State of the Art

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Posts by eprendiville

Contemporary Craft Art Featured in the United Art Fair

October 1, 2013

Elizabeth Prendiville of SaffronArt shares  Delhi Crafts Council’s display of Contemporary craft artists in the United Art Fair in September.

Soni Jogi

New York: Last spring Delhi gallery owner Peter Nagy connected with the Delhi Crafts Council to create a traditional yet contemporary body of work for the United Art Fair in Delhi. Eight artisan craftsman were chosen to create over fifty pieces of work for the art fair. These pieces hold a unique space within the greater art fair environment, because they honor the traditional craft techniques of tribal and folk art while still maintaining a fresh and new aesthetic. With the United Art Fair as their benefactor, these artisans were provided work space, materials and compensation for their beautifully crafted piece. This opportunity also presents a dual beneficial experience for both art fair audiences and these newly supported craftsmen.

Soni Jogi

Each showcased artist has their own story and traditional technique. This familial narrative is actively displayed in each one of these simple yet dynamic pieces. Although some of these artists have formal artistic training through universities, artist Soni Jogi is completely self-taught. Her utilization of dot painting displays a sophistication and acknowledgement of art history, yet expresses her visualizations in a simplistic way. Born and raised in Rajasthan, Jogi experimented with different aspects of dot painting by using ink on paper and later more mediums such as acrylic paint. Through participating in an arts workshop with the Delhi Crafts council she has expanded her work onto large-scale canvases.

This collaboration between these artists and the Delhi Crafts Council will create countless possible opportunities for these artists in addition to the United Art Fair. By highlighting the intricate differences in technique and tradition that is present in this work we see the individual stories of each artist. Although the United Art Fair ended on September 17th, these artists will continue to be a pivotal part of the Indian Contemporary art market. While the collaboration is rooted in a desire to foster the careers of these artists, these pieces will also grow significantly in value. Currently prices range from Rs 5000-30,000. To learn more about the stories of these individual artists click here. To learn more about United Art Fair click here.

Nasreen Mohamedi at Talwar Gallery

September 23, 2013

Elizabeth Prendiville of Saffronart shares a note about Talwar Gallery’s intimate look into Nasreen Mohamedi’s work, “Becoming One”. 

"Becoming One" by Nasreen Mohamedi

“Becoming One” by Nasreen Mohamedi

New York: This fall at the Talwar Gallery in New York a collection of artist Nasreen Mohamedi’s work will be on display in “Becoming One”. The exhibition will include photographs, drawings and diaries encompassing work from much of her lifetime (1931-1990). Her work utilizes universal themes in an aesthetic that is neither representational nor abstract. This independent quality has set her work apart in Indian art. Her series of drawings on graph paper appear to be embryonic life forms growing and evolving. This variety of subject matter encompasses her approach to the familiar and unfamiliar in our world.

"Becoming One" by Nasreen Mohamedi

“Becoming One” by Nasreen Mohamedi

“Becoming One” not only showcases her technical execution in her creative craft, but also shines line on the motives and perspectives of the artist herself. Her diaries, displayed in the show, hold a wealth of knowledge about the artist’s commitment continual exploration in her artistic practice. Through these diaries we see that her creative practice was truly embedded in her existence. These autobiographical notes contain Mohamedi’s continual conversion of life and art.

Nasreen Mohamedi

Nasreen Mohamedi

Nasreen Mohamedi’s work was unprecedented in India’s art scene. Her approach was completely unique and is seen as a crucial piece in the development of modernism in Indian art. “Becoming One” will be on display through November 24rd. This will be Nasreen Mohamedi’s third solo show at the Talwar Gallery.

To learn more about “Becoming One” please visit Talwar Gallery’s website here. 

Anish Kapoor in Istanbul

September 15, 2013

Elizabeth Prendiville of Saffronart shares news about Anish Kapoor’s first solo exhibition in Turkey. 

Anish Kapoor in Istanbul

Anish Kapoor in Istanbul

New York: September 10th through January 5th the first major exhibition in Turkey by Anish Kapoor will take place. The solo exhibition “Anish Kapoor in Istanbul” will be hosted by the Sakip Sabanci Museum in collaboration with Akbank. The show will display the artist’s stone sculptures using a variety of mediums including alabaster and marble. The show will consist primarily of previously undisclosed pieces in contrast with his most iconic internationally known pieces such as Sky Mirror and Yellow.

"Yellow" by Anish Kapoor

“Yellow” by Anish Kapoor

The exhibition will utilize both the indoor and outdoor spaces of the Sakip Sabanci museum. The gardens of the museum, on the picturesque shores of Bosphorus will be the ideal location for Kapoor’s abstract stonework. The quality of his craft balances both a contemporary viewpoint with a respect for the natural beauty of the stone medium. This quality is one element of why he is known as a king of the Contemporary art world on a global scale.

