Elisabetta Marabotto of Saffronart shares a video of Atifa Suri on her grandfather, the great Indian artist M.F. Husain
Elisabetta Marabotto of Saffronart shares a video of Atifa Suri on her grandfather, the great Indian artist M.F. Husain
Shradha Ramesh of Saffronart discovers the documentation of the diverse cultural heritage of Pakistan.
New York: In any country, art and architecture reflect the historic milieu of culture and heritage. Among the emerging Asian and Middle Eastern markets, Pakistan has gained international recognition. The Pakistani art market has been doing well both nationally and internationally. According to Fabian Bocart, founder of the Brussels-based Tutela Capital, “…in the case of Middle Eastern/Islamic contemporary art (as I call it), where it’s not the market that’s emerging, in fact, but our discovery of it. Great art is great art.”
Though Pakistani art was misconstrued to have born the brunt of societal hostility to free expression, in recent times, the country’s contemporary art and literature has demonstrated that it has broken clear of that taboo. Classic examples of this liberation are the artworks by internationally acclaimed artists like Mohammed Ali Talpur, Rashid Rana, Imran Qureshi and others. A panel discussion on Pakistani contemporary art, held at Saffronart in London last year, explored the cultural and socio-political influences that acted on artists from the region.
The evolution of a more liberal stylistic representation is clearly highlighted by the publication of the book Churches of Pakistan by photographer Syed Javaid Kazi (President of the Photographic Society of Pakistan) and Dr. Safdar Ali Shah (Director of Academics at the National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan). The book is a photographic compilation of well preserved churches in Pakistan. The architecture of churches ranged from the oldest European influenced gothic styles to Sufi influenced marble structures.
In continuation of their religious architectural venture, the duo, along with publisher Mansur Rashid also lunched The Sikh Heritage of Pakistan, a coffee table book that documents the well maintained gurdwaras that are run by the Evacuee Trust Property Board of the Government of Pakistan and the Darbar Sahib, a key architectural structure in the history of the Sikhs, where Guru Nanak spent his last 18 years. It houses both the Guru’s mazaar and samadhi. The books also incorporates Allama Iqbal’s poetic tribute to Guru Nanak, and is believed to have accomplished a dual mission -“that Islam accepts the right of the people to follow whatever religion they wish to and that Pakistan is not about terrorism only.”
Hindu Heritage of Pakistan and Sacred Companions at the Mystical Abodes of Pakistan and India are other publications in the series, where Syed Javaid A. Kazi has collaborated with Dr Safdar Ali Shah and Dr. Jürgen Wasim Frembgen (Senior Curator and Head of the Islamic Collection at the Munich State Museum of Ethnology, and Professor for the History of Religion and Culture of Islam at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Munich) respectively. The books encompass a photographic collection of various Hindu temples that are in existence in Pakistan.
Manjari Sihare recommends a talk on the art of Rumanna Hussain being hosted by the Mohile Parikh Center in Mumbai on May 10th, 2013. See below for more details:
Tarika Agarwal of Saffronart on an exhibition in Bangalore that documents trends in Indian printmaking over the last 100 years
Bangalore: The National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore, has organized a month-long exhibition on Indian printmaking in the city. The exhibition opened on April 28, 2013, and will continue till the end of May.
The exhibition is titled ‘Between the Lines’, and has been curated by Lina Vincent Sunish, an art historian from Bangalore. The exhibition is mainly based on Indian prints from the private collection of Waswo X. Waswo that document the trends in Indian printmaking over the last 100 years. Waswo is an artist hailing from Wisconsin, USA, who now lives in India, and has a special interest in Indian printmakers and their work.
The opportunity to view works from a private collection is bound to raise interest within art circles. Art collectors are the ones who ultimately drive the market as well as dictate future trends. When an public institution as important as the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) decides to go ahead with an exhibition displaying a private collection of Indian prints, be assured that it will be a comprehensive show as well as a learning experience.
The exhibition tells the complete story of Indian printmaking through a variety of printing techniques on display, including etchings, lithographs, woodcuts and serigraphs. Programs have been designed to help the general public as well as artists and students understand Indian history through these prints. What makes the show a ‘must-visit’ is the timeline of the collection. While some of the prints date back to 1917, the more contemporary prints count some as recent as 2012. There are about 152 works by 79 artists displayed from the collection.
This exhibition was first held at the Visual Arts Gallery of the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, which we blogged about here. It is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue titled ‘Between the Lines: Identity, Place, and Power – Selections from the Waswo X. Waswo Collection of Indian Printmaking‘.
Elisabetta Marabotto recommends Raja Deen Dayal’s exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum
London: The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto is hosting “Between Princely India and the British Raj: The Photography of Raja Deen Dayal” until January 2014.
Studio Portrait of Raja Deen Dayal. Image Credit: http://www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions-galleries/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/between-princely-india-and-the-british-raj-the
Raja Deen Dayal (1844-1905) was the first Indian photographer to achieve international success. Over the course of his career, Dayal documented Indian history, artistic heritage, and its landscapes and peoples. In 1894, he was also appointed court photographer to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad.
Monkeys at the temple at Onkarjee, Raja Deen Dayal. Image Credit: http://www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions-galleries/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/between-princely-india-and-the-british-raj-the
The present exhibition features over 100 photographs from three main collections including the ROM’s collection.
A view of the North Gate of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, Raja Deen Dayal. Image Credit: http://www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions-galleries/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/between-princely-india-and-the-british-raj-the
This exhibition was oraganised in collaboration with The Alkazi Collection of Photography, New Delhi, and coincides with a major publication: “Raja Deen Dayal: Artist-Photographer in 19th-century India.”
Char Minar, from album “Views of India”, Raja Deen Dayal. Image Credit: http://www.rom.on.ca/en/activities-programs/events-calendar/raja-deen-dayal-revealed
Concurring with the exhibition there will be an event held on 9 May at the Museum.
For more information on the exhibition and event click here.
