Shradha Ramesh of Saffronart visits an exhibition of works by three Indian artists at New York’s Tilton Gallery

New York: Tilton Gallery in New York, housed in a historic town house on the Upper East Side, recently opened an exhibition of the work of three artists residing in India – Sakshi Gupta, Mariam Suhail and Avinash Veeraraghavan.

I was greeted by Sakshi Gupta’s biomorphic rendition depicting the passage of time at the entrance of the exhibition. There is an instantaneous emotional connection with the smooth integration of form and texture in this piece. The swell, flow and splatter of forms inspired by nature have an implied impact of turning point in one’s life. The art connoisseur in me was intrigued by Gupta’s minimalistic representation of the metamorphosis of life her.

As I walked up the stairs I was awe struck by Veeraraghavan’s burst of colors and patterns. A new media installation under the fireplace was sheer eye candy. The artist’s juxtaposition of photographic patterns was skilfully designed. His works are influenced by both art and design. ‘Rest in Peace’ is a classic example of this, in which he seamlessly interweaves design principles and artistic form. He continues the combination of overlaying patterns in a series of small prints on display –‘Between Faith and Spam’. This made me think his work served a dual purpose: it was more than a mere photograph or installation, it was well designed.

I was also engrossed by the interplay of language and partial form in Mariam Suhail’s work. The illustrations on display were her representations of partial perceptions of objects. The central barrel-like form was represented in a partial positions of being dipped in liquid. The works looked like simple draft sketches with permanent marker, and this simple and uncluttered presentation extended to her textual works too. She played with space and text in the same way she did with form, evoking a uniform, buoyant emotion of simplicity.

Tilton Gallery is known for promoting acclaimed contemporary artists from across the world, including artists such as David Hammons, Marlene Dumas, Fred Tomaselli, Huang Yong Ping and Francis Alys. The gallery is located walking distance from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Frick Museum, so make a day of it and visit this exhibition!

To learn more about the show, click here.