DEBU BARVE ART BLOG

Monsoon Studio

2013-07-04T17:03:00.000+05:30

It is a perfect Monsoon here in Pune. Perfectly wet, green, gray, moody. Good time to be back on the blog. My studio is filling up with drawings, doodles, new ideas, new mediums and everything is threatening to flow out of my head into the green outside. Things that I had kept locked in memories and rapid scribbles made at random places and at random times are surfacing again. I am now trying to rearrange all of this in some loose order. It is fun.

And yes, studio assistant Ginger is the new honorary supervisor in these activities!

Group show: Small is Beautiful

2012-06-26T22:40:00.000+05:30

I am participating in the group show titled 'Small is beautiful' at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai.

The show is conceptualized by Kalpana Shah and it presents works by several artists. The focus is on smaller sized artworks in the artists' respective styles. Two works by each participating artist can be seen in the show.

The show will be on till 15^thJuly,11a.m. to 7p.m. (including Sundays). Please check this fantastic group show if you are in town. For those who cannot make it, here are my paintings which are a part of this show!

R.I.P. Paul Jenkins

2012-06-14T12:07:00.003+05:30

Artist Paul Jenkins passed away in New York on 9th June 2012 at the age of 88. Jenkins is one of the important artists classified as lyrical abstractionist painters. Lyrical abstraction is a movement also classified as painterly abstraction. Jenkins is well known for his signature fluid painting style. The term lyrical abstraction seems very apt when one sees his beautifully colored, rhythmic paintings. His paintings have been collected by several renowned art collections and museums across the world.

Here are some of his most remarkable works. But before that here is a clip from a 1978 movie called 'An unmarried woman', where the movie makers have used Paul Jenkins’s studio to film this scene. The painter in the video is not Jenkins himself but an actor. It is a rare chance to get an idea on how Jenkins might have painted his unique large scale fluid paintings in his studio.

Andrea Belag: Interview

2012-03-26T23:42:00.000+05:30

It is my immense pleasure to post the interview of one of my favorite artists, Andrea Belag. I have been following Andrea’s work for a couple of years now; I love her exotic paintings full of vivid brush work, her amazing selection of colors and the light evident in her paintings. In this interview she answers my questions in great details sharing deep insight into the various aspects of her process. She also gives some important pointers which could be very helpful to young artists. With this post I’m also sharing three of her most recent paintings.

Andrea lives and works in New York. Besides painting and regularly exhibiting worldwide, she is also a lecturer at the School of Visual Arts, New York. You can see her paintings on her website.

Q. 1 DB: You have a very interesting color palette spanning across your paintings, and within each painting I see there is an engaging internal color play. Where do these colors arrive from?

A. AB. I prefer transparent colors and I try to vary the temperature and value of the colors within a painting. With transparent colors I can focus on the light in the painting, which is crucial for me. The pigments tend to be newer chemical pigments as opposed to classic colors. Perylene red, for instance, was developed for car manufacturers. I occasionally use an earth color but generally they are too opaque.

I can also get a range of temperatures with a single pigment by varying the density of the paint. I like the emotional punch of using a full value range in each painting. I first observed this in Van Gogh’s paintings and more recently in the paintings of the German Expressionists.

Early Film Noir films in color and Technicolor films have a high- pitched palette and I have taken many color ideas from these films.

Q. 2 DB: Do you define your work as gestural? How do you describe your painting process?

A. AB. No matter what I think, people describe my paintings as gestural so I may as well own it. What is important to me about using marks made from moving my arm is that it is a way of putting myself directly in the painting. My paintings have also been described as a performance, albeit, a very private performance. Most of the paintings are completed in one working session and they are painted in one layer wet into wet paint. Therefore, I need to concentrate fully. It is a rigorous way to work and I often fail and the painting gets destroyed. But I think as I destroy second and third best paintings it pushes me along to make more bold and revealing images.

I was just listening to a recorded interview with Agnes Martin and she claimed that she is not interested in ideas just inspiration. I think you need both. I often have to discard whatever initial image or idea I have and work through many tropes until I invent something new for that painting. If that happens I am satisfied and if not I reject the painting. It is a hard way to work and recently a colleague, Suzanne Joelson, described my paintings as dangerous. It is certainly a good metaphor for my painting process.

That said, I am also interested in using forms other than gestures in my paintings and I am investigating different modes of working. I will experiment with new ideas with works on paper this summer.

Q. 3 DB: Your drawings have a clear inclination towards paint that finally manifests in your paintings. Do you see drawing as a subset of a larger process of painting or does it stand separately?

