Our body, the mirror of the soul and our body speaks its own language- Farzana Ahmed Urmi

Letter from Dhaka : Curatorial Note:

Farzana Ahmed Urmi

Farzana Ahmed Urmi's shows an intense interest in questions of perception - in the boundaries and potential of self experience, vision and painting. She has combined conscious vision and the fleeting perception of a blink in one image. Her paintings exhibit fascination with awkwardness and search for an distinct aesthetics from our academic visual arts. Her courage to use elective gestures lends her figures their eerie and powerful presence. Her portraitures are unnerving naked images of agony, anger, soreness, revenge or akin expressive emotions, as she is embracing the known and unknown faces of this urban society. She is striving to create her own artistic identity distinguished with visually penetrating psychological tension and compositional arrangements. 

While holding a MFA on Printmaking, Farzana is quite spontaneous to choose any technique as her media. Her surface making with various techniques and materials like paper, ink, watercolor, acrylic, oil, collage and drawn subjects with emotional brush or finger tapping strokes, tremendously shows how intensely she is physically involved with her work. In her work one can see body and psyche are inextricably linked and influenced by each other. Visually her works have a intense quality, as she is oscillating between Figuration and Abstraction. On a fleeting look, her paintings have a figurative quality. But giving a scrutiny, these paintings tend to look flat with dark monochromes, where she indented paring down to an abstraction of line, color, from, tension, mood and atmosphere. She achieves a degree of abstraction as she struggles to watch very closely to know the inner self of a person. This notion of closeness makes her portraits large and abstract to us, as if they have ambiguous hints of facial features. But they have a strong contour and wide-open eyes with lot of psychic expressions. This journey between figuration to abstraction or vice-versa, gives her subject an unsettling impact. And this way her grotesque and nuanced characters raise our everyday to the sublime.

Our body, the mirror of the soul and our body speaks its own language. Our body does not forget anything. Our body has its own psyche, which always tries to take the control over us with its own language. We can say, Farzana simply heard that united language of her body and psyche, which came out as a living visual experience of know to unknown


D h a k a A r t C e n t e r p r e s e n t s

Known Unknown
An art exhibition by Farzana Ahmed Urmi
On 16 October, 2014 at 6.30 pm

Eminent artist
Monirul Islam
will inaugurate the exhibition and
Critic Moinuddin khaled
will grace the occasion as special guest
You and your friends are cordially invited

Curated by Wakilur Rahman and Kehkasha Sabah
(Note : This PRESS RELEASE for all Indian news paper and Media, leading PR Agency  and online social media, please share )

प्रश्न असा- कला-जीवन कि जीवन-कला? by Pankaja JK.

प्रश्न असा-

कला-जीवन कि जीवन-कला?

Pankaja JK.

ACT-I

प्रोफेसर: तुला रेवथी बद्दल काय जाणून घ्यायचे आहे? (करण रेवथी जवळ जाताच) त्याला हात लावू नकोस!

करण: ह्या शिल्पात मला तिचा आत्मा जाणवतो, इतके जिवंत प्रतिक होते की, ती इथेच कुठेतरी आहे असे वाटते…विचारांत गुंतलेली …दुर वाटेवर नजर लावून कुणाची तरी वाट बघत… 

प्रोफेसर: Who the hell are you? कोण आहेस तू?

करण: तुम्ही सांगायचे आहे प्रोफेसर, रेवथी कोण आहे?

प्रोफेसर: मला सत्य आणि कलेतील फरक विचारतोस?

करण: मी खऱ्या रेवथी बद्दल बोलतो आहे. 

प्रोफेसर: ह्या शिल्पाचा आणि रेवथीचा काहीही संबंध नाही. 

करण:मग हे शिल्प स्वयंभू आहे?

प्रोफेसर: मला वाटत तुझ्या समीक्षेचा काहीच उद्देश नाही आहे. बाकीचे exhibition बघ आणि चालायला लाग. माझ्या कलेबद्दल लिहिण्याची काही गरज नाही आहे. 

करण: आम्हाला समीक्षा करण्यासाठी कोणाच्या परवानगीची गरज लागत नाही.  

