Subrat Behera Kumar, Untitled Lithograph
Soghra Khurasani, Garland Tribute, Woodcut
Kurma Nadham, Being and Nothing, Woodcut
Some of the words read at the exhibition would be worth sharing and pondering upon. (Ref: The writings put up at the exhibition).
Identity:
There is something compelling about creating an identity through visual means. With artists it seems almost a ritual, in some an obsession. Art becomes a channel through which fragments of identity – elements reflective of internal and external conditioning of the being – are revealed, explored and juxtaposed. Ideals of beauty and perfection, temples for the representant, sexuality, race, religion, culture and several other social categorizations enter into and thrive in the problematics of identity.
Place:
Artists mirror their environments, as much as they do their internal worlds. The fine lines between observed reality, imagined reality and fantasy mingle as contextual changes bring about diverse interpretations of place. The exhibition displays works of various artists from different schools of art and thought.
Bengal is where the story of Indian printmaking began. The era was one of the complex paradoxes; there was a gradual absorption of British systems into a society steeped in a strong local culture; conversely there was a steady growth of the nationalist movement and the urge to reject everything connected with the colonizers. Rabindranath Tagore’s Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan was the first truly experimental art college.
Bombay was new for art after independence with collectors, film industry and critics making it lively. The Progressive Artists were a group formed by M. F. Hussain, F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, Tyeb Mehta and S. K. Bakre. These artists worked in a diverse style but a common language that rejected the sentimental revivaling approach to show Indianness by Bengal school. The Progressives opened doors to expressionism that borrowed freely from European modernist movements at the same time deriving essences of Indian aesthetics.
Artists mirror their environments, as much as they do their internal worlds. The fine lines between observed reality, imagined reality and fantasy mingle as contextual changes bring about diverse interpretations of place. The exhibition displays works of various artists from different schools of art and thought.
Bengal is where the story of Indian printmaking began. The era was one of the complex paradoxes; there was a gradual absorption of British systems into a society steeped in a strong local culture; conversely there was a steady growth of the nationalist movement and the urge to reject everything connected with the colonizers. Rabindranath Tagore’s Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan was the first truly experimental art college.
Bombay was new for art after independence with collectors, film industry and critics making it lively. The Progressive Artists were a group formed by M. F. Hussain, F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, Tyeb Mehta and S. K. Bakre. These artists worked in a diverse style but a common language that rejected the sentimental revivaling approach to show Indianness by Bengal school. The Progressives opened doors to expressionism that borrowed freely from European modernist movements at the same time deriving essences of Indian aesthetics.
M. F. Hussain, Kerela IV, Screenprinting
The Baroda School, from its inception has been a centre for some of the most experimental modernist practices in India. The atmosphere here was one of open interaction, coupled with intellectual discourse. An engagement with European and American art movements as well as folk art of Indian culture was preferred to the lingering post-colonial academic influences. Printmakers like Nasreen Mohamedi, Bhupen Khakkar, Jarem Patel, Jyoti Bhatt, KG Subramanium, Rini Dhumal, Laxma Goud and many others are associated with The Baroda School.
Jyoti Bhatt, Italia
Power:
Art makers have been spoken of in relation with the godly attribute of being able to ‘create’, representing reality, and also worlds beyond. Artists are granted the power to communicate visually. Artworks also become instruments to explore personal power – in which identities can be altered, fantasies can be depicted and new realities can be constructed through the act of making. The medium is the artist’s instrument; it channels the ability to project multiple or fragmented realities. The artwork becomes a reflection of what exists in the artist’s mind. Artists have the power to see beauty in ugliness, to find solace in trauma and redeem an equilibrium through the projection of the (un)truths.
Sanat Kar, Dreamers, Etching
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The much interactive discussion at 6.30 p.m. in the gallery auditorium had a huge, enthusiastic audience full of print makers and print-lovers. The panelists were Mr. Palaniappan, Ms. Kavita Shah and Mr. Rajan Fularia, all of them practicing print makers and educators. The discussant, Lina Vincent Sunish brought forth various comments and questions, which were followed by interesting discussions, both from the panelists and the audience. The day concluded with the recognition of the need for educating people about the printmaking as an art form. Many a times, it does not receive the respect it deserves because of lacking awareness about the art form and the efforts that go into making a print.
I consider myself lucky for being introduced to printmaking and being aware of the art and efforts one puts in to get the desired result. Here are two plates that I had etched for the first time at Sophia Polytechnic.
The prints of these are no longer with me; however, the plates are very dear to me.
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