"Sky Mirror" by Anish Kapoor at Rockefeller Center.

“Sky Mirror” by Anish Kapoor at Rockefeller Center.

Although he was born in Bombay, Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970’s. His work has been shown in solo shows all over the world including the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Fabricca del Vappore in Milan and at NGMA in Delhi. Showing a Contemporary artist of this caliber worldwide will surely highlight Turkey as an international art destination. The administration from the museum is enthusiastic to bring Kapoor’s work to Istanbul under the curatorial eye of Sir Norman Rosenthal.  This exhibition is the ideal event for any enthusiast of Anish Kapoor’s work who hopes to see some never before seen pieces.

For more information please visit the museum’s microsite for the exhibition.

Raqs Media Collective debuts “Extra Time” in Shanghai

September 11, 2013

Elizabeth Prendiville of Saffronart shares a note about New Delhi’s Raqs Media Collective at The Chrouns Art Center. 

Extra Time by Raqs Media Collective

Extra Time by Raqs Media Collective

New York: The Chrouns Art Center in Shanghai will be featuring works by Raqs Media Collective for their inaugural show. “Extra Time” by the New Delhi based artist group will feature their wide ranges of medium and modes of expression. Raqs Media Collective often works in a variety of techniques including performance, large-scale installations, architecture, video and photo. “Extra Time” proves to be a hugely multimedia oriented body of work. They not only engage these different mediums but also transform them to create statements about time and trigger conversations as an audience.

Extra Time by Raqs Media Collective

Extra Time by Raqs Media Collective

In the work time is both the focal point of Raqs Media Collective’s piece and utilized as an active medium. By playing with duration, repetition, intervals and other aspects of time in their performances, the artists are engaging the audience in an active exploration of time. The artists examine how creative production is evolving in our current fast paced world and how time as an entity is changing for artists and audiences alike.

Extra Time by Raqs Media Collective

Extra Time by Raqs Media Collective

Most recently Raqs Media Collective has been in residency in Shanghai as well as engaged in collaboration with Westheavens, a cross-cultural  program between China and India. However, this will be their first solo exhibition. This in-depth and creative exploration of time is sure to be a success for Raqs Media Collective and the The Chrouns Art Center. “Extra Time” will be running August 23rd through November 17th.

To learn more about the Chrouns Art Center please click here.

To learn more about Westheavens in collaboration with Raqs Media Collective please click here. 

Jitish Kallat’s Solo Show at Galerie Daniel Templon

September 8, 2013

Elizabeth Prendiville of Saffronart announces Jitish Kallat’s first French solo show at Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris

Breath by Jitish Kallat now on view at Galerie Daniel Templon

Breath by Jitish Kallat now on view at Galerie Daniel Templon

New York: From September 7 through November 2 Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris will hold a solo exhibition for Indian Artst Jitish Kallat. Prior to this exhibition Kallat has been shown in esteemed institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago and London’s Tate Modern. Although he has a wide breath of past work and a strong history of exhibitions in the finest institutions, this will be his first French solo show.

The Antonym Allegory by Jitish Kallat now at Galerie Daniel Templon

The Antonym Allegory by Jitish Kallat now at Galerie Daniel Templon

“The Hour Of The Day Of The Month Of The Season” will celebrate Kallat’s ability to utilize a wide variety of mediums in a meaningful and adaptive way, in a single exhibition. His working mediums range vastly from oil paint to text to photography. His work focuses on acts of his daily life, even the most mundane, and refocuses them in a creative and intriguing display. This can be seen in his work “Breath” when he takes seven portions of roti, customary Indian bread, and evolves them into the physical representations of the cycling moon. He validates the typical and everyday item and gives it a much greater meaning and importance within his work. In his creative eye, dining plates become part of the solar system while security checkpoints become intricate choreography. The expected and accepted is reformatted into the thought provoking and less familiar. With his ability to take the everyday aspects of life and repurpose them into evocative, witty metaphors Kallat engages audiences immediately with his work. By combining the familiar with the more theoretical and artistic, he prompts a dialogue for viewers to take part in while viewing his pieces. It is no surprise that he will be filling the two Galerie Templon spaces with his recent work.

This accessible, yet sophisticated dialogue is part of what makes Kallat so successful and marketable as a Contemporary Indian artist. Born in Mumbai, Kallat is seen as an important individual in a wave of Contemporary Indian artists who have made a noticeable impact on the global art market. While in Paris this fall, be sure to visit Jitish Kallat’s solo show at the Galerie Daniel Templon. His work promises to be memorable and impactful for years to come.

To learn more click here.