प्रोफेसर: तुझे नाव??? हां! करण, तर आत्मविश्वासी करण, एक सांग तुम्ही लोकं पोट भरण्यासाठी दुसऱ्याचे आयुष्य expose का करता? असे दुसऱ्यांना धमकावणे सोडा, सर्जनशील व्हा, काहीतरी creative करा.   

करण: मान्य आहे, पण हे जर धमकावणे वाटत असेल तर तुमच्या कामाबद्दल कोण लिहिणार? जर मी नाही लिहिले तर हे दगड…ज्यांना तुम्ही कलाकृती म्हणता, वजनाच्या भावाने विकले जातील.  

प्रोफेसर: (रागात एक शिल्प फोडत) आश्चर्य वाटलं?  तुझ्या म्हणण्याप्रमाणे हा दगड आहे ना? मी फोडला! तुला शिल्पकार आणि दगद फोड्यातील फरक माहिती आहे का? एका दगड फोड्याचे काम असते यांत्रिकपणे दगड फोडणे, तो त्याचा व्यवसाय अस्तो. पण शिल्पकार दगडाला आकार देताना विचार करतो, विचारांती शिल्प तयार होते, ऐतिहासिक रचना होते. प्राचीन काळातील दगडांवर कोरलेल्या आकृत्या, त्यांचे सांकेतिक भाष्य कोरीव कामात दडलेल्या माहिती, त्याबद्दल तुला काय म्हणायचे आहे? ते कोरणारे दगड फोडे होते कि शिल्पकार?

करण: म्हणजे … 

प्रोफेसर म्हणजे, तुला काय वाटलं? कला काय आहे? तुला वस्तूंतील गुण कळतात?

करण: असेलही, नाही कळत, पण प्रोफेसर इथे प्रश्न वस्तूंचा नाही, स्त्रीचा आहे. तुम्हाला स्त्रियांच्या गुणांनबद्दल काहीच कळत नाही. …… 

ACT-II

.....

प्रोफेसर: तुला काय म्हणायचे आहे, स्पष्ट बोल. 

करण: तुम्ही तर 'त' म्हणता ताक ओळखता! एक सांगा, प्रत्येक कलाकाराची कुणीतरी  प्रेरणा असते, त्यातून निर्माण केलेली कलाकृती त्याच्या स्वतःच्या आयुष्याइतकीच मोलाची असते न?

प्रोफेसर: हो, अगदी खर आहे. त्या कलाकृतीचे मोलच नसते. 

करण: तुम्ही सगळी शिल्प विकलीत, मग रेवथी का नाही? ती विकणारच नाही, असे ठाम का आहात? का? कोण आहे ती?

प्रोफेसर: करण! काहीही अर्थ लावण्याचा प्रयत्न करू नकोस. आपल्या समीक्षेला कल्पकता देऊ नकोस. मी फक्त एक शिल्पकार आहे. तुझ्या सारखेच मला हे शिल्प जिवंत भासते, त्यातील आत्मा मला आकर्षित करतो. बस्स! एवढेच!

करण: मग विकून टाका.  

प्रोफेसर करण!! नाही, कधीच नाही … 

करण: कारण?

To be continued....( please send feedback to writer pankajajk@gmail.com)
Published for one-time use only with permission from Pankaja JK.

(A still  and image- for illustrative purpose only / no copyright)

Cobalt Blu Art Project

Site Specific  Art by Cobalt Blu Art Project

we bring the art world to you, and take care of every detail from concept to the artwork installation..Art Rise

Photography : Pranay Mane 

Event Created : Deepali Dawane 

official blog

http://cobaltbluartproject.blogspot.in/

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

Rajuri to Arnala Grease Art!!! Site Specific

In recent times site specific installation art has gained as much importance as installations in closed doors of galleries. Its popularity is credited to its dual purpose of being an art in itself and involving entire environment in which it is placed. Cobalt Blu group artists had set up their installations at  Rajuri to Arnala Sea Beach. This public-art attracted attention due to its theme that involved element of sea adding intensive meaning and glamour to each artist’s installation. This public art dealt with psychological association of human being with water bodies and also to the most grave issue of saving sea or large water bodies from pollution. 

