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Story from McLeod Ganj / GNOSIS - 2018 at Jehangir Art Gallery, Open at 11th Dec 2018

Does Buddhism and creativity have anything in common? May be, Yes. Buddhism is all about exploring self and attaining the power of mind over body, self realization and self- control. Creativity adopts or follows some methods of Buddhism, where in creator becomes meditative as he goes in creating and concentrating on exploring the depth of theme, thus, gaining a meditative hold over the physical appearance of the painting. Both, Buddhism and Creativity, cultivate our real and cryptic nature.

There is rise of ‘Consciousness’ in both. Meditation is not an easy process and when you sit to meditate you have more diversions of thought than ever before; there is not a single moment when you feel stable at soul. It is probing into unpredictable nature. Creativity follows same ebb of finding stability amongst chaos and move with the tranquil flow.

Artist Umakant has been working on the concepts and figures of the Buddha since last many years. Gnosis/ Bhikus is one further step in his creation of thought involving Buddha and Buddhism. . Here he directly paints the representatives of the Buddha- the Monks. Along with Dalai Lama, there are novice monks. We find that these novice monks’ expressions are not serene and meditative but seem to be at the infantile stage of becoming Monks, they have childish innocence on their face. They are allowed to explore their physical world and with the aid of Buddhist preaching they slowly develop self awareness.

Process of creativity is like these novice monks, a process of becoming self aware and breaking free from of influence from others. Without imposing grueling knowledge and letting them be of their age; this natural way of growing and side-by-side acquiring knowledge in a systematic way would turn them into serene and self-controlled Monks.

To show this initial stage of proceeding to be a true monks, Umakant has made use of colorful background and not as expected of Buddhism (and taken for granted) the association of the subtle shades. The innocence and radiance of novice monks is reverberated in these colors. These photographic style representations have characteristic colorful abstract backgrounds, devoid of figurative, mysterious mist.  

Lastly, not to ignore the painting of The Dalai Lama who displays courage and humility. Like him artist should also have both. Courage to discard all that which is troublesome and hurdle in finding inner vision. Humility, a spiritual nature to accept criticism without disquiet and gain highest level of spirituality.  

These paintings are unique in the sense that the images are well-known but they are metaphoric representation of real creativity and shows us that path to spiritual growth; be it by following Buddhism as by Buddhist monks or by being creative person. The path is difficult and main hurdle is mind and soul and development of self awareness. Self awareness by Monks or by artist, would surely lead to spiritual upliftment. The show is worth watching as imparting knowledge through visual means.

- by Pankaja JK 

2016

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Zara

Hemant Morparia

9 November · 

 

here is my take on tree-killing by zara. share widely for possible effect

Jehangir Art Gallery : 13th Nov 2018

Behold the Honeycomb by Likla Lall

Behold the Honeycomb; Nature’s flawless design. Each hexagon is impeccable in itself, and at the same time, a part of something grander. Look closer and you will see that within each perfect cell there is a unique world buzzing with a life of its own.

Sudhir Patwardhan at Honeycomb group show Jehangir Art Gallery

Here you see Santosh Kalbande at work. He is holding a matchstick; to him this matchstick is the basis of all representation. He plants his matchstick in ply and out blossoms an artistic symbolism of the male and the female. Form and geometric shape are born from this artistic union in a repetition that inspires, in the viewer, a meditative state of mind.

And here sits another Nilesh Shilkar within his honeyed cell, equally obsessed with cells and mutation. Liberated by minimalism, he punctures the paper carefully with Braille-like pinpricks of three-dimensional form, in an exploration of the very evolution of the Universe.

Over here is Vinita Dasgupta, an artist who looks at life like pieces of a puzzle. Each colour, texture and shape takes hold of her imagination. Memory, feelings and impressions come together in careful folds and create layer after layer of untold stories. You may have seen and admired her works over the last six years at the Indian Art Fair in Delhi, but this year she promises something new.

Kumar Ranjan is a man that misses home. He now lives in a city that seems intent on suffocating him. Every now and then, he escapes into the clear blue skies and green jungles of his ancestors. The memory stays with him, and in bold strokes he captures them on jute canvas.

Now consider these two artists, Srabani Sarkar and a Tushar Potdar, each peering closely at the world around them. She watches the socio-economic currents that rush past her, and finds meaning in woodcut, printing powerful and undeniable images. He takes the everyday object and turns them into something extraordinary upon his canvas. And here are two that know the importance of blank spaces. 

