Sadequain at AICON, New York

July 15, 2014

Josheen Oberoi visits AICON Gallery’s expansive Sadequain exhibition

New York: It’s been a quiet month in the New York art world. With half the community decamping to Art Basel and the rest distracted by the blessed warm weather (we had a tough winter here!); interesting shows have been relatively thin on the ground. Not for South Asian art, thankfully. AICON Gallery is showing a mini retrospective of the Pakistani artist Syed Sadequain (1930-1987) and I was excited to see it not only for the quality of art but also the rarity of having access to such a body of work.

Occupying the entire expansive space of AICON’s Lower East Side gallery, this exhibit shows the gamut of Sadequain’s oeuvre. One of Pakistan’s most celebrated modernist artists, Sadequain was born in 1930 in Amroha, east of Delhi, in a family of calligraphers. He subsequently moved to Pakistan after his graduation from Agra University in 1948. He shot to fame at the young age of 31, when his work won recognition at the 1961 Paris Biennale.

A self-taught artist, he is most commonly identified with the development of a uniquely idiomatic calligraphic aesthetic. However, his visual language is in fact one of the most variegated and complex of the South Asian modernists working post 1947. He simultaneously worked through a variety of calligraphic, narrative, abstract registers, with artistic influences that ranged from multiple mediums; poetry, Western and South Asian historical artistic traditions. His compatriot, collaborator and famed poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz stated about his work, “In spite of his considerable pre-occupation with the solution of technical formal problems, Sadequain has never been purely a formal painter. Recordist, abstractionist, social critic, emotional visionary, within a few short years, Sadequain has sped from one role or compulsion to another with equal impetuosity.”

Three Standing Figures, 1966, Oil on canvas, 72 x 48 inches Image courtesy: AICON Gallery, New York

Sadequain’s engagement with language was seminal to his work and this is visible in this exhibition. Comprising twenty seven paintings and three drawings, the show is dominated by a collection of paintings from the 1960s, when Sadequain lived and worked in Paris. Titled The Lost Exhibition, this set of eight paintings are dancing figures of calligraphy; lyrical despite their scale. These works are considered examples of what the artist called “Calligraphic Cubism”. Employing the scratched surface technique on the background, the texture produces volume and three- dimensionality. Seemingly caught in action, the elongated movement of the script along the vertical axis make these works appear monumental in viewing. Sadequain described himself as a figurative painter and the dramatic execution of the Arabic Kufic script in these works, the ensuing conversations that are taking place on the canvas, did bring home that idea to me. These are the strongest works in the exhibit and definitely worth a dekko.

Man with Dagger, Oil on canvas, 54 x 30 inches
Image courtesy: AICON Gallery

Some of Sadequain’s formally figurative works are also part of this exhibition and these underline the remarkable range of his visual vernacular. Line, form, perspective – I was hard won to find a singly unifying element among these paintings. One of the more striking of these was Man With Dagger, showing a man holding a dagger in one hand and a head that resembles his own in the other, accompanied by a smaller figure of a woman holding a leaf. These muscular renderings, so different from The Lost Exhibition, are echoed in another set of calligraphic paintings in the exhibition, Untitled (Abstract Formation I and II). Interestingly, the image of a severed head is repeated in one of the works on paper, Untitled, Headless Self-Portrait. It clearly shows the headless artist in a studio, with a work of calligraphy in the background.

Untitled, Abstract Formation 1, c. 1960, Oil on canvas, 25.5 x 16 inches
Image courtesy: AICON Gallery, New York

Untitled, Headless Self Portrait, 1967, Ink on Paper, 28 x 20 inches
Image courtesy: AICON Gallery, New York

In 1962, an edition of the Parisian newspaper Le Figaro rightly noted, “Sadequain adds up the impression of space, density, volume and the reality of matter, which transforms an abstract thought into a material fact in plastic.” He shifted the paradigms of calligraphy, especially in his realization of its abstracted and stylized forms. This post cannot effectively capture the entire spectrum of his languages and so I would strongly recommend a trip down to the gallery to see them yourself if you’re in New York.

You can learn more about Sadequain at the Sadequain Foundation website (co sponsor of this exhibition) and from this article by art historian Iftikhar Dadi.

