A Certain Grace- The Sidi: Indians of African Descent by Ketaki Sheth

Tarika Agarwal of Saffronart discusses Ketaki Sheth’s photography and her recent exhibition

Ketaki Sheth, A Certain Grace The Sidi: Indians of African Descent

Ketaki Sheth, A Certain Grace The Sidi: Indians of African Descent. Image Credit: http://www.ngmaindia.gov.in/pdf/ketaki_invite.pdf

Mumbai: The National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi is currently hosting “A Certain Grace, The Sidi: Indians of African Descent” by Ketaki Sheth until November 3.

Ketaki Sheth began taking pictures of Bombay in the late 1980s, under the guidance of renowned photographer Raghubir Singh. Her fascination with the city of Bombay and its teeming masses extends beyond the poverty, the population and the pollution of the city.

Sheth has slowly moved onto different aspects of photography. On Monday 16th of September 2013 her exhibition at the NGMA was inaugurated by Raghu Rai. Her photographs impressively narrate the lives of Sidi’s – Indians of African descent that over the past many centuries have migrated to India. She has meticulously compiled the photographs as part of a long study carried out about the county’s least talked about community and sensitively narrates the fabulous tales of the people through her photographs.

Below you can enjoy few images of her photographs. It doesn’t tell the whole story, but does give us an idea of the work she has done and the influence she has tried to make…

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To see more photographs click here.

Gaitonde Retrospective coming to Guggenheim NY

Elizabeth Prendiville of Saffronart  announces an upcoming Gaitonde retrospective in New York.

New York: Coming next Fall (November 2014) the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City will be producing an exhibition of the late Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s work.

This retrospective of Gaitonde is showing a new trend in the recent programming at the Guggenheim. Having just concluded a premiere retrospective of Zarina Hashimi, the Guggenheim Museum is showing modern and contemporary Indian artists more than ever.

For this upcoming retrospective, the first exhibition of the artist’s work since Saffronart’s show in 2011, Associate Curator of Asian Art, Sandhini Poddar hopes to gather forty pieces of Gaitonde’s work ranging in various mediums including oil and pencil.

These pieces will be borrowed from both private and public collections from all around the world.

Gaitonde’s work is considered non-representational and experimental and he is often referred to as India’s foremost abstractionist. However, prior to his death in 2001, the artist was quick to dismiss the term “abstract art” and preferred “non objective” to describe his subliminal imagery.

Throughout his career his work was included in premiere exhibitions, and is part of the permanent collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Gaitonde was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 1971.

The Guggenheim hopes this expansive retrospective will tour to other institutions such as the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi and their international sister institution Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open in 2017.

No matter the institution, a retrospective of Gaitonde’s work is sure to offer a collection of exceptional and pivotal paintings.

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