A. AB. I teach drawing and I think it is an essential process. But in my work I try to develop drawing ideas that can be part of my oil paintings. These days I draw in a traditional drawing medium – watercolor- and it enables me to use a brush, which is a non-linear tool. I think of the decisions I make in each watercolor as drawing decisions: What is the size and scale the stroke? And how does it read as part of a spatial configuration?

Photography and the computers generate visual information which is used as “the new drawing” for many artists. Whenever I get stuck I look at something, usually a photograph or an older painting and I try to draw in new information. But I always use a liquid medium so I can involve a little chaos.

Q. 4 DB: I feel that your work has a very unique feel. What do you think makes them appear so unique?

A. AB. What I see that distinguishes my work from other painters is the light in my painting. My subject is light, more or less, and the way I paint with a liquid film of paint in one layer, wet into wet allows light to come through the hues.

I always felt it was important for a painter to find a singular way to use materials in order to make their work original. At least it is the beginning of originality.

Q. 5 DB: How do you classify your work? Do you call them abstracts or non-objectives? Also do you think ‘color field’ painting can be used to describe your work?

A. AB. I refer to myself as an abstract painter. It may not be an adequate term but the New York art world uses it and I follow suit. Non-objective sounds like an historical period. Non-representational may be better because it puts the emphasis back on the painting to be just what it is. It is very hard to look at a painting, however, and not see associations if not in a form then in a space. If I see something overt however I eliminate it while I am working and push towards something less familiar.

Color field painting didn’t evolve into a big moment in painting history. Probably because the audience for painting shies away from color and the drawing involved in the paintings did not sustain development.

I am teaching a class called the Abstract Image that includes a broad scope of approaches and I open the concept of abstraction to include whatever is necessary for a student to develop their work.

Q. 6 DB: Which artists inspired you in your journey?

A. AB. I grew up in New York and the major Museum collections here favor French painting. The first time I saw a Matisse at the Museum of Modern Art I was riveted and he will always be my most significant influence.

Travel is a big part of my life and it has brought me to many places to look at art close to where it was created. There is no substitute for this experience. As a student I traveled in Italy to see Cimabue, Giotto, and Piero Dela Francesca, which I needed to see. I realized after that trip that I needed to go see artwork several times a year in different locations.

In the 1990’s I began to show frequently in Germany and that engaged me in the work of the German Expressionists and the ambitious work of German contemporary painting.

German Expressionism and my love of cinema brought me right to Film Noir and that became the underlying subject of my work for several years.

At this point I am interested in the pluralism of contemporary art and I spend more time visiting contemporary galleries.

Q. 7 DB: When arguments like ‘painting is dead’ surface every now and then, usually ‘Abstraction’ receives the first blow of harsh criticism. Do you think that painting, and ‘abstract’ painting in particular is in danger?

A. AB. The audience for painting is smaller and the audience for abstraction is the smallest. Most people don’t know what they are looking at and it difficult to write about. However, the quality of abstract paintings right now is extraordinary: Amy Sillman, Donna Nelson, Mary Heilmann, Stephen Westfall, Albert Oehlen, Christopher Wool, Howard Hodgkin, Stanley Whitney, Katharina Grosse, Joanne Greenbaum, and Gerhard Richter, are some of the painters who are advancing painting and abstraction.

Will abstract painting continue? I think the physical conditions that are necessary for a painter to develop her/his work are becoming more and more difficult for young artists to attain. I think art forms that require less real estate and funding are more popular among young artists. It also takes many years to mature as a painter and artists have to find a way to take care of themselves through different economic conditions if they are to keep painting.

It is hard to devote your life to working on something that is about nothing but for me it is everything.

Q. 8 DB: Where do you think we are going? What would you like to advise young artists?

A. AB. I see the model of professionalism as the mode for artists and there is increasing emphasis on the use of technology. Artists are rebels so there may be a backlash against this and therefore it is hard to predict the future. These trends are affecting all fields so it is the contemporary paradigm.

My advice to young artists is to do what they are passionate about.

Q. 9 DB: Do you recommend any ‘must read’ books or any specific artists who should be studied as a part of the learning process in art?

A. AB. Read everything; a life of passion needs to be nurtured with information. I have always loved biographies because they include history and generally I spend more time reading non-fiction. I read art criticism but I don’t see great artwork coming out of theory.

This summer I will be reading Proust with a small reading group.

