How time flies. Seems like it was only yesterday when a new year had begun, and already, we are heading towards its finale. The winter chills have started to take momentum, as have the art activities around us; and this November, Art & Deal tries to cover as much of its phenomenal glimmer within and beyond the country.
On our cover this month, we have our London correspondent Rajesh Punj with an extensive essay about one of Germany’s ace art collectors, Justin K. Thannhauser (1892 – 1976). An industrialist by the day, Thannhauser may have suffered much disapproval and derision for his adoration of the avantgarde artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries like Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Manet, Picasso and Van Gogh. Nonetheless, he remained committed to the cause of Modernism, at a time when the legacy of 19th century art may have appeared much more favourable. It is a story worth sharing, and we hope you find it as intriguing as we did.
For another segment, Punj interviews French conceptual artist Laurent Grasso about his most recent exhibition at the Galerie Perrotin, Paris, who by his own admission has painstakingly curated a laboratory of many two and three-dimensional works that are nothing less than modern fossils! “When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. But when I have finished if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” And that pretty much sums up Grasso in his own very words!
Dr. Ganesh Nandi covers a profile on Lanu Pongen, the fastest wooden sculptor from Nagaland. A man with very humble beginnings and sizeable struggles, a man who can finish with a seven-foot sculpture in a matter of a few hours!
Kiran K. Mohan expounds about Hyderabad based artist and activist Deepa Nath, whose recent solo exhibition in the India Habitat Centre was dedicated to the cause of saving the girl child. Nath works with a few NGOs and has helped in organizing a number of camps, classes and competitions for underprivileged children. She even volunteers time at an orphanage on a weekly basis.
In addition, we have Dhiraj Singh reviewing Khanjan Dalal’s conceptual ceramic exhibition ‘Homebound’ from Jaipur. Bangalore’s Saraswathy K. Bhattathiri reviews ‘Singularity’, an exterior spatial art display curated by Sandhya Annaiah.
Indira Lakshmi Prasad covers artist Niroj Satpathy’s Dhalao 2018, an open exhibition and performance art opening that brought together 20 art practitioners for a lively exchange of visual and performance art practices. This month also features a special report by Sudipto Mullick about the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival. So much for a very vibrant month!
As always feel free to write to us with your comments, feedback and suggestions.
Happy Reading Siddhartha Tagore