A host of group and solo shows that look at varying themes riddling humankind are on display this month
With the onset of fall, artists across India are gearing up to put their best foot forward as “art season” across the country beckons, in the run up to which come some of these promising shows.
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Beneath the Surface, Group show
An intriguing part of abstract art is its ability to mean something while not relying on the viewer to understand it. As an enigmatic outlier from other forms that demand definite interpretation, abstract art invites the audience to explore their own meaning beyond an initial impression.
This show presents the works of nine artists from across India, all working with a range of mediums and styles that go beyond what lies on the surface. While some artists have shared a concept note, the show encourages one to spend time with each work prior to reading what the artist has to say about it. The show features the works of Harman Taneja, Dipesh Raj, Tia Shah, Dheeraj Yadav, Nilesh Shaharkar, Kritika Soni, Shubham Malu, Nehal Verma and Ravi Morya.
Where: Method, Juhu, Mumbai
When: Till 1 November
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Dark Was the Night by Julien Segard
Goa-based French artist Julien Segard’s series Dark Was the Night initiates a dialogue between the visceral and the peripheral, vacuity and mass. The body of work immerses the viewer in the intricacies of their elements, while simultaneously operating as the entry points into vast infinite spaces. Through drawings made with charcoal and dust on coloured fabric, portraying white phosphorus explosions frozen in time, Segard offers a glimpse into a hazy apocalyptic backdrop by evoking a constant push and pull, and traces of the imperceptible. The works also refer to Segard’s long-standing interest in the night time, the starscape and celestial bodies that are revealed through trails of iridescent flames that spiral and cut through the darkness.
Where: Experimenter Gallery, Hindustan Road, Kolkata
When: Till 11 November
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Delhi Durbar: Empire, Display and the Possession of History
During the period of the Raj, the British held three lavish ceremonial durbars in Delhi. The first, in 1877, was conducted to declare Queen Victoria as Empress of India. The second, in 1903, announced the succession of her son King Edward VII as King Emperor. The third, in 1911, proclaimed King George V, and on this occasion both the King and his consort, Queen Mary, attended in person, marking the first time a ruling British monarch had visited India. The grandeur of these events was on a lavish scale, to display the majesty and power of the Raj, and the loyalty of eminent Indian subjects, including Maharajas and Nawabs of the Princely States.
Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) has assembled leading historians of the city—Swapna Liddle and Rana Safvi—to weigh in on the gallery’s collection of archives. The items they found include several photographs of the three durbars taken by well-known photographers of the day. They also include miscellaneous objects associated with the durbars—from portraits and medals, maps and official guidebooks, to tickets and programmes.
Where: Delhi Art Gallery, Janpath Road, Delhi
When: Till 6 November
Image: dagworld.com
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Passage by Abir Karmakar
The exhibition puts on display six free-standing, double-sided paintings of cut out domestic walls by artist Abir Karmakar. They depict a time that has frozen in its tracks through the objects that represent them. Painted in the Trompe-l’œil tradition, the works bridge two separate worlds—one seen through a camera lens and the other physical one we inhabit.
Karmakar’s painting practice is in line with the ongoing dialogue on how to integrate and subvert the role of the camera as a device that captures the truth. He turns the immensity of a stretched canvas surface into a map where the truncated eye travels laterally and vertically, juxtaposing how human eyes and mirrored lenses are affected by distortion. In the artist’s world, every square inch is painstakingly recreated, including the shallow world of reflections on television screens, mirrors, and glass cabinets. Through a meticulous translation of light on a surface, Karmakar allows us to be in the past in real time, by physically taking us through the passage of time.
Where: Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Ballard Estate, Mumbai
When: Till 26 October
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Prussian Blue: A Serendipitous Colour that Altered the Trajectory of Art, Group show
As the name suggests, this survey exhibition explores the engagement of artists with the colour Prussian Blue. Although Prussian Blue is widely used in the artist’s colour palette, its distinct hue is relatively unknown, and neither is its link between art and science comprehensively explored.
The works in this exhibition are especially commissioned for the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in various mediums, including painting, sculpture, video, and installation art. For instance, The Cyanotypes experiments Interplay #139 by Parul Gupta, or Sea-wind of the Night, a painting by Anju Dodiya on fabric, which is inspired by the Japanese woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Or even a majestic painting by NS Harsha depicting an astronaut looming in deep space that displays the blue, allowing the viewer to contemplate a deeper understanding of how colours interact with the surroundings.
Where: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida
When: Till 10 December
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