Site Specific work by Archana Mishra

To start with Indian traditional belief, artist Archana Mishra’s installation was a perfect art work. She had applied the age old Indian belief of ‘washing away sins and mental disturbances in water to gain peace of mind’ concept in her installation. Her artwork was made up of transparent red craft paper and sticks them to a tall wooden log. The papers of triangular shape fluttered in the breeze. She intended these fluttering plain papers to be used by the visitors and observers to write one of their bad experiences or names of the people whom they wanted to forget or permanently rid away from their heart and life. After the considerable number of people had noted their personal bad experiences and names of disturbing people in their life, she washed it away in the sea, thus implying that whatever evil was in each one’s life was drawn n the dept of seawater, never to return back. The psychological reasoning is that a person feels at ease discarding the burden that they carried in their minds. It’s an act of mental at peace by this act. Artist has smartly used this idea to create her installation and it worked well. 

View work chick Video  by Santosh Kalbande
Next in line to deal feelings of every individual is artist Santosh Kalbande. He had used three level hurdles. First is sand base, second is the P.O.P base and third water filled glasses. All three were suggestive of hurdles in freedom of an individual. The row of transparent glasses filled with water had live fish in each of them. According to the artist, fish symbolized artist himself. Glass was metaphoric hurdles and boundaries built around him due to various social obligations. He is not able to live life at his free-will. This installation against the backdrop of huge ocean suggested that even though there are various opportunities around him like the ocean, still he is restricted in small space and not able to explore the mysteries of ocean; about truth of life. His suppression and aggression was projected by the rapid movements of fish trying to find more space to breathe and survive, but had to accommodate it self in limitations set for it. It was unable to go and enjoy the vastness of ocean. The suppressed feelings and expression of fishes is but the reality of artists and every creative person’s life. 

Site Specific work by Ashok Hinge

Artist Ashok Hinge’s installation shows his restlessness at the thought of detoriating state of environment due to global warming. His installation ‘Birth or Curse’ was the actual instant post-birth process when a child is separated from his mother by cutting off the umbilical chord. From that moment onwards child gains new identity as an individual and is let in world to find its own means of survival without being dependent on mother. The installation had same concept, that we are soon getting detached from Mother Nature who fed us warmly all through the ages. But since it lacks nourishment due to Global warming we would be soon destined to get detached from her. To represent this idea, artist used a tree trunk which stands static lonely and lifeless due to its brown shade. The lamp in it was a symbolic representation of naval opening to which fetus’ chord is attached, before being permanently detached from mother.   

Site Specific work by Tathi Premchand

Tathi Premchand  was hollering awareness voice, implying and suggesting by his installation that people must take care of sea, especially seas in Mumbai and around. His installation had Harpic cleaner bottle placed on the beach. The first thought that struck was, that Harpic is used people to keep their house germs free and sparkling white. But looking at the background that of grease and dirty sea, cleanliness seemed to be biased for personal cleanliness and hygiene and public properties and natural resources like seas. Why are people negligent in keeping these water bodies clean and clear? Can we use a toilet cleaner like liquid disinfectant to clean seas? We should have one- is what artist wishes for. The installation is a direct appeal to every Mumbaikar to take part in cleanliness drive. 

This public art was a treat to eyes and also highlighted environmental issues. But as it happens in every site specific art, the artworks have to be left on site and cannot be carried back. Other then Archana Mishra’s artwork which must have now found solace in deep sea water, all other art works are still on the beach for public viewing and will be there until it looses its charm or depletes on its own. It was truly a Site Specific successful exhibition by Cobalt Blu.

 - By Pankaja JK 

Site Specific (Causes of Clean Environment) Art by Cobalt Blu Art Project

we bring the art world to you, and take care of every detail from concept to the artwork installation..Art Rise

Photography : Pranay Mane
Event Created : Deepali Dawane

more photo view( only for 7days)
http://newscobaltblu.blogspot.in/2014/09/site-specific-causes-of-clean.html

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

Published for one-time use only with permission from Cobalt Blu Art Project. Photographs may not be saved, copied or republished on any other website.

"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 )