Peabody Essex Museum opens pivotal show of Modern Indian Art

February 23, 2013

Manjari Sihare shares some snapshots from the latest exhibition of modern Indian art at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts

New York: The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, recently opened a major show of modern Indian art entitled “Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence.” This exhibition showcases approximately seventy works by twenty Indian artists spanning three generations. The works have been culled from the museum’s iconic Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection, renowned as one of largest collections of modern Indian art in the United States and the world, for that matter.

I had the pleasure of attending the opening of this seminal show in early February, and was immediately struck by its intelligent curation by Susan Bean, the recently retired senior curator of South Asian and Korean art at the Peabody Essex Museum. In this show, works of master Indian artists have been juxtaposed alongside key works by artists around the world in what have been referred to as “conversational groupings” by the curator. So you will see Bikash Bhattarjee’s works against those of American artist, Andrew Wyeth, and Maqbool Fida Husain’s horses with those of veteran Chinese artist, Xu Beihong, among others.

The exhibition is on view for another two months, until April 21, 2013, and Salem is an easy half an hour from Boston. For those in the vicinity of North Eastern US in the coming weeks, this show is a must-see! Stay tuned for more on the show in the coming weeks. For now, here are some snapshots from the opening.

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All images are courtesy the Peabody Essex Museum.

Art Night Thursday, Mumbai

February 22, 2013

Tarika Agarwal of Saffronart gallery-hops in Mumbai on the occasion of the latest edition of ‘Art Night Thursday’

Mumbai: It was quite an exciting experience walking around the Mumbai Art District at night for the first time as part of Art Night Thursday last week.

Started in London, the idea is that on the first Thursday of the month, participating galleries and museums stay open past 9 pm. It was an amazing way to get introduced to the great art scene in the vibrant city of Mumbai. It has managed to promote museums and art galleries as fun places to hang out in the evening.

The trail consisted of seven galleries. There was a vast variety of works on display – tapestries, video art, sculptures, installations, oils, acrylics to name a few. I started my journey alone but somewhere along the way it became a nice little group of art lovers walking about the streets of Mumbai from one gallery to another. It was nice to see how college students, art students, the retired and collectors were in the same space enjoying, appreciating and discussing an artist’s work.

In this edition of Art Night Thursday, here is the list of a few of the artists being exhibited and the kinds of work they were showing –

Monika Correa, Homage to Kepes, White Warp
Image Credit- http://www.gallerychemould.com

In an exhibition of Tapestries at Chemould Prescott Road, Monika Correa has explored the underlying relationship between weaving and the diverse patterns and textures of nature. Read more.

Prakaash Chandwadkar, Untitled – 001, Acrylic on Lokta Paper
Image Credit- http://www.gallerybeyond.com

In a group show at Gallery Beyond, Prakaash Chandwadkar had showcased a few acrylics on Lokta Paper (wild crafted, handmade artisan paper indigenous to Nepal). These works display the vistas of the Himalayan Ranges around Nepal where he treks.

At the Guild, Rakhi Peswani presented ‘Anatomy of Silence’. The artist believes that silence is an integral part of paintings, sculptures and objects. Art holds a mute relationship with the society it is created and survives in. She shows the human body in a handmade avatar which is close to displacement and demise. The relationship between a laborious work and a craftsman’s body is explored and seen vis-à-vis the situation of the handmade today.

William Kentridge, Untitled, Indian Ink on pages from The Century Dictionary; An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the language.
Image Credit- http://www.volte.in

One of the best shows was the William Kentridge solo exhibition, ‘Poems I used to know’ at Volte, which combines large drawings done in Indian ink on multiple pages from books that have been put together, a film installation, a series of slip book films, sculptures and a large tapestry. Read a review of the show in the Mint by Girish Shahane.

Shine Shivan, Glimpse of Thirst (11), Fabric, jute, fiber, marbles, fiber glass, artificial hair, sequins and beads.
Image Credit- http://www.artinfo.com/

Shine Shivan’s ‘Glimpse of Thirst’ at Gallery Maskara exhibits a provocative body of work including a large group of hybrid, fantasy characters crafted from various non-typical materials and a video installation.

Nityan Unnikrishnan, Untitled, Mixed Media on Paper
Image Credit- http://www.chatterjeeandlal.com

Chatterjee & Lall previewed Nityan Unnikrishnan’s solo show ‘While Everyone is Away’ during Art Night Thursday. This exhibition consists of fourteen paper-works and two sculptures, and is the first time the artist’s three-dimensional works have been shown. According to the exhibition note, “He derives from a variety of sources to build his works: memories, literature, the arts, Arcadia, the modern world, his present life. The individual works are open to a variety of interpretations; little niches and low voices offer up clues as the viewer navigates their densely worked surfaces.”