Saffronart New York hosts SAWCC’s auction benefit

November 20, 2013

Josheen Oberoi shares a note on an upcoming art benefit in New York

New York: Saffronart, New York is pleased to announce a silent auction benefit on November 21^st for the New York based nonprofit South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC). Following on the heels of the auction held to benefit the +91 Foundation in September, Saffronart continues it’s commitment to supporting the arts and artistic community.

SAWCC, an arts organization established in 1997 and dedicated to the visibility and development of emerging and established South Asian women artists and creative professionals, SAWCC provides physical and virtual space to profile their work across disciplines. Visual arts exhibitions, literary and performance art festivals, film screenings – SAWCC’s programming provides visibility to a wide variety of creative disciplines.

Featuring fifty two works by young and established, well collected artists, this auction allows young collectors to buy art at affordable and sometimes below-market prices. After a landmark 15th anniversary in 2012, featuring the retrospective exhibition Her Stories at the Queens Museum of Art, and an outstanding performance, SUBLIME, at the Dumbo Arts Festival this year, this silent auction will raise funds to sustain SAWCC’s exciting future programming.

Here’s a snippet of what will be available. For more, please join us tomorrow.

@Saffronart
595 Madison Avenue, Ste 900
New York NY 10022

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Experimenter Curator’s Hub 2013

July 30, 2013

Elizabeth Prendiville of SaffronArt shares a note about the exchange of ideas at the third Experimenter Curator’s Hub

Experimenter’s Curator’s Hub
Image credit: http://artradarjournal.com

New York: This past weekend (July 26^th and 27^th) Experimenter Gallery in Kolkata hosted its two day curatorial conference. The third annual Experimenter Curator’s Hub hosted ten international curators who presented on a variety of topics including how the global economy, politics and globalization create challenges for curators in the international art market. Featured curators ranged in background and came from different international institutions. Among the curators were Girish Shahane, Director of Art at the Skoda Prize for Indian Contemporary Art and Pooja Sood, Director of Khoj International Artists Association.

Experimenter’s Curator’s Hub
Image credit: http://artradarjournal.com

By reviewing their recent work, curators will present their views on the current curatorial environment and how these outside factors influence the role of a curator in our contemporary art world. Experimenter Gallery believes that this conference could not have come at a better time and that we are at a major crossroads in the curatorial world. The creation of the Curator’s Hub in 2011 was motivated by Experimenter Gallery’s desire to create positive change in the tumultuous curatorial art scene in India.

Experimenter’s Curator’s Hub
Image credit: http://artradarjournal.com

Prior to the event, participant Allessandro Vincentelli, Curator of Exhibtions and Research at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead commented that curatorially, art was moving away from the western viewpoint. Indeed, this conference can be seen as a major vehicle for change in the future of how art is presented in our internationally-fused art world. Vincentelli stated “I also can see plenty of new dynamics that are entirely within South Asia, East Asia and Middle East for residencies, exchanges and for models of presentation. Ones that don’t necessarily need dialogue or mediation through Europe and America”. All of these esteemed curatorial guests are notable due to their use of contemporary ideas and utilizing new technology in their work.

Experimenter’s Curator’s Hub
Image credit: http://artradarjournal.com

The conference concluded in a collaborative roundtable discussion with other art professionals such as artists, art writers, theorists and other curators. At this revolutionary time for art in a global economy it is essential that platforms like Curator’s Hub thrive. Overall the Experimenter Curator’s Hub was successful in its mission: to implement changes and workshop resolutions to barriers in the international curatorial scene.

Raja Ravi Varma’s Legacy

July 1, 2013

Kanika Pruthi of Saffronart discusses Raja Ravi Varma’s influence on Indian illustrative arts over the decades

New York: A conversation about the nascent phase of westernized Indian art is incomplete without a mention of Raja Ravi Varma. The famed painter of the royal Gaekwad family of Baroda, he has many firsts to his credit. He was one of the first painters to use oil as a medium, creating magnificent portraits of the Indian royals in the western academic style. He started his career in the princely state of Travancore in southern India, where he was the court painter from 1857 to 1872. He went on to open the first printing press in India, a move that had a decisive impact on Indian art, beyond what would have been Varma’s understanding and intention at the time.