March 25, 2012

Art workshop for the tribal school

2012-02-18T23:45:00.003+05:30

My artist friend Raju Deshpande and I are just back from an art workshop we conducted for the residential primary school located in the Bhimashankar forest area, around 200 km away from Pune. ‘Vanadev’ school is a residential school with around 40 kids (from std. 1^st to 4th) from Mahadev-Koli and Katkari tribes. It is a fantastic small school run by the social organization ‘Shashwat’, and is one of their many initiatives for the tribes in these parts. Shashwat is an organization of highly passionate people who really understand the ways of these tribes and have expert knowledge about the terrain.

Raju and I were quite excited about this workshop and were looking forward to spend a day exploring drawing, painting with these kids. When we arrived at the school we realized a very interesting aspect of the way the school is run. The teachers informed us that this workshop would not be mandatory for the kids, and the kids were free to opt out of the drawing exercises we conducted. I thought it was great that this freedom of choice was offered by the teachers to such a young age group. Thankfully almost 95% of the kids decided to participate, and that was good news for us :) Many of our participants were using the painting brush for the first time, but they picked up the skill fast and were soon coloring away with water based liquid colors on paper and were making graffiti on the wall. The paintings and drawings were very beautiful and diverse as you can see from the pictures in this post!

The kids were free to choose their subject and style. They drew ponds with floating lotuses and large fish like the typical sweet-water fish that are normally found in the lakes nearby. The kids painted houses with decorative doors very similar to the actual houses in the village, and they drew snakes, monkeys, peacocks and trees around these houses. Some unusual subjects like people travelling in small trucks with luggage loaded on top, or the mammoth wall of the dam also made an appearance in the paintings. All very beautiful and very colorful!

The kids enjoyed the workshop and so did we. It was very interesting to see how the kids translated their surroundings into their drawings. Here are pictures of some of the fun moments from the workshop. We will certainly be visiting our young friends again and hope to explore more art and ideas with them! :)

R.I.P. Antoni Tàpies (13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012)

2012-02-07T20:56:00.000+05:30

One of the geatest Spanish artists from the post war era, Antoni Tàpies passed away on 6th February 2012 in Barcelona, Spain at the age of 88. R.I.P dear Tàpies.

It is difficult to choose the right words to describe Tàpies’s work, and to classify it only under ‘Art Informel’ or ‘Tachisme’ feels inadequate. I think he is one of the greatest expressionist artists of our time. Some artists leave their influence over the generations to come, Tàpies is one such artist. Not just Spain but the entire art world loved him and cherished his fantastic paintings.

Marble dust, sand, rags, earth and all the other materials that Tàpies used in his art have created an artistic language that speaks about a fundamental understanding of our own existence. His work is pure, honest and a very stark statement about our constantly changing surroundings. Wars, atom bombs, politics, industrialization – all part of our changing world demand a huge toll on our sensibilities. Not that everyone has to take a note of it, but many artists attempted addressing these concerns across the world. I feel Tàpies belonged to that generation and is among the very few who really succeeded in expressing these views boldly.

Shades of grays, muddy browns and stark black- all sifted from different material powders were Tàpies’s armada of colors in his long and dedicated journey as an artist. He molded colors and forms to speak his language, and what was created was truly majestic.

A dedicated museum in Barcelona called ‘Fundacioantonitapies’, holds one of the largest single collections of Tàpies’s artworks.

There is quite a bit of literature about Tàpies in books and on the internet. Also many of his very interesting paintings can be found online. I recommend you to ‘discover’ your own Tàpies in case you have not done that already!

Michael Whiting: The ‘Dynamic’ Pixelation

2012-02-01T22:14:00.000+05:30

Dynamic pixelation – now this really sounds contradictory doesn’t it? If you were brought up during the times of the early generation computers with their economical interfaces and old time gaming graphics, you will probably remember the dithered, pixelated imagery of these machines. These machines were the cutting edge of technology then and most of us rejoiced at this pixelated stuff. But it did not take very long for technology to evolve and that minimal pixelated graphics simply disappeared from ‘everyday gaming’.

Michael Whiting is an American sculptor based in San Marcos, CA who preserves those good old pixels in 3 dimensional metal sculptures. These sculptures are simple and wonderful and he succeeds in giving that old imagery a technological retro feel in quite a monumental fashion. I have seen Mike’s sculptures online several times, and have always wished to see such beautiful sculptures in public spaces in India (which is otherwise dominated by dead politicians or historical heroes molded in conventional bronze. If not these then there are the ghosts of forgotten wars in the form of rotten tanks and airplanes which hog the public gardens. But that’s altogether a different story; we’ll keep it for some other time.)

