L.N. Tallur To Debut At Nature Morte

Elizabeth Prendiville of SaffronArt shares an announcement about L.N. Tallur’s “ UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” in Delhi.

New York: L.N. Tallur has established a strong career through his sculptural pieces that convey a greater meaning and commentary on our contemporary world. His training and work experience worldwide have provided a vast approach to reoccurring societal plagues and inspirations that are present in all of his work. While he touches on historically rooted techniques each of his pieces employs a thematic response to time, want, greed, nostalgia and other elements of human life. His new show “UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” starting on January 11th at Nature Morte, will display all new works and embodies that metaphorical message that he is known for. Currently, the artist resides in both India and South Korea and utilizes inspirations from a variety of cultural standpoints to depict his metaphorically driven work.

Even the title “UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” is filled with a greater meaning from the artist’s perspective. In this name he is referencing the medieval Chinese and Japanese technique of fishing with help of trained cormorant birds. Each cormorant bird (or “Ukai” in Japanese) is controlled by a knot at the base of the throat that prevents them from devouring the fish and instead allowing the fisherman to obtain the spoils of their hunt. This collision between human desire and nature is Tallur’s well-crafted illustration for the presence of greed in our society, specifically within global labor out-sourcing.

Tallur’s sculptures expand on these themes through depictions of manipulated figural shapes as well as a wide variety of materials such as wood, metals and mixed media. The artist takes an earnest and aggressive approach to these themes while still remaining playful and explorative in his work.

 

Prior to his solo exhibition at Nature Morte, L.N. Tallur debuted his solo exhibition “Quintessential” at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai in 2011. In addition to “UKAI” his solo exhibition “Balancing Act” is currently being show at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia.  While in South Delhi this winter, do visit the curatorial space Nature Morte to take in this eclectic exhibition. “UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” will be on display through February 8th 2014. To learn more about this exhibition and Nature Morte visit their website here. 

Balancing Act by LN Tallur

Elisabetta Marabotto of Saffronart shares a note on LN Tallur current exhibition at the SCAD Museum of Art, Georgia

London: The SCAD Museum of Art is currently hosting the first solo US museum exhibition of the Indian artist LN Tallur.

Tallur’s art is an amalgamation of influences from rural India, where he grew up, to foreign lands, which he recently visited. This is reflected in his unique style and artistic vocabulary.

The New York Times described the artist’s work “each of his pieces is like a miniature curiosity cabinet, hand-assembled down to the smallest detail and packed with charmed and puzzling surprises.”

LN Tallur, Balancing Act, 2013

LN Tallur, Balancing Act, 2013. Image Credit: http://www.tallur.com/

“Balancing Act” is a comprehensive exhibition of past and recent sculptures, installations and interactive works by the artist. These were created using different media such as bronze, terracotta, wood, bronze, silver and concrete.

The leading theme of the exhibition are the dichotomies between the tangible and ethereal, the abstract and the figurative and the conceptual and the decorative.

The exhibition is on until March 23 and you can find more information here.

Public Art installation by Reena Kallat at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai

Hena Kapadia takes a look at Reena Kallat’s latest public installation at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai

Bhau Daji Lad Museum, interior, Mumbai

Bhau Daji Lad Museum, interior, Mumbai

Mumbai: Created by the artist, Reena Kallat and curated by the Bhau Daji Lad Museum in collaboration with ZegnArt/Public, this impressive ‘Untitled’ installation captures the viewers’ attention at once. Several rows of over sized rubber stamps form a cobweb covering the entire facade of the colonial era museum. Instantly invoking ideas of bureaucracy and the passage of time, each stamp on the web bears on it the name of a street which has been changed in the city of Mumbai as part of the renaming and decolonizing of the city. Like the museum itself, originally named the Victoria and Albert Museum, the city of Mumbai as well as the country as a whole has undergone a reclaiming of public spaces through the renaming of institutions, roads and even entire cities.

Reena Kallat's installation at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum

Reena Kallat’s installation,“Untitled (Cobwebs/Crossings)” at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum

Kallat is able to visually recreate the cobwebs of the past that continue to crowd our spaces, and will eventually be forgotten with the passage of time. Kallat’s project was chosen from a group of seven artist’s proposals including projects from Gigi Scaria, Hema Upadhyay and Sakshi Gupta by the curators of the museum and ZegnArt Public. A separate gallery space gives visitors an opportunity to see the proposals for projects that might have been.

