Indian contemporary art reaches a new stage of development

TV Santosh

INDIAN ART SHOW

Signs Taken For Wonders: Recent Art from India and Pakistan to January 31 2009

Indian contemporary art is reaching a new audience with large-scale museum surveys such as ‘Indian Highway’ at London’s Serpentine Gallery and ‘Chalo! India: A New Era of Indian Art’ at Japan’s Mori Art Museum. As the Aicon Gallery Signs Taken For Wonders show press release points out, this is a ‘pivotal moment’  when international curators, writers and galleries articulate how, which and whether Indian artists will become part of international art history.

Compared with art scenes in other locations, this new exposure to rigorous and objective criticism is all the more significant for contemporary Indian art which lacks its own museum and curatorial infrastructure. And unlike other emerging Asian markets such as China, there is a limited history of patronage, collecting and connoisseurship. This fascinating cusp for Indian art marks an unusual opportunity for collectors, critics and connoisseurs around the world to assess and shape a response.

Justin Ponmany Salt Friends

 

The Financial Times says that the two London exhibitions, the Serpentine Gallery’s Indian Highway and Aicon’s Signs Taken for Wonders, are the UK’s most ambitious attempts yet to distil coherence into the chaotic rush of art emerging from the Indian subcontinent.

While some of the artists are in both this show and at the Serpentine (MF Husain, Raqs Media Collective) it is worth visiting both shows which together cover many of the emerging names. At Aicon you will see some of the auction favourites  (TV Santosh and Justin Ponmany) as well as up and coming Pakistani art which is absent at the Serpentine . (Aicon Gallery for more images). Visit the Serpentine to see female artists  and video work. These were both given a smidge of approval in a generally bleak review by The Independent.

I thought Nalini Malani had something, painting flights of female figures on clear acrylic panes, where swirling smears of pigment get transformed into snaking bodies – The Independent) and  Kiran Subbaiah’s brief video, Flight Rehearsals, about an introverted young man climbing the walls of his bedroom, was tight and funny.

More positive reviews are linked below.

Artists included in the Aicon show include MF Husain, Adeela Suleman, Amjad Ali Talpur, Atul Bhalla, Bose Krishnamachari, Chintan Upadyay, GR Iranna, Justin Ponmany, Muhammed Zeeshan, Raqs Media Collective, Riyas Komu, Sajal Sarkar, Shibu Natesan, Talha Rathore, TV Santosh and Vivek Vilasini.

Related:

• More reviews: Financial Times on Serpentine and Aicon, Bloomberg, Independent, Standard
• More on Chalo India at Mori Japan, Indian artists, reports from London, events on now, museum surveys
• Devi Museum of Indian art ground-breaking first September 2008 post

What do you think about Indian contemporary art? Take part in the discourse, leave your comments below.

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Singapore artist Yeo Chee Kiong’s installation wins ‘richest’ Asian art prize – Bloomberg

INSTALLATION ART PRIZE

Yeo Chee Kiong won the S$45,000 ($30,793) inaugural APB Foundation Signature Art Prize (images on website) for his installation “A Day Without a Tree,” originally shown last year at Singapore’s National Museum.

Yeo’s mixed-media work greeted visitors to the building, built in 1887, with what looked like a large puddle of white paint dripping from the walls as the columns of the four-story- high atrium melted. Yeo won the grand prize, the richest in Southeast Asia, sponsored by the Singapore Art Museum and Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd., maker of Tiger beer.

Yeo, born in 1970, said he decided to create a work based on the classical architecture because the museum was celebrating its 120th anniversary at the time of his installation.

“I tried to present something that you are not sure of,” he said in an interview at the Singapore Art Museum.

He declined to explain the work or its title.

“My position is not to tell you what it is. You have to figure that out for yourself,” he said.

Yeo was chosen from a shortlist of 12 artists from the region, including Malaysian Ahmad Fuad B. Osman, China’s Zheng Bo and India’s G.R. Iranna, who all won S$10,000 jurors’ choice awards. Mongolia’s Davaa Dorjderem won S$10,000 for the people’s choice, selected by online voters.

The award is part of a 15-year partnership between APB and the Singapore Art Museum signed a year ago. The APB Foundation has committed S$2.25 million in funding for the prize, which will be awarded every three years.

The 10 shortlisted works are on view at the Singapore Art Museum until Nov. 16.

See

• images and coverage by Bloomberg, Asia One Plush
• more on Asian art prizes
• latest reports from Singapore

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Charles Wallace India Trust supports emerging and mid career Indian artists

INDIAN ARTISTS KOLKATA CHARLES WALLACE INDIA TRUST: Many of its young artists, including GR Iranna and Eleena Banik are making a mark abroad, while names like Samit Dey, Sunil Gawde, Mithu Sen and Paula Sengupta have had overseas shows

The Charles Wallace India Trust extends support to artists in the early or middle stage of their career. Formed in 1981 in memory of Charles Wallace, co-founder of the Shaw Wallace company, to date, the trust has handed out around 2,500 grants.

“For close to three decades, the Charles Wallace India Trust has thrown open the window for Indians working in the arts, heritage conservation and the humanities to work in a focused manner in the UK. The Trust is run by four trustees and a secretary. The British Council India has also been actively advising the trustees,” an art market source told ET.

The trust awards four types of grants. While certain assignments in the arts and heritage conservation and visiting fellowships stretching over 2-3 months are fully funded, grants for short research or professional visits do not cover the full costs. The trust also awards grants for the penultimate or final year of doctoral study.

Some of the artists who have won the Charles Wallace grant are Delhi’s GR Iranna, Sunil Gawde of Mumbai, Ravi Kumar Kashi and A Balasubramaniam of Bangalore and Kolkata’s Eleena Banik, Samit Dey and Paula Sengupta.

“The awards help an artist to get a view of international art through the residency programmes. The benefit is that artists, are exposed to this experience at a very crucial stage of development in their career. Besides, the fellowships make way for interaction between Indian and overseas artists. As the artists establish their identity and style over time, the Charles Wallace awards, together with other accomplishments, are a true value addition,” the source said.

In fact, many of the young artists, including GR Iranna and Eleena Banik are making a mark abroad, while names like Samit Dey, Sunil Gawde, Mithu Sen and Paula Sengupta have had overseas shows. “My whole trip to Europe was very exciting. Charles Wallace took me to the Glasgow School of Art. I gathered so much experience and knowledge. I was introduced to the global art scenario. I was overwhelmed to see great art works from pre-historic till modern to post-modern and contemporary. I never looked back after that,” said Eleena Banik.

Source: Indian Art News/Economic Times
Image details: Paula Sengupta 'For Misses and Girls'