Category: Review

Emptiness of existence Paramjot Walia A solemn empty chair in a collage of 24 paintings where the color gradient could either depict the 24 hours of a day or the bright colors could be a metaphor of happy times, refuses to budge from its position as night makes its way through the day ritualizing wait […]

AN ODE TO THE GODDESS OF MUSIC Uma Nair It isn’t often that one would find an exhibition at the National Museum which explores the marriage of technology and culture. But the strains of Beethoven’s composition from a hollow piano offers a unique multimedia interactive exhibition which seeks to unravel the mystique of music by […]

ZARINA HASHMI: OF PAPER’S MATERIALITY Uma Nair The very term “Folding House” became a stimulus for creativity last week at the opening of Zarina Hashmi who is considered a citizen of the world; and on a wall of the staircase at Gallery Espace is a delightfully minimal series of vaguely Mondrian-like collective series based on […]

SUBODH GUPTA, Recent Works- THE ART OF THE MUNDANE FRANCK BARTHLLEMY Franck Barthelemy wants to remember Subodh Gupta’s latest exhibition at SKE Gallery, Bangalore as a dialogue with the century’s old tradition of still lives and naturalism. Through the selection of artworks, he explored the power of the association between monumentalism and intimacy, the use […]

FLAG MARCH OF REASSURANCE SUSHMA SABNIS Every once in a while, a nation chooses to display its strength as a reassurance to the citizens it houses, aptly called a flag march, where various streams of security forces parade in all their glory and finesse. These times of recession urged six artists to display their show […]

OF THE UNSEEN AND METAPHORIC PARAMJOT WALIA Using numerous metaphors of the subliminal kinds, three renowned artists bring to the fore a unique show titled, ‘Cat Walk, Blue Moon’ at the Sanchit Art Gallery, New Delhi. The show focuses on the beauty and relevance of artistic metaphors employed in rendition of the art works forming […]

THINKING OUT OF THE DRAWING BOX SUSHMA SABNIS When providence brings together a group of enthusiastic like-minded artists from all over the world through a social media platform, few would doubt its successful outcome. The Drawing Box is one such venture which restores hope for artistic pursuits in a recession hit art scenario, reviews Sushma […]

INTERFACE PREETI JOSEPH What happens when eight artists native to the same land, with eight viewpoints and ideologies and numerous interpretations come together to express it artistically? A show titled ‘Interface’ is born which acts as a polemic of bygone times and a reckoner of the times to come. The meaning of artwork proliferates on […]

HOMING IN LINA VINCENT SUNISH What is the meaning of home, asks Karl Antao in his recently concluded exhibition ‘Mind the Home’ at Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore. The artist, in his exquisite sculptures looks at the meaning of being sheltered and being loved, and problematizes the relationship between home and the world, writes Lina Vincent Sunish. […]

TICKLING THE BURLESQUE BONE Sushma Sabnis (Humour of the satirical and the burlesque kind dominates artist Anirban Mitra’s work which thrives on hyper amplified imagery dipping its feet in various streams of life to set off a cannon of visual bombardment. Hitting the viewer with this carnival of colour, thought and diversity, the artist presents […]

THE REALITY MIRAGE Paramjot walia At times photographs act as a mirage by creating a fictional world which seems hopeful when seen within the confines of a frame, but reality maybe suffocating under the labyrinth of these colorful submerging printed stories. The photographs exhibited in ‘Merging/Sub-merging’ show at Art Konsult act as a visual medium […]

MISS BUTTERFLY Sushma Sabnis A large needle pierces an imaginary cloth of air with a woollen string, making large spider webs. Patiently, like the arachnid weaver, the string is drawn in and out into knots and tight concentric polygons. The webs block the openings of trapdoors, roof outlets, doorways, windows, even room separators. Light pierces […]

SITUATIONISM IN YOUR LIFE Paramjot Walia After proving its success in Agra, Sanchit Art Gallery launched its space in DLF Mall, South Delhi. Clearly the owner Sanchit Joshan is unaffected by the recession in the art market. Quoting the optimistic gallerist “Whether the art market is booming or there is a slump is relative to […]

A CODE OF THE EXISTENTIAL Sushma Sabnis The true essence of an abstract painting lies in its balance to reveal or conceal the act of it’s creation, without making it feel like a jigsaw puzzle. Embedded layers reflect the mind scape of the artist, translating into the landscape of the actual work, the coming together […]

KETAKI SHETH : A CERTAIN GRACE Uma Nair Working with a black and white palette capturing sensitive and haunting images, photographer Ketaki Sheth’s ‘A Certain Grace’ documenting the lives of the Sidis, immigrants from east Africa, was a deeply moving collection of photographs, reviews. Ketaki’s work, called “A Certain Grace”, documents the lives of theSidis, […]

Uma Nair. Reminding one of the power and wisdom of portraiture, be it of the mundane or the rare, Sooni Taraporevala’s photography show on ‘Parsis’ was a gentle look at the poetic and curious lives of the community, observes Sooni Taraporevala seemed energized and full of joi de vivre as she led a stream of […]