Reena Kallat's installation at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum (detail)

Reena Kallat’s installation at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum (detail)

A gargantuan effort, this project ties into the Museum’s focus on the contemporary. Under director Tasneem Mehta, the museum has been host to a series of curated exhibitions in which contemporary artists are invited to respond to the Museum’s collections. Among several artists who have exhibited here are this year’s Skoda Prize winner, LN Tallur, Ranjani Shettar and Sudarshan Shetty.

Reena Kallat's installation at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum (detail)

Reena Kallat’s installation at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum (detail)

Read more about ZegnArt Public.

Hena Kapadia is a Mumbai based art professional, who has a Master’s Degree in Modern and Contemporary Art World Practice.

Snapshots from the Škoda Art Prize 2012 Ceremony

Manjari Sihare shares some snapshots from the Škoda Prize 2012 Ceremony held in New Delhi recently

New Delhi: We recently blogged about the Škoda Art Prize 2012 Show at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. This year, LN Tallur was selected winner of this coveted award. Here are some snapshots from the award ceremony, courtesy of the organizers of the Prize. This ceremony also saw the felicitation of Delhi based artist, Rohini Devasher, with the Art India Breakthrough Artist Award. Read this interview to learn more about Devasher.

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The Škoda Prize Show at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

Manjari Sihare shares some snapshots from the opening of The Škoda Prize show in New Delhi

New Delhi: On January 29, 2013, the opening of the Škoda Prize Show for 2012 was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Delhi. The exhibition, curated by Girish Shahane (Director of Art –the Škoda Prize), is a selection of works by the longlisted artists or top 20 finalists for the Škoda  Prize 2012.

The Škoda  Prize for Indian Contemporary Art brings to public notice exciting trends in contemporary art, highlighting the output of established mid-career artists as well as new voices. It is backed by jurors of impeccable credentials, renowned patron institutions, a dedicated group of advisors, and a management team of proven capability. Nominees need to be below the age of 45, and should have had a solo show in the country over the last 12 months. The winner takes away the prestigious ‘The ŠKODA Prize Winner’ title and also receives prize money of INR 10,00,000. Runners-up are invited to participate in international residencies supported by Prohelvetia, the Swiss Arts Council.

Visited by thousands every year, The ŠKODA Prize Show (which takes place alongside the India Art Fair in New Delhi) showcases the country’s most promising contemporary artists. This year, LN Tallur was the selected winner of this coveted award selected by an esteemed panel of jurors including Geeta Kapur (eminent Indian art historian and critic), William Kentridge (South African artist of international acclaim), Sangita Jindal (Owner, Art India Magazine), Abhay Sardesai (Editor, Art India), and Girish Shahane (Director – Art of the Škoda Prize).

The preview on January 29 was inaugurated by Dr. Karan Singh, President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations in the presence of Shri Ravindra Singh, Special Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Mr. Sudhir Rao, Managing Director, Škoda  Auto India and Mr. Martin Da Costa, CEO, 70 EMG, the principal sponsor of this initiative.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Rajeev Lochan (Director of the NGMA, New Delhi) said “I believe that The Škoda  Prize truly presents and supports the art of the “New Generation”. These are essentially artists who have emerged in the 1990s in India presenting their own practice by portraying the reality that they have experienced and depicting strongly their concerns as individuals. Art can no longer be compartmentalized into painting, sculpture, print making etc. Art is now breaking all previously laid out barriers and has diversified into a multitude of media such as installation art, video art, performance art, conceptual art and the new buzz of media art. These too have evolved and developed over a period of time. The artists have chosen to break away from the mould of the existing art practices and have given birth to new approaches and genres in art previously not experienced and contrary to the popular belief contributing greatly to the value and the unconventional mode. I am truly delighted that the National Gallery of Modern Art. New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India is presenting the Škoda  Prize Show. I am equally pleased that The Škoda  Prize has established itself as a prestigious award for visual arts and it has evolved as a much awaited contemporary art exhibition in India.”

The Škoda Prize show will be open to the public till 28 February 2013.

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All images are courtesy the organizers of the Škoda Prize.