Thursday, 17 October 2024

Invite | BLUE | 20 October @ The Guild, Alibaug

The Guild is delighted to announce our upcoming multidisciplinary exhibition, BLUE Chapter 1, curated by Nitesh Mohanty and Riyas Komu. Join us in this journey through a single color - Blue - to explore the essence of art and life. Blue is not just a pigment, but a doorway to the world around, beyond and within. Through blue we can explore the enigma of perception, the emotional power of colour, and the ineffable in art.

Its evocations are myriad: blue carries the hues of history, transcends language, connects culture, symbolises religion, evokes spirituality, and invokes authority. It is sea and sky, water and poison; calmness, sorrow, and introspection. Meditation upon a single hue unravels the nature of existence itself.

BLUE will feature collaborations with Anna Atkins, Adil Jussawalla, Rabindranath Tagore, Ayaz Basrai, Hanif Kureshi, Vijila, Arun Vijai Mathavan, Sunil Nampu, K. K. Muralidharan, Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Sudharak Olwe, N. N. Rimzon, Vivek Vadoliya, K. P. Reji, Nelson Viji, Vikrant Bhise, Amruta Patil, Anpu Varkey, Achal Mishra & Mahak Gupta, Dilip Chitre, Tajdar Junaid, Dhwani Shah, Shiva Nallaperumal, Yogesh Maitreya, Hari Katragadda, Mayur & Tushar Vayeda, Swati Dandekar, Varsha Devjani, Sameer Kulavoor, and Midhun Mohan.

The exhibition previews on Sunday, 20 October, from 12 noon to 4 pm, and continues until the 1st of January, 2025. We hope to see you there!

About The Guild
The Guild was established in 1997 with an aim to function as a semi-institutional space within the bustling art-hub of Mumbai, India. Since its inception, it has been providing a platform for discursive practices, innovation and experimentation in contemporary art. The Guild represents artists of diverse generations who have brought in robust dialogue within and across their disciplines. The Gallery has held major retrospectives of K. P. Reji, Sudhir Patwardhan, Navjot Altaf and G. R. Iranna in collaboration with premier national art centres.

The gallery has published a number of books with essays by preeminent critics and curators on contemporary Indian artists, such as Sudhir Patwardhan, Navjot Altaf, Jyoti Bhatt, K.G. Subramanyan, A. Ramachandran and T. V. Santhosh, amongst others.

About the curators

Riyas Komu (b. 1971) is an Indian multimedia artist. His oeuvre of works is a deep reflection on social conflicts and pressing issues like migration and displacement, whereas he draws his inspiration from local and global social and political movements. He has exhibited his works worldwide, including the Venice Biennale.

Komu’s curatorial engagement ranges across fields. He ideated Kochi-Muziris Biennale and co-founded Kochi Biennale Foundation (est. 2010). He co-curated the first edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2012 and was the Director of Programmes of the Kochi Biennale Foundation in 2012, 2014, and 2016. He also curated the Kondotty Sufi Fest in 2019. He co-curated the first International Football Film Festival in India at Goa International Film Festival and Trivandrum International Film Festival in 2012. In 2016 he started URU Art Harbour, a cultural hub in Mattancherry, Kochi, Kerala, with Zoya Riyas, and has curated many shows to promote artists from the region focusing on Kerala’s history of social action, migration and culture. His critically acclaimed solo projects include Holy Shiver (2018), which celebrated the art in the Constitution. In 2022, he curated the Sea: A Boiling Vessel project, which puts the spotlight on our maritime history.

Nitesh Mohanty is a visual artist who works at the fluid intersection of arts, culture, media, communication, and self-reflection. His theoretical interests are also wide, often inquiring about the roots and fundamentals of art history, storytelling, and philosophy. He was the co-founder of “The Root” a platform initiated to propagate social, cultural, political & ecological concerns through various literary and creative mediums. He curated “The Root Reel” in association with Alliance Francaise, Bombay through which he showcased independent features, documentaries, world cinema & animation films from closer home & across the world, under the tagline, Films That Matter. He teaches as a visiting faculty at esteemed institutions across India such as MICA, NID, FTII, TISS, & Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology. Nitesh’s articles, essays, and interviews have been featured in newspapers & magazines, such as Mid-Day, Time-Out, Homegrown, Better Photography, Open, Outlook, Art Intent, Art India Magazine, G5A Imprint, Kindle, etc.