Mike takes his inspiration from early generation computer graphics, but it is evident that this works as a point of reference for his work and is not a subject. He has transmuted this basic inspiration to create a fantastic minimalism and a clearly legible visual language. I feel that it is his great achievement. Sometimes ideas can be simple and perhaps easy to execute but their impact on the viewer is long lasting. Mike’s sculptures clearly belong to this category.

Mike creates his sculptures with welded steel sheets and industrial enamel paint. Birds, animals, people and everything else is re-imagined in a pixelated style, welded using steel and painted with nice bright paints. Alongside the sculptures he also creates paintings which follow a similar theme; you can see these on his website and blog.

I hope you will enjoy Mike’s work as much as I did! I’m definitely going to see his sculptures for real in my next trip to the US whenever that happens!

Thank you Mike for the permissions and for sharing the images with the blog. Mike is represented by Edward Cella, LA and Plus Gallery, Denver.

Reshawishkar -2: An exhibition on 'lines'

2011-11-21T22:56:00.002+05:30

Sudhir Patwardhan has brought for us the 2nd show of the series of two exhibitions focusing on ‘lines’, called ‘Reshawishkar-2’(expressions of lines). ‘Pune’ites had a great opportunity to look into some of the very personal artist sketchbook pages, exercises and finished artworks created using various renditions of lines in the first show held in September.

Reshawishkar-2 gives us an excellent opportunity to see works by veteran artists K.G, Subramaniyan, Himmat Shah, Sudhir patwardhan himself, Dilip Ranade and Parag Tandel. We will also be able to interact with artist Dilip Ranade and sculptor Parag Tandel during the viewing of a slide show of their works on Sunday, 27th Nov., 10:30 AM at Sudarshan Gallery, Pune.

K.G. Subramanian (b.1924) - One of the very senior artists from India, K. G Subramanian is well known for his expressive figurative compositions. For him, the sketches which are exhibited in the show are like daily ‘Riyaaz’ (dictionary meaning is ‘practice’, which is often used in the context of everyday practice in Indian classical music tradition). If you are familiar with the K.G.’s work, here is your rare chance to also have a look at his artistic preparations and candidly done ink drawings on paper.

Himmat Shah (b.1933) – A well known sculptor of India, Himmat Shah is recognized for his experiments with various materials in his works, from terracotta, bricks, to metals and plasters. It is very interesting to study his sketches which are quite different in approach from his sculptures. These sketches are not meant to be exhibited as art creations but as his personal studies. This gives us a feel of how a sculptor exercises art in 2D, forming ideas and later taking them to a different 3D expression.

Sudhir Patwardhan (b.1949)- I was lucky to meet him on the opening day of the show and get a first hand view of his graphite sketches exhibited in the show. Patwardhan is well known for his multi-faceted figurative cityscapes. His concern is with everyday metropolitan Indian life, particularly of Mumbai. Thus his sketches are also a sort of information gathering of his subject matter. With observations and photographic references, he brings in this atmosphere into his sketches which then translates into full-fledged paintings. It is quite wonderful to see some of his preparatory sketches in the show.

Dilip Ranade (b.1950)- Mumbai based artist Dilip Ranade is well known for his mystical line drawings. His drawings are mostly done with the geometric pen on paper. Ranade’s work is a walkthrough into the world imagined by him. Objects and people we may recognize otherwise look absolutely different here, they appear like metaphors of the unspecific. It is very interesting to see how simple thin black line can create a space that looks so vast on a small paper.

Parag Tandel (b.1978) - Parag is a Mumbai based sculptor, recognized for his contemporary sculptures and sculptural installations. His innovative sculptural works created out of unconventional materials like plastic, fiber and rubber are very different from his ink and graphite works which are part of this show. These are works consisting of irregular line patterns and geometrical forms or interwoven structures. They are not initiated to achieve any predefined artistic goal but loosely experimented compositions. It is a treat to get a closer look of the works of this young sculptor.

This show is a must for artists, art lovers and art students in Pune. For all those who will not be able to attend, here is a small glimpse of the artworks (Click to enlarge).

Sincere thanks to Sudhir Patwardhan for bringing this 2nd show to Pune as promised! :)

Reshawishkar-2 (Expressions of lines)
18th November-30th November2011, 11AM to 8PM.
Address : Sudarshan Kala Dalan (art gallery is in the basement of the Sudarshan Rang Manch,- a place well known for the experimental theater shows) Near Ahilya Devi high school, Shanivar Peth, Pune-30.