Risham Syed, Untitled Lahore Series # 11, Acrylic on Board on Canvas
Image Credit- http://www.project88.in

Risham Syed’s first solo exhibition in India titled ‘Metropolyptical: A Tale of a City’ was on view at Project 88. The artist portrays modern day Lahore, a place she calls home, yet remains a complete stranger to, due to the construction and deconstruction which is a mystic version of post-modernity.

Imagine getting a chance to see different collections of great art for an evening every month. Four to five hours of one’s time spent in appreciating the creativity of the young and the established felt like no time at all! I consider this a MUST DO if you are visiting Mumbai or are in South Mumbai when the next editions of Art Night Thursday are taking place.

Walid Raad: Preface to the First Edition at Louvre’s Salle de la Maquette (19 January-8 April)

February 21, 2013

Guest blogger Saranna Biel-Cohen reviews Lebanese artist Walid Raad’s contemporary installation at the Louvre

Walid Raad: Preface to the First Edition”, Louvre’s Salle de la Maquette (Installation view)

Paris: Contemporary media artist Walid Raad is currently showing a work at the Louvre in conjunction with the opening of the new Islamic galleries in the museum. Raad, born in Lebanon, now based in New York City, was trained in photography and video art, and has exhibited worldwide in major expositions including documenta 11 and the Venice and the Whitney Biennales amongst others. He is best known for his work, Atlas Group, which deals with the contemporary history of Lebanon with particular emphasis on the wars in the country between 1975 to 1991. Another project, Scratching on Things I Could Disavow. A History of Art in the Arab World, begun in 2007, critically examined the heritage of the Middle East and the geopolitical issues that have come to define the region in contemporary society and media.

To mark the opening of the Islamic Galleries, the Louvre invited Raad to take part in a collaborative project which will span three consecutive years. The first part of this project is currently on view until April 8, 2013 in an exhibition called “Preface to the First Edition” which includes a video, a sculptural installation and a publication.

In the basement of the museum, visitors can see the foundation of the Louvre, originally built as a fortress in the 12^th Century. Raad’s installation is in a pocket just off these foundation walls. Neon vertical lights are unexpected in that setting and they invite visitors to experience a contemporary conversation about the museum’s newest gallery. Metal stencils hang from the ceiling and bright white lights are projected onto them, creating linear shadows on the walls, resembling doorways or corridors. Raad’s use of light and shadow shape the four walls of the space, on one wall, a video of blurred images and objects is periodically projected. His work discusses trauma of the region, displacement of objects and globalization of Arab art, themes that he has explored in previous projects.

Walid Raad: Preface to the First Edition”, Louvre’s Salle de la Maquette (Installation view)

The Raad and Louvre collaboration is another example of heightened interest in both the ancient and contemporary art of the Islamic world from museums around the world. “Over the past few years, I have been fascinated by the emergence of new art museums, galleries, schools and cultural foundations in cities such as Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo, Doha, Istanbul, Ramallah and Sharjah, among others. I am intrigued by the increased visibility of the makers, sponsors, consumers and histories of “Arab art,” and more so by the acceleration in the development of new infrastructures for the visual arts in the Arabian Gulf.” – Walid Raad on his work at dOCUMENTA 13.

The Louvre’s new and extensive Islamic galleries really define it as a global museum, and with its new location opening in Abu Dhabi, a deeper connection to the Arab world is solidified.

Read more about Raad’s work in this Art Newspaper interview with the artist.

Guest contributor Saranna Biel-Cohen lives and works in London. She holds a Master’s Degree in History of Art from University College London with a focus on Modern Indian Art.

French Distinction “Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters” Conferred on Subodh Gupta

February 20, 2013

Medha Kapur shares a note on Subodh Gupta’s knighting ceremony in Mumbai.

Mumbai: On the inaugural Indo-French festival, Bonjour India, the French government bestowed the award of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on internationally renowned sculptor-artist Subodh Gupta. The honour comes in recognition of an artist whose remarkable originality has been inspired by the daily life of an India on the move, while maintaining special ties with France, where some of his earliest exhibitions were held. H.E. Mr François Richier, Ambassador of France to India, conferred the distinction on Gupta at the inauguration of the Bonjour India 2013 festival.

The French Ambassador François Richier & Subodh Gupta
Image Courtesy: http://www.missmalini.com

Conferred Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters Chevalier dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres
Image Courtesy: http://www.missmalini.com/

The crème de la crème of the city were seen at this event including Subodh’s wife, the renowned artist Bharti Kher, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, author Gregory David Roberts with wife Princesse Francoise Sturdza, Aishwarya Pathy, Maithili Parekh, artist Jitish Kallat and designer Abu Jani to name a few.