Copyright © The Guild, 2024 | All rights reserved. 

Thursday, 10 October 2024

Mystical Journeys in Ink: Where Freedom and Form collide

 “Bharari: Soaring Beyond Limits” Invites You to Experience Mystic Prose and Poetry Expressed Through Ink Paintings.

Art lovers are invited to a unique exhibition, “Bharari”, which showcases the evocative mastery of ink art in styles ranging from ink wash and pen-and-ink to mark-making. This exhibition is the culmination of 12 years of dedication by contemporary artist Dipali Meher, where the timeless themes of the soul's journey toward higher consciousness are visually expressed in a fusion of mystic prose and art. In Marathi, “Bharari” means “a leap” or “flight,” symbolizing the soul's journey toward liberation and self-realization. The paintings prominently feature birds, symbolizing the spirit’s journey as it navigates the winds of life. Using symbolic figures like birds, bulls, and horses, Meher explores themes of freedom, ego, and progress. Through these symbolic figures, the artist explores the harmony between nature and the self.


Dipali Meher, is an Atal National Award-winning artist (2019) whose work draws deeply from Japanese calligraphy, Buddhist and Vedic philosophy, and her practice of Reiki. She finds inspiration in mystical poets like Rumi and Khalil Gibran. A graduate of the “Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Arts” (1996), Mumbai, Meher’s illustrious 20-year career spans various creative fields, including illustrating for Indian Express, designing album covers for Times Music, and producing award-winning motion graphics for Zoom and Times Now. Her transition to fine arts marked the beginning of a new chapter, where she dedicated the last 12 years to mastering ink art.


Artist- Dipali Meher


Dipali Meher's work embodies both tranquillity and passion, reflecting the balance between serenity and intensity. As the artist revisits and reinterprets the techniques of Sumi-e ink and India ink in a contemporary context, her work pays homage to the shared artistic and spiritual heritage of Japan and India. The artist’s personal quest for spiritual and artistic liberation is reflected in her work, which merges Japanese calligraphic techniques of expression with her understanding of various Indian philosophies.

Art lovers, spiritual seekers, and enthusiasts alike are invited to witness this extraordinary confluence of art and philosophy.

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Exhibition Title:  Bharari- Soaring beyond limits.
Exhibition Dates:
 16th – 21st October 2024 ,
Time: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM  
Venue: Art Entrance Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400001


-Copyright @Art Blogazine

Monday, 7 October 2024

Eroticism in Art: Exploring Sensuality and the Human Form Through Kapil Alaskar's Vision

Kapil Alaskar's exploration of the erotic in art directly correlates sensual experience with artistic expression. His perspective underlines, in a very serious engagement by the theme, sexuality and sensuality, human form, as well as in ancient Indian sculptures, those like can be seen at temples in Khajuraho. Erotic here speaks beyond mere nudity to profound extent of the body itself as it relates to the vessel for emotional as well as sensual expression.



Kapil Alaskar
Artist: Kapil Alaskar


In essence, he says, in particular with the words "Nudity is in the mind of the beholder," something that sounds more universal and philosophical, as the sense of eroticism of a given subject more often reflects on the viewer's head rather than the object of observation. His process as an artist leads him into an internal inquiry in pursuit of the use of women's sensuality, through sketches, drawings, paintings, and so on. The culmination of his artistic work under the concept of "STIMULATION" reveals that he considers the body to not be only an object but rather a subject of deep inquiry and artistic inspiration.

From the comparison he makes of Khajuraho's ancient sculptures, which have carved sensuality into every piece, it can be understood that his artwork challenges societal taboos and trivial perceptions of erotic art. His own world shows his concern with interdisciplinary approaches to the human body because the presence of elements such as rhythm, smell, and desire in his work is a kind of testimony to his not so normal or traditional thought. His view that the body "is not merely a useful tool for sex" but rather a far more complex and profound aspect is part of his creative ethos.

-Copyright @Art Blogazine

NIGHT SHOOW - 10 th / 10 / 2024
Time: 5pm to 8pm at NIPPON - Art Night Thursday
OOPEN
World famous art gallery Nippon