PUBLISHER’S PEN This anthology of criticisms has taken a year to materialize and we are looking at a wide variety of art events and exhibitions the world over.Talwar Gallery’s A.Balasubramanium’s solo exhibition at the Gallery in Delhi had the ability to refl ect and reveal him as an artist of rare intensity and credibility. The […]
Month: February 2016
COVER STORY
Van Gogh’s Roses and Irises@ Metropolitan Museum New York Uma Nair New York: History happens when the present bows to the past.At the Met Museum in New York,Van Gogh’s Roses and Irises are united in the manner of quoting T.S. Eliot’s ‘Time Past is Present.’ In May 1889, after episodes of self-mutilation and hospitalization, Vincent […]
COVER STORY
Picasso Sculptures Enthrall @ Moma Uma Nair Picasso Sculptures at MOMA had this eclectic insignia about it that invited intrigue and curiosity more than the auction news that was circling the market. Somehow with all the highs of the art world in the art of the gavel, we don’t seem to think of Picasso as […]
COVER STORY
Beyond The Black Sun : Sayed Haider Raza Uma Nair ‘Aarambh’-Sayed Haider Raza’s adagio to his birthday at 93 plays out like a morning ‘raaga’-its nuances and notes finding harmonies within the realms of colours and tonalities and flowing between moody crags and crevices-the sharps and trebles seen in the strokes of spring summer and […]
COVER STORY
Restrained Rhythms : A. Balasubramaniam @ Talwar Gallery, New Delhi Uma Nair “In the work of the cavity I thought of the balloon-the pressure of the wind-the human body both from out and also within—how the outer skin folds and goes inside. When I used the—stone-I thought of two things of the flexibility of the […]
COVER STORY
Subodh Gupta Storma New York Uma Nair ‘When I see utensils, it gives me a feeling I can’t describe. I get very excited,’ says Gupta, of his process. ‘The marks of the utensils just tell me so many stories and I feel them so completely’. Gupta’s use of found objects may give his works Duchampian […]
COVER STORY
Urban Chos Hema Upadhyay Art & Deal Correspondent Everything she signifies is shown to us from a high vantage point – its an almost aerial view of multiple colours and insignias of stacks and shacks with their blue plastic cover-ings seeking to ward off the merciless rain –as she sits in reflective reverie this artist […]
COVER STORY
Jamini Roy : Carved Contours, Dhoomimal Gallery Uma Nair Jamini Roy’s works speak to us about social consciousness and the indomitable human spirit.If we look at his work as an overview there is no illusion ,only the simplicity of the images -the power of gesture and poise.If we view it in the social construct and […]
COVER STORY
Alfred watson’s Speech : 1929 Uma Nair “In a few moments I shall declare open the exhibition of the works of Mr. Jamini Roy. Those who study the various pictures will be able to trace the development of the mind of an artist constantly seeking his own mode of expression. His earlier work done under […]
PROFILE
Fausto Melotti : Dynamic Mix Of Abstraction Utility And Art Theory Uma Nair Hauser & Wirth has announced its exclusive worldwide representation of the Estate of Fausto Melotti (1901 – 1986), the Italian sculptor, installation artist, and poet admired for his unique contribution to the development of mid-century European Modernism. ‘We are honoured and delighted […]
PROFILE
Shridhar Lyer Uma Nair Shridhar Iyer is known as a pilgrim in search of the intangible. A silent vibration of a mantra emanates from his countenance and you think of discipline, simplicity and devout absorption that transcend the frontiers of experience to give us a moving moment. His profile photographs on Facebook clearly unravel a […]
PROFILE
Rhythm Of Man : Sashidharan Uma Nair Sashidharan the professor sculptor is a man of eclectic interests. He walks in to the Visual Arts Gallery in Delhi to savor Sudip Roy’s Odyssey and we get talking. As a critic and curator I am rather guilty of not having seen his installation at Ajmere Gate Metro. […]
EXHIBITION
‘Nauras’ Unveils Cultural Zenith of 16th-19th CE Southern Sultanates Shruthi Isaac The size may not merit special attention, but the figures in it definitely do. For, the 89cm x 74cm Kalamkari work throws light on the region’s cosmopolitanism at the peak of its glory, Deccani art’s syncretism stringed well at National Museum show curated by […]
EXHIBITION
Watching Wounds Through The Hands of a Master Art & Deal The mention of Wounds at Akar Prakar brought back lots of memories. Somnath Hore in Shantiniketan was more than an artistic journey, it became the genesis inspiration, and those who were part of this journey recall the distinct and disciplined ways of the master […]
EXHIBITION
Print and Pulp : Haunting Residues Uma Nair “What do I paint? Expression of my own self, revolving around the one concept – Wounds. All the wounds and wounded I have seen are engraved on my consciousness. ” – Somnath Hore Look at any work by Somnath Hore, the grace, the fluid delicacy and the […]
EXHIBITION
Sultans Of Deccam India, 1500-1700 : Opulence and Fantasy Metropolitan Museum New York Uma Nair The magnifi cent museum Sultans who ruled the Deccan in the middle ages, prided themselves on attracting the best available literary and artistic talent to their courts, even as they kept an eye on cultural developments in Islamic lands. Among […]
EXHIBITION
Jeevan Chakra : Multicity Arts Project, Curator Laitka Gupta Uma Nair January 2016 saw an exciting programme of cultural activity across three cities -Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi – all part of Medicine Corner. The programme was an initiative of one of the UK’s most innovative cultural venues, Wellcome Collection – part of the Wellcome Trust, […]
EXHIBITION
Calligraphy and Fine Art Aiyana Gunjan Craft vs Art : vCraft is a tradition passed on, repeated, done over and over again. In craft there is the collective unconscious made conscious with every stroke. The form, the subject, the lines, the skill, the discipline is sacrosanct to maintain the authenticity n tradition. In craft lies […]
EXHIBITION
Spirit of Children : Christine Margotin Uma Nair At the celebration of India International Centre’s Experience Festival as well as Lalit Kala Akademi ChristineMargotin’s sculptures of children drew gazes and interest alike.” I do not paint bronze but I prepare my own coloured patina,” states Christina about her works that sat rather cosily in the […]
ARCHITECTURE
Sanderson : ICC Art Gallery Uma Nair At the India International Centre Gallery was an exhibition that made Delhi’s ancestors grin with happiness. ‘Graphic brilliance vies with vintage vitality’. A delightfully laid out aesthetic extravaganza of the historic haunts of Delhi of the Mughal ages, and with the brilliance of an architect called Gordon Sanderson […]
PHOTO ESSAY
Paris Palette Text & Photographs : Rupin Nair Thomas It was 2001, as I sat in my honors seminar class I was handed the reading package for the semester. We were to participate in a ‘conversation’ for a semester on Francis Fukuyama’s, The End of History and the Last Man. Immediately, the cynic that lived […]