Aamir Khan & Kiran Rao
Image Courtesy: http://www.missmalini.com/

Gregory David Roberts & Princesse Francoise Sturdza
Image Courtesy: http://www.missmalini.com/

Traditional Devotional Objects from India

February 20, 2013

In conjunction with Saffronart’s upcoming auction of Indian Folk and Tribal Art Elisabetta Marabotto shares explores the significance and use of some devotional objects featured in the catalogue

London: I’d like to share my thoughts on some of the lots that I found most interesting in the catalogue of our upcoming auction of Indian Folk and Tribal Art. These are a selection of devotional objects crafted from metal and related to the God Shiva, which can be divided into two major categories: mukha lingas and Khandoba masks. These objects, made and used in rural folk communities, are largely associated with daily or ritual worship.

According to the tradition, every morning these objects are awakened, bathed, clothed, adorned with flowers and fine garments and are worshiped in the same way as the temples’ main icons. In fact, no matter their size or material, these devotional objects are essential in religious rituals since they represent the link between devotees and gods. They embody the presence of the gods on earth as well as receive the prayers of the believers on behalf of the gods.

During excavations, statuettes of female dancers and animals were found at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, confirming that the tradition of metal casting in India dates back to the second half of the third millennium BC. Over time, this practice spread to Western and Southern India, and was consolidated there after a pantheon of deities was established and more temples started to appear in these regions. From the eleventh to the fourteenth century, the practice of casting metal sculptures spread in the northern regions too, and the late part of the eighteenth century in particular saw the prolific production of metal Mukha lingas, especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Lot 75, Mukha Linga, Brass, 20th century, Maharashtra/ Karnataka. Image Credit: http://www.saffronart.com/customauctions/PreWork.aspx?l=8099

The term linga refers to a cylindrical pillar with a rounded top, a powerful symbol of Shiva, and a mukha linga refers to its covering, usually bearing human features. Mukha lingas are one of the many emblems of Shiva and they are found in a devotional context underlining the god’s aniconic, non-human essence, beyond all forms and qualities.

Lot 1, Mukha Linga, Brass, 20th century, Maharashtra/ Karnataka. Image Credit: http://www.saffronart.com/customauctions/PreWork.aspx?l=8025

Mukha lingas, like Lot 1 in our catalogue, are generally portrayed with prominent mustaches and bear Shiva’s third eye in the middle of their forehead. They are usually crowned or the hair is neatly combed back. Most of the time, mukha lingas depict Shiva in a calm and serene state, but there are examples of Shiva depicted as Bhairava, one of his fiercer aspects. Often, mukha lingas are portrayed atop the serpent Vasuki, whose hoods cover their head.

Mukha Lingas are thought to be the visual representation of the namah Shivaya mantra repeated to invoke Shiva’s blessings. The five syllables composing the mantra embody the five elements of the microcosm and macrocosm and the five senses.

Lot 18, Khandoba Mask, Brass, 20th century, Maharashtra/ Karnataka. Image Credit: http://www.saffronart.com/customauctions/PreWork.aspx?l=8042

Khandoba masks, like Lot 18, are also devotional images used in temples, processions and pilgrimages. They are personifications of Shiva depicted in the attire of the folk hero-king, Khandoba. These sculptures are especially popular in Western and Southern India, and are believed to protect and patronize farmers, herders and warriors. Like mukha lingas, these masks are used to front and give a face or iconic form to the abstract Shiva lingam and are usually placed next to them in temples.

Khandoba is also often represented as a full figure, as in Lot 61, where he is depicted riding an elephant with his consort Mhalsa. In this lot, a richly decorated elephant carries a mahout along with Khandoba and his consort Mhalsa ensconced in a domed howdah on its back.

Lot 61, Khandoba and Mhalsa on an Elephant, Brass, 20th century, North Karnataka. Image Credit: http://www.saffronart.com/customauctions/PreWork.aspx?l=8085

The Folk and Tribal Art Auction is a rare occasion to acquire some very meaningful items embodying some of the unique traditions and spirituality of India’s diverse communities.

Similar objects can be found in the permanent collections of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

State of the Art

Month: February 2013

Peabody Essex Museum opens pivotal show of Modern Indian Art

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Art Night Thursday, Mumbai

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Walid Raad: Preface to the First Edition at Louvre’s Salle de la Maquette (19 January-8 April)

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French Distinction “Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters” Conferred on Subodh Gupta

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Traditional Devotional Objects from India

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