Adapting the eye: An archive of the British in India, 1770-1830 at the Yale Center for British Art

2011-10-12T22:13:00.002+05:30

Adapting the eye: An archive of the British in India, 1770-1830 at the Yale Center for British Art

(Click for a larger view)

Thomas Daniell, Sir Charles Warre Malet, Concluding a Treaty in 1790 in Durbar with the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, 1805, oil on canvas, © Tate, London 2011.

Reshawishkar : An exhibition on 'lines'

2011-09-19T01:05:00.000+05:30

Pune art lovers have a rare opportunity to see five different approaches of handling ‘lines’ in the exhibition called ‘Reshawishkar’(expressions of lines). This exhibition is conceptualized and curated by the renowned Indian artist Sudhir Patwardhan. The five artists on display are art veterans Krishan Khanna, Gieve Patel, and well known artists from contemporary Indian art scene Jyoti Basu, Tushar Joag and Vilas Shinde. The exhibition opened on September 17th and will run till the 1st of October at ‘Sudarshan Kala Dalan’ (detailed address at the end of the post). This show is the first part of the series of two exhibitions planned, the second of which will be in November.

Line is a fundamental element of art and every artist has his/ her unique personal relationship with it. A line can be simple or complex, fine or brute, drawn or painted. Artists explore a multitude of possibilities and make diverse statements through the handling of lines in their art. Patwardhan has chosen these five artists to give the viewer a glimpse of these very possibilities. But this small show (around 35 small and medium size works) is not only about lines, it is a rare opportunity to peek into the artists’ close and personal preparations that stand firmly behind the final artwork. For this reason the pages from the sketchbooks of the great figurative artist Krishan Khanna are an absolute delight to watch!

This show consists of: Krishan Khanna’s sketchbook pages, Gieve Patel’s large free flowing graphite drawings exploring compositional possibilities, Jyoti Basu’s pencil drawings experimenting with the weight of various line forms and its subsequent culmination into line motifs, Tushar Joag’s stark commentary on war and conflict in which lines play the protagonist of the intense drama, and Vilas Shinde’s dense gathering of lines coalescing into a stunning artwork. Besides the work on display, we also get to read the highly insightful views of these artists on the subject of ‘lines’.

Many thanks to Sudhir Patwardhan for hosting this unique exhibition in Pune! The show is a ‘must’ for the art students and is also highly recommended for all serious lovers of art.

As a part of the same show, there will be a lecture series on the same subject.
Sepetmber 25th 2011, 10:30 AM, by artist Madhav Imaratey
October 1st 2011, 6:30 PM, by artist Tushar Joag
Address :
Sudarshan Kala Dalan (art gallery is in the basement of the Sudarshan Rang Manch,- a place well known for the experimental theater shows)
Near Ahilya Devi high school, Shanivar Peth, Pune-411030.

Jangarh Singh Shyam: An ‘important outsider’

2011-09-09T10:19:00.000+05:30

On 15th September 2011, Sotheby’s New York auction of South Asian art will present a significantly important piece of work by prolific Indian tribal artist Jangarh Singh Shyam (1960-2001) alongside well recognized and frequently auctioned artists from Indian modern art scene. It is a 7 feet x 6 feet acrylic work painted on paper, mounted on canvas. Although this is not the first time that Jangarh’s work has made its way to the important art auction, it is not a frequent occurrence either.

Check out my article @ 'Hyperallergic'

Jehangir Sabavala (1922 - 2011) R.I.P.

2011-09-03T12:37:00.001+05:30

One of the prominent figures from Indian art scene Jehangir Sabavala passed away on 2nd September 2011 at the age of 89. He was extremely active as an artist till recent and was known to work on his paintings for long hours. He has produced numerous works which can be classified into various art styles, and which had emerged from his subtly evolving artistic phases. But to speak broadly, he was an academic easel painter who seemed to enjoy the warm relationship with canvas and colors throughout his long career. His style had a strong cubist influence perhaps inherited from his decade long academic stay in Europe in late 40s and early 50s.

For the sake of conveying a better idea of his work, I would say that his paintings give a feel similar to that of Robert Delaunay or Lyonel Feininger.