Raj Bhandare from Goa

While Raj Bhandare transforms scrap metal into something spiritual in experiments that involve the wilful immersion of beautifully crafted four by four feet metal-works in the ocean for three months, Vishal Pawar proves dexterous with his use of charcoal; but both know the depth that lies between two lines.

And finally, here is Tathi Premchand, the man who brought them all together. His obsession with variation transcended his art and clambered into his role as Artist & curator. He looked at each cell and saw the soul within. He displays a special collection of thirty works created over a period of ten years created more than ten thousand drawings.

Here is Honeycomb, a glimpse into the ever changing retro-scope of the lives of nine artists. Enjoy the art works of Tathi Premchand, Raj Bhandare, Santosh Kalbande, Nilesh Shilkar, Vinita Dasgupta, Srabani Sarkar, Kumar Ranjan, Tushar Potdar and Vishal Pawar as they travel through the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Ratnagiri and more.

by Likla Lall

Art Writer & Researcher 2018/Mumbai 

HONEYCOMB
MUMBAI +DELHI + KOLKATA + GOA + RATANAGIRI
GROUP SHOW

You are invited for the grand opening of HONYCOMB, A group show by 9 Artists at Jehangir Art Gallery,

Tathi Premchand I Raj Bhandare I Santosh Kalbande I Nilesh Shilkar I Vinita Dasgupta I
Srabani Sarkar I Kumar Ranjan I Tushar Potdar I Vishal Pawar

13th November 2018 : Exhibition open at 4pm on
Exhibition Date : 13th to 19th November 2018 Time: 11am to 7pm

Jehangir Art Gallery Auditorium Hall
161B, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India.

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Satarupa bhattacharya

The Looking Glass emphasises on the human conditions of interaction between the self and the desired self - Satarupa Bhattacharya

The Looking Glass is strongly inspired by the famous Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and, so, the name reflects on the second book, Through the Looking Glass. 

Alice’s journey is a journey of self-reflection where she finds herself immersed in various aesthetic compositions. Every character is a reflection of her inner desires, where she is constantly engaging her audience with her self-awareness. 

The subconscious, conscious, and the projected self are intersecting factors in an individual at every moment of time and to be able to clearly visualise this for an audience is to bring the interaction with the self in the public. So to start with, The Looking Glass emphasises on the human conditions of interaction between the self and the desired self. Here, the notion of human condition is grounded on history, politics, and society as we have witnessed them in our collective journey. Therefore, Varnita Sethi, Mahhima Bhayanna, and Mahmood Ahmad help recreate this essential dialogue with their viewers in this hope that their viewers would engage with the auto-narrative in an urban visual space.

(Mahmood Ahmad  l Mahhima Bhayanna l Varnita Sethi )

The show is being held at a garage space in a residential area in New Delhi with the purpose of looking at the deep recesses of architecture that engulfs our tendencies to travel between time, space, and events. This is further enhanced in the works of Varnita Sethi, who puts herself on her canvas by projecting her desire to self-pleasurise. Sethis’s sexuality reminds us of Alice’s budding desires that she visualises in the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter’s inane interactions are emphatic of life and the several sexual self-dialogues convoluted in language and advices to Alice. Sethi’s works gives us a glimpse to her Mad Hatter through bold colours and strong strokes bringing out the woods of her buried desires. Her work comfortably interacts with a larger audience. 

Mahhima Bhayanna takes this self-dialogue to a realm of intricacies as she weaves her miniature and calligraphy techniques to that of the abstract form. Bhayanna’s works bring forth her desire to reflect collectively through her meditative space reminding us of the rabbit running late that led Alice to jump into a hole. This intense desire to collect all pieces of time and purpose is a conscious dialogue in our current moment. It is not of crisis, but of addressing that which we engage with everyday. Bhayanna’s works display her dialogues with her self and her desired self that intends to engage her audience in her delicate and gentle strokes that Alice’s rabbit embodies and, yet, does not. Mahmood Ahmad adds his virile dreams to our narrative’s purpose of directly engaging with our subconscious visual space. He surprises his meditation with his boldness in directly addressing his journey. His charcoal sketches remind us of Alice’s colourful dream in an alternative urban visualised context. In his works, his dreams are lucid and he wants his audience to visit his wonderland. 

All in all, The Looking Glass hopes to engage with all our Alice’s wonderland and, ergo, lends us a mirror to reflect upon. 

Satarupa bhattacharya

Art Writer- New Delhi

A Secret Private Museum Initiated Jogen Chowdhury's Rare Works

Sharing an important news from the art world a SECRET MUSEUM initiated by artist JOGEN CHAUDHRY is on its way to open end of the year Priyasri Patodia is sitting in Jogen’s private 3 floor museum in Kolkata which will be showing his works from his days in Paris pre Paris post Paris and his rare works including academic   years his first water color his first cross hatch etc.