Nisha Aggarwal. Inquiring into the historical Salt march of 1930 and the near extinct Azrakh traditions, artist and textile designer Shelly Jyoti weaves a fabric using socio-economic and cultural threads of Gandhian philosophies in her installation works, reviews The solo show of Shelly Jyoti’s new works titled ‘Salt: The Great March’ : Re-contextualizing Azrakh Traditions […]

Nisha Aggarwal. The world around us is generally discernible by the placation of two opposite pylons, which could be similar or opposite in nature but are prevalent in every core of human life. Flipping the crucial coin of nature versus progress, artist Priyanka Govil presents a sub polemic through her art work, reviews REVIEW Delhi […]

AURA Art Shubhalakshmi Shukla Drawing upon the ever changing flow of water and its influences on the artistic creativity, reviews the changes in the time and tides of Indian traditional and contemporary art over the decades on display at the Aura Art Show 2013. The metaphor of water is so strong in South East Asian […]

Of Valuing Equality – [MUMBAI] – Shubhalakshmi Shukla With numerous threads of insightful observations and a needle sharp assertion in his visual language, artist Nikhil Raunak, presents his debut solo show titled ,‘Someday is Today’ at Clark House, Mumbai. Questioning and sometimes answering, he creates art works in a variety of mediums from embroidery and […]

DependsWho You Ask – [TEXAS] – gabriel Diego Delgad From overpowering essences of the tangible to implied metaphysical and spiritual realms, the curated show ’Texas Tough’, displays four solo shows by women at the Blue Star Contemporary Museum, Texas. Indian born, Houston based artist Amita Bhatt, makes her presence felt with her large scale installation […]

OLD MASTERS This monsoon, treading under the canopy of nostalgia of yesteryears, the Art Indus gallery recaptures the essence of the art legends through their artworks in the show ‘Old Masters’. Time, tide or market value have failed to dim the radiance and timelessness of these art works, observes Uma Nair Ambadas Khobragade, K.S.Kulkarni, Sailoz […]

Deconstruction: Prabhakar Kolte – [MUMBAI] – Sushma Sabnis There are times in life when artists choose to redefine the dynamics of their art practices, especially when one has a penchant for experimentation and an innate restlessness like Prabhakar Kolte. Being one of the pioneers of the abstract school of thought in J J School of […]

Much Ado about Nothing : Art Bangaluru 2013 Franck Barthelemy I know art is subjective and I am no one to judge what is good and what is bad. I know some buyers (note the word) acquire artworks because they are interested to match the colour of their sofas with a painting or two. I […]

Art Espresso at Gallery Espace Paramjot Walia I envy him for his passion and knowledge of coffee. He could get different shapes on those illy cups – hearts, leaves, you name it! – just by pouring the milk in a certain way, almost as if the milk could understand and follow his orders. I was […]

Plot(s) of Point 0 [Banglore] Franck Barthelemy occupation and the accumulation of properties that can be called speculation. Who owns? How is it owned? Why is it owned? Who knows it is owned? What does this all mean? Sreshta’s exploration puts the human being at the heart of his reflection. Plot, his work made of […]

CHANDIGARH’S NEK CHAND IN LONDON (London) UMA NAIR In the exhibition, the life-sized seated monkeys in reddish concrete are mysteriously thoughtful, like Buddha figures. A large, flat bird figure, its opulent surface made of translucent green glass fragments, testifies to Mr. Chand’s canny decorative instincts. And various human figures – from adult to toddler sized, […]

AN UNLIKELY PAIR (Mumbai) Lina Vincent Sunish The show came about as a result of Jen’s stay in India for a sixmonth residency programme of the Art Foundation of Nordrhein- Westfalen, in cooperation with the Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai. His work has been largely based on experiments with collage, fusing and mixing varied histories […]

Life seen as a toy shop on the canvas Art & Deal Correspondent Shukla looks to tell a story with each of his exhibitions. This particular collection of paintings is inspired by the artist’s four year old daughter and her excitement at a toy store. Shukla shares, “ When I look at her childish cravings […]

HAIL (KOCHI) Tanya Abraham Madhu V by using the Chinese moth [its struggles of transforming itself into a moth from a silk worm; that death is the next phase of life and not the end of life] as a metaphor links nature, the universe and personal existence together, and explicates the dilemma and the possibilities […]

Cricket and Art Archana Bahl Sapra The project, a marriage between sport and art- both creative in their own different ways has been quite a unique collaboration. Artists here have played games with their emotions, dreams, fears and experiences while giving expression to their thoughts and concerns. Artists and players representing different schools of art […]

Under The Skin Lina Vincent Sunish “To Mumbai: my home, my muse… “ is the dedication, and Husain begins his essay with an all encompassing comment that explains the book, “When one talks about a journey, one usually refers to starting out from one place and reaching another. My journey has been different. In the […]

Defining the undefined Dinesh Khemani Going through his sculptures one can sense that the artist does not believe in following any grammar or rules. Like his paintings reflect his inner emotional state, so does his sculptures. They are expressionistic in nature with long elongated bodies, undefined faces and coarse use of the skin material. He […]

INKED WANDERLUST: ROHIT CHAWLA – Uma Nair This year at the Religare he unveiled Wanderlust. In two parts along its lush walls here were nomads who belonged to a nether class. I use these words because Rohit the epicurean has this thirst to document what is rare and edge worthy-resonant filled and rather full of […]