days and the graphic descriptions he provided about his visits to Bhopal and surrounding areas resulted in an interest in architecture that lasts to this day

SK: were you inspired by any particular genre or artist?

PT: My role model among contemporary painters was Almelkarji who was a master at creating a plethora of details with the repetitive stroke. Detailed work has always attracted me and so jain miniatures as well as the figures of Ajanta hold a special place in my heart.

SK: Any western painters?

PT: No, not really.

SK: What made you shift from painting to graphics?

PT: First of all, it was a new medium and that is always alluring. Lots of detail in what I create, like I said, has what I have always hankered for and graphics allowed me to pursue this much more than canvas did. Things I could only dream of while working on canvas were a tangible reality while doing graphics.

(Rare Prints by Priti Tamot)

SK: The terms ‘graphic artiste’ and ‘graphics’ seem to be much misunderstood. Could you explain what exactly these means?

PT: I’m glad you brought this up. A few weeks ago I had given a detailed explanation to a gentleman from the vernacular press but he went ahead and wrote his own version. Graphic means ‘painted picture’. How it works is; drawings are made on a zinc plate with the aid of a nail polish like substance and the plate is then dipped in acid. That part of the picture, Which has been worked upon, is not dissolved when exposed to acid and further drawings are made after which the plate is again dipped in acid. This is done repeatedly with the result that those parts of the plate which have had prolonged exposure to acid acquire greater depth while those dipped only a few times remain lighter. When the plate is coloured using printing colour the hue permeates the most to the areas with the greatest depth while the lighter areas remain relatively unaffected. After this the plate is printed onto paper in the same way that is done in any printing press.

SK: Are the monuments in your pictures taken from real life?

PT: Let me say that the genesis of any print that I do lies in real life but by the  time I remix it in my head it  in my head it bears absolutely no resemblance to the original. You wont’s find the palaces depicted in my prints in Bhopal, or elsewhere. And this is how it should be.

SK:Any plans to marry painting with graphics in your quest for perfection?

PT: I am experimenting with something for a show to be held in japan soon. The thing is that if a graphic artiste works on canvas his artistic genealogy is immediately evident.

SK: what do you make of the recent trend to launch young artistes with gala openings followed by glitzy luncheons? Do you think their sales are based more on hype than on intrinsic value of their work?

PT: The publicity, bookings and all the promotional stuff is dealt with by the galleries who make 33 per cent on every sale and so I think it is unfair to blame the artiste for the ritzy openings. Then again times have changed and today everyone wants to have oodles of money so……(trails off).

SK: Painters like Hussain, Raza etc. command as tronomical prices…….

PT: (interrupts quickly) So what is wrong with that? People like Raza, Hussain, are ‘old masters’ to whom we are indebted for having gotten rid of the stigma that was attached to being an artiste. Before Hussain the general perception of a painter was that he was perennially penurious. In any art there are people who get critical acclaim and those who win popular acclaim with a tiny minority attaining both. Hussain is among this rare breed.

SK: You seem quite enamored of him

PT: on the contrary. Personally, I identify more with Raza’s paintings but Hussain’s contribution towards bettering the financial condition of artistes cannot be overstated. The way he has marketed himself is something from which all of us can learn.

SK: Have you?

PT: (A little taken aback) My material needs are very limited. Plus my husband is quite well-to-do and so I do not have to depend on the income from my work. So you could say that there is no pressure to do so.

SK: How do you see the future of graphics in India?


SK: Finally, as an artiste what do you look forward to?

PT: A time when I am better able to transfer my thoughts onto paper. What else? Perhaps getting international recognition to the same extent that I have received in India (smiles)



(Report courtesy Chronicle :Saturday Bhopal)