Born in a highly esteemed Parsi (Zoroastrian) family from Mumbai, after an initial art education in India, Sabavala spent his long academic tenure in prestigious art institutions of Europe such as the Heatherley School, the Academic Andre Lhote, the Academic Julianfrom and the Academic de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris. He was often described as ‘a gentleman’ of Indian art scene, and his grace and elegance also reflected in his painterly brush work and marvelously subtle tones. Sabavala participated in numerous exhibitions, solo shows and represented India in various international shows like Venice Biennale. His works have been collected by museums worldwide and are often seen in important group shows that cover the last 50 years of art in India. Sabavala was awarded the prestigious civilian award ‘Padma Shree’ by the Government of India in 1977.

Sabavala had witnessed and had also been a part of the critical art timeline of India. Before India gained its independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule, modern art education had been introduced in India, like many other educational streams, as a part of the educational policy (designed for ‘natives’ by subject experts). It had been established in rush and never got a chance to organically evolve in that short period. But post independence, things changed rapidly. Two types of artists were seen active in those years, the ones who remained academic and explored within the boundaries of conventional easel work, or the artists who tried to adapt bohemian lifestyle and worked similarly. Clashes and criticisms were inevitable between these two loose categories of painters but all these conflicts ultimately helped the art in free India to move forward and evolve. Jehangir Sabavala’s contribution to the Indian art will remain indisputably important in this respect.

‘The Grange Prize’ finalists for year 2011

2011-09-01T14:11:00.000+05:30

Four photographers have been shortlisted for the $50K ‘The Grange Prize’, awarded for the best photographer for the year 2011. This prestigious prize is presented by the partnership between Aeroplan and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The winner will be chosen by public vote, and voting is open till October 23 at www.thegrangeprize.com

The shortlisted photographers are Canadians Elaine Stocki, Althea Thauberger, and Gauri Gill, Nandini Valli from India. According to the press release, the reason behind selection of these four photographers is their common interest in human subjects that explore personal identity, performativity and social politics.

Gauri Gill: Born in 1970, she lives and works in New Delhi. Gauri has done her MFA in Art at Stanford University,CA in year 2002. Her work has been exhibited in India and worldwide. Her photographs have appeared in several renowned publications across the world. She also teaches photography in New Delhi, and has conducted photography workshops for students from Tibetan settlements in India, and photography students from Kabul. She is represented by Gallery Nature Morte in New Delhi.

Elaine Stocki: Born in 1979 in Canada, Elaine currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She has completed her Master’s degree in Photography at Yale University (2009). Elaine has exhibited at the Deutsche Guggenheim and Zach Feuer, NY. Her photographic compositions involve subjects on the pressing issues of race, class and gender etc.

Althea Thauberger: Born in 1970, Althea lives and works in Vancouver. She has participated in several exhibitions and museum shows across the world and has received many accolades. Very often her work involves interactive processes with groups of people or communities through various forms of communication such as films, books, audio recordings etc.

Nandini Valli: Born in 1976, Nandini lives and works in Chennai, India. She has done her B.A. Honours in Photography from The Arts University College at Bournemouth, UK. Her works are very popular in which she has revisited the popular Indian tradition of performative photographs. Nandini is represented by Sakshi Gallery in Mumbai, India.

Visit www.thegrangeprize.com to learn more about these four talented artists, their work and vote for your favorite one!

My first post @ Hyperallergic

2011-08-22T20:12:00.001+05:30

It’s been quite some time that I’ve been following ‘Hyperallergic’, an enthusiastic art forum published from Brooklyn, NYC by Veken Gueyikian and Hrag Vartanian. Now, it is my privilege to become the first contributor from India. I’ve recently written a post for Hyperallergic, discussing my views on the iconic ‘HOPE’ poster from 2008 US elections. Please check this out here.

I’m hugely excited and looking forward to be a regular contributor @ Hyperallergic!

V.S. Gaitonde: Triumph of the solitude

2011-08-10T00:53:00.001+05:30

This post is dedicated to the greatest ‘non-objective’ artist from post independence India, Vasudev S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), popularly referred to as just ‘Gaitonde’. His positioning and influence on Indian contemporary art can be compared to that of Agnes Martin, Clyfford Still and Mark Rothko’s. (This is my take on Gaitonde and I don’t think that I’m exaggerating :-) )

It is frequently written about him that he insisted on not being categorized as an ‘abstract’ painter, but a ‘non-objective’ one instead. It is a topic of debate whether non-objectivity is a form to be recognized separately or if it is a subset of abstraction in the broader sense. But in Gaitonde’s context, I think I can understand why he insisted on the differentiation. The answer lies in the modern history of abstract art in India. Abstract painting in India was dominated by gestural figurative abstraction, and the common practice of ornamenting the ideas with ethnic references and cultural motifs. In such times, Gaitonde’s richly evolved forms and luminous colors must have appeared ‘outsiders’ to some, and it is no wonder why Gaitonde himself must have preferred to remain detached from the established school of abstraction.