Raja Ravi Varma, Shakuntala Patralekhan, Collection of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
Image credit: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/how-raja-ravi-varma-changed-indian-illustrated-art/?_r=1

Other than using oil paints and creating portraits seeped in realism, Raja Ravi Varma’s style of painting played a foundational role in defining the Indian prototype imagery in the proceeding decades. His rendition of the characters from Indian mythology decisively shaped the Indian visual culture, the impact of which can be felt even today. The voluptuous heroin with long dark hair and defined features complemented the muscular heroes depicted with chiseled bodies and intent expressions. It is interesting to note that these images seem to be a product of his travels- presenting a generic Indian prototype and not an ethnically definable character. As Deepanjana Pal, the author of The Painter: A Life of Ravi Varma explains “The images were a composite created out of what he saw during his travels – the skin color was from north India, the way the sari was draped was Maharashtrian and the jewelry was usually from south India.”

Raja Ravi Varma, Lakshmi, Oleograph
Image Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org

Varma’s images gained immense currency among the Indian masses that in 1894 when his paintings traveled from Baroda to Bombay for a public appearance, lines upon lines of people filed through the halls for viewing. The public response to his paintings encouraged Varma to set up a printing press so as to generate images for public consumption. He imported a printing press from Germany to reproduce affordable lithographs of his illustrated paintings. Even though the press was an unsuccessful venture and he eventually sold it off, his initiative had a lasting impact. Fritz Schleicher, a German lithographer who bought his press, turned around its fortunes by using Varma’s mythical figures on advertisements, flyers and ultimately calendars. This episode had a monumental impact. Varma’s imagery percolated the Indian household and mind. The popularity of the printing medium, mass production of goods and images and increased public consumption helped in the dissemination of the new Indian imagery. Other printing press that sprung around India and later comic books like Amar Chitra Katha started producing and emulating Varma’s imagery.

The printed image in India owes a significant debt to Varma’s creations and efforts. In turn, these images rendered on ink and paper, decisively impacted the illustrated arts in India. Even contemporary Indian artists continue to build on this tradition. They have gone on to adapt these early images and weave them into a new discourse- constantly re-imaging and re-imagining the role of the Indian hero and heroine. Chitra Ganesh and Pushpamala N are two such contemporary Indian artist whose practice clearly draws from Varma’s oeuvre.

Pushpamala N. The Native Types – Lakshmi (After Oleograph from Ravi Varma Press, Early 20th Century) 2001 C print on metallic paper 61 x 50.8cm. Image Credit: http://www.theartwolf.com/exhibitions/indian-art-mori.htm

One thing is for certain, Varma’s legacy will continue to have a lasting impact on India’s artistic traditions in the years to come. Some will enjoy it in its original garb while others will re-create it for the contemporary audience- just as Varma had done over a century ago.

From Floor to Ceiling: A Symposium on South Asian Murals and Floor-drawings

June 5, 2013

Emily Jane Cushing recommends an upcoming Symposium on South Asian murals

London: The South Asian Arts Group (SAAG) and The Centre for Research and Education in Art and Media (CREAM) have joined forces for an exciting 2013 symposium on South Asian murals to be held at the University of Westminster on 26 October 2013.

Until recently, Western scholarship focused primarily on the courtly arts of India, and this event is an opportunity for this vibrant and varied forms of Indian domestic arts, usually categorized as ‘folk’ or ‘tribal’ art, to be discussed. The aim of the event is to encourage debate and the exchanging of views on the vast but under-researched topic of Southern Asian murals and floor drawing traditions, and also their contemporary counter-parts.

The event hopes to uncover varied approaches to the research of the topic including art historical interpretations and aesthetic views as well as anthropological and ethnographic perspectives. Insightful debates will include whether the creators of these works should be considered artists or craftsmen, and examinations of the creative process behind such works; debate will also be encouraged concerning the materials used in the creation of these works and the possible heritage and conservation methods needed to preserve such examples.

Further thoughtful discussion will concern the transition and development of such arts, from domestic to public spaces, from amateur makers to professional artists and from ephemeral arts to permanent fixtures for the purpose of the art market.

In the hopes of accommodating a wider range of views on the topic the geographical scope of this event extends beyond just India to the rest of South Asia; papers are encouraged to concern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tibet.

A thorough description of the symposium is available here.

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Posts tagged with South Asian Art

Sadequain at AICON, New York

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From Floor to Ceiling: A Symposium on South Asian Murals and Floor-drawings

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