Priyasri Patodia of Priyasri Art Gallery will be Associated with this museum closely. This museum will open to public hopefully by end of this year. Why don’t others master  artist initiate private museums so the rare pieces of heritage is available to masses and not to selected few who have the pockets. Artist imitated museums are more common in developed countries and we are happy many private collectors are also following suit. Art can cannot be possessed by anyone people buy them pass them on to their heirs who may not treasure them.

The anonymous collectors don’t even ensure the destiny of the Art on other occasions immediate families of artists fight for possessions of these priceless pieces which lead to secret sales and the fate of the masterpiece is uncertain. Must say Jogen Chowdhury has had vision to make this museum with his rare works which be governed by a group of trustees ensuring that the works live for posterity. Kudos. 

Yogisha Motla

(on behalf of Priyasri Patodia)

 

P R I Y A S R I  A R T G A L L E R Y
42 Madhuli
4th Floor
Shiv Sagar Estate
Next to Poonam Chamber
Dr Annie Besant Road
Worli
Mumbai 400018
Tel/Fax 022 24947673
+91 9323582303
priyasriartgallery@gmail.com,artgallery42@gmail.com,www.gallerypriyasri.com

AQ@Priyasri-The Artist Studio
10th Floor, Ramakrishna Chambers,
Productivity Road, Alkapuri. Vadodara 390007. Tel 0265 2333587 ; 2320053

Through his career as an artist, Sanjay has inspired a deeper understanding of the world and its wildlife

Sanjay Prajapati, is a contemporary Indian artist, lives and works in Baroda.
Sanjay Prajapati is a painter known nationally for his large, dramatic portrayals of iconic wildlife. He grew up in a village which is surrounded by jungles and wildlife in its natural habitat.  His deep passion, knowledge of wildlife and unwavering commitment to conservation continues to inspire.

Artist : Sanjay Prajapati

Through his career as an artist, Sanjay has inspired a deeper understanding of the world and its wildlife, encouraging successful conservation efforts and awareness of endangered species and their habitats. Travelling across the India, for his love of photography he seeks inspiration for his art work, Sanjay has utilized these opportunities to research wildlife and to learn about associated conservation challenges at the local, regional, and national levels. Through his career, in artwork  Sanjay has developed effective ways to implement and support conservation programs and is utilizing his imagery skills to promote a message of wildlife preservation and to initiate real change. 

 Today, Sanjay’s work is admired and collected by prominent politicians, entertainers, business leaders and art collectors. His work can be found in private collections, corporate offices, Art Galleries, & Hotels in India. Sanjay’s works are displayed in important museums, corporate and private collections and has appeared in numerous prestigious venues.

About the Works

Cultural Background is a phrase broadly discussed by E.H. Gombrich. He stated that an artist's artistic expression is greatly influenced by his cultural background and the environment he grew up as a child. If one looks at the paintings of Sanjay Prajapati he can find true connotation of Gombrich's idea. As a child he grew up in a village which is surrounded by jungle and wildlife.  His childhood brought him a prospect of close observation of the animal world, which developed love

and sympathy for the wild animals in him. Later he travelled in different forests in India and also volunteered anti poaching activities. His art practice also depicts intimate understanding and relation of the flora and fauna.


Today he has migrated from the village to an urban life but his village reminiscence works as a source of inspiration in the subject of his paintings. Sanjay is keen to bring out the beauty of nature and wild life on his canvas. His paintings carry a sense of photo realism because he believes that beauty should be represented as it is observed in nature. He painted wild animals in their natural habitat and mood. Wild animals are ferocious but they follow a natural law. They fight only for the

need of something either for food or for control over territories. The uncivilized world is more beautiful, peaceful and enjoyable than to get scared of.


This exhibition named 'Exquisiteness of the Untamed' displays a body of work, which reflects sanjay's own understanding of nature and wildlife. The paintings depict untamed animals in their regular activities and natural behavior in their own terrain.  He has used strong, sharp and bold brushstrokes and bright natural colours to reach to his desired visuals.

Art Gate Gallery
Solo show 1st Nov to7th Nov 2018

                                                                                                                                              

PIN POSTER : 13th Jehangir Art Gallery

Jehangir Art Gallery is an art gallery in Mumbai. It was founded by Sir Cowasji Jehangir at the urging of K. K. Hebbar and Homi Bhabha. It was built in 1952. Managed by the Committee of Management, the entire cost of this mansion was donated by Cowasji Jehangir