It was just not only about established practices, but he also remained aloof from people. ‘Gaitonde enjoyed solitude and spent hours philosophizing about art while his beloved Indian classical music or Beethoven or Mozart played in the background’, mentions well-known Indian artist Prabhakar Kolte in his essay about Gaitonde.

Gaitonde graduated from the renowned Sir J.J. School of art of Mumbai in 1948. As a very original and talented young artist, he was invited to join the ‘Progressive artist group of Bombay’, then. Although this influential group was short-lived for various reasons, all the artists from the group created their own successful careers later. Gaitonde chose a path which was different from that of his peers at that time. His interests in linguistics and ancient scripts, his deep study of Japanese Zen philosophy, and his tremendous artistic capacities led him to create his own original understanding and style. His forms are supremely balanced, robust and most importantly they do not carry any forced baggage of the cultural metaphors. Gaitonde’s colors vary from mystic grays to shimmering reds, but they remain in separate peripheries within the painting space. Why I strongly associate his works with Agnes Martin, Clyfford Still and Rothko is for these vary reasons.

When it comes to exploring form, he is more like Agnes, but makes a stronger statement with colors. At the same time he does not seem as keen in exploring interactive possibilities of colors as Rothko. Gaitonde takes a middle path (and here I find a similarity with Clyfford Still) and indulges into form and color relationship. What is common in all these artists is their ability to project coherent relationship of forms, colors and emotions. There they share a same universal platform and create a phenomenal art.

Like his contemporaries mentioned above, Gaitonde had a long lasting impact on the process of understanding the emotional complexity that resides underneath the artistic rendition. Many artists (even today!) tried imitating him, some succeeded in creating lookalike imagery, but none could achieve what Gaitonde did. His innate spiritual temperament and studies of philosophy are also misinterpreted by many by saying that that was a ‘subject’ of his works. Perhaps it sounds more intellectual to quote something around spirituality rather than his painterly process. The fact is that he was an explorer of forms and colors with meditative qualities deep inside. As a technique, Gaitonde used rollers and brushes, and he used oil paints to create multiple layers of varying viscosities, and all of this assimilated on his canvas to bring out a pure experience of sublime quality.

Here ends my post. It should be treated as a brief introduction to this great artist, and needless to say don’t miss his work if you ever get an opportunity. It leaves a lasting impact on the mind!

(Click on the image for the larger view)

Acknowledgment for images: Glenbarra art museum and Saffron Art.

When ‘Red’ takes the center stage

2011-07-29T20:23:00.007+05:30

My friend Andrew has posted this very interesting photograph in his recent post. Andrew is an avid traveler and photographer who now lives in beautiful Santiago, Chile. This picture I simply loved for its stark, unambiguous compositional quality and it prompted me to write this quick post.

Take a look at the bright cadmium orange cylinder in the boat. There is a vast body of water, hills and several small boats behind it, but the red color grabs all our attention, not leaving any other possibility for visual expectation. Even as the photographer must have looked at it, the bright cylinder must have demanded the center stage.

Red family of color is a big attention grabber. It demands prominence, and artists obey it many times. It is as if the color will create a major ruckus if not pampered so in the composition. The biggest celebration of this demand is in Matisse’s Red Room and Red Studio. Matisse has left no chance for Red to complaint :-)

Here is a small collection of some beautiful paintings of various artists where Red has graced the center stage.

Click on the Artist's name to learn more about them.

John Sloan (1871–1951) 'Red Kimono on the Roof'

Raoul Dufy (1877–1953) 'Three Umbrellas'

Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) 'Village street in winter'

Amrita Shergill (1913–1941) 'The Storyteller'

Ben Nicholsen (1894-1982 ) 'Still Life'

Adolph Gottlieb (1903 -1974) 'Brink'

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Thanks to Andrew for the nice picture and many such amazingly candid snaps that he has taken on the streets and shared in his blog. :-)

Mumbai Galleries

2011-07-28T14:02:00.000+05:30

Here is some interesting news I think worth sharing, particularly for people staying in Mumbai or visiting over weekends. Many art galleries in Mumbai are generally closed on Sundays and this can be quite inconvenient. But fortunately this is about to change. Last week, I received news that some galleries in Kulaba area of South Mumbai (now almost recognized as an Art district) have decided to remain open on fourth Sunday of every month. Not bad!

Click for the map

El Anatsui: Shimmering display of the African sensibility

2011-07-03T13:36:00.002+05:30

If you are already exposed to the astonishing wall hanging sculptures of El Anatsui, then you will need no further introduction of him. But if not, here is a brief introduction about this legendary Ghanaian sculptor who lives and works in Nigeria.

Brahim El Anatsui was born in 1944 in Anayko, Ghana. After graduating from Nkrumah University of technology in Ghana, he moved to Nigeria in 1975 to take up a teaching job at Nsukka where he is lecturing at the University’s art institute on sculpture till today. Trained as a sculptor, earlier Anatsui worked with wood, found objects, iron, clay and paint. He established himself and got recognition for his free, unrestricted style of mixed media sculptures. These were non-representational as well as minimal figurative with strong connection with the African symbolism, particularly motifs from Ghanaian culture. Eventually Anatsui’s sculptural quest took him further in his explorations and he experimented with used metal, recycled materials like milk bottles, tins, bottle caps etc. A significant advance came in the late 90’s, when he started creating sparkling tapestry by using flattened liquor bottle caps and beer cans.

The ‘Anatsui’ that the art world now cherishes and values immensely is through this recent work in particular. Glittering, substantially large in scale and sharply hinting of its African sentiments, Anatsui’s hanging sculptures are free to take any shape and do not display any narrative consciously. But that’s not all about it, behind these magnificent metal hangings there are stories. The stories of conflicting African urbanization, unknown stories of human beings who have touched and used these materials, and also a great attempt to answer some misinterpretations about modern art that has emerged out of African subcontinent form a force behind his work. El Anatsui is praised for his efforts for opening a gateway to contemporary African art, which until now was rather misjudged as mere ethnic native art.

Anatsui’s work has achieved the rare feat of holding on to its innate roots and then going on to transform it into a work of indisputably universal appeal. Today his metal hangings strongly entice the art world and in future, whichever form, shape, and structure they may evolve into, they will always be highly treasured. I strongly feel that his work has created a long lasting impact on the thought process of the art world and a unique place for modern art emerging from Africa.

From where Edward Burtynsky stands

2011-06-16T23:31:00.000+05:30

“What do you ‘expect’ from a certain artistic expression?” This question may sound weird, at least it sounded to me when I was a student and (over)confident in my tastes. It was a time when any rendering which elicited a full blown explanation of its concept was best received. For example, a play with the depiction of the cutthroat realities of life, a fiction with a definite explanation at the end or a painting with painstakingly achieved photo realism. Fortunately a realization of my narrow perceptions came to me pretty quick, and I refreshed my entire outlook towards art. Now I started expecting more than realism or something beyond realism from any art form. And photography? Where previously I considered it to be only an ‘aid’ painters used to achieve photo realism, now as photo realism in paintings lost its sheen, I reevaluated my views about this form of art. From strident reflections of social concerns to silent spectators of unseen worlds, pictures are certainly playing a vital role in my overall understanding of imagery in the process of creating art.

I like Ansel Adams’ quote which says “A good photograph is knowing where to stand”. Accomplished Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky not only knows where to stand but also knows when to stand :)

Marble stone quarries, mines, railroads that cross obscure terrains or mass production factories in China, autobahns, heaps of used tires, ship breaking yards of Bangladesh – Burtynsky goes to these worlds that are sometimes unknown, unseen or even inconvenient to project. His pictures which sometimes appear quiet, at other times appear like frontline protestors. His photographs are like non objective compositions which take you along on a mind boggling voyage of the two dimensions.

It is not that I do not approve of photo realistic painters, but when I see photography like that of Edward Burtynsky’s, I wonder what it is that painters are trying to achieve by recreating in paint, that which photographers have already captured with great spontaneity and poignancy.

My Sincere thanks to Edward Burtynsky and Marcus Schubert from the office of Edward Burtynsky for permissions.

Edward Burtynsky official website

Tyeb Mehta: The legend of modern Indian art

2011-06-08T11:35:00.004+05:30

For those who are not familiar with his name, Tyeb Mehta (b.25 July 1925 - d.2 July 2009) was one of the greatest Indian painters from post Independence era (post 1947), highly celebrated and recognized worldwide for his figurative paintings. He was associated with the renowned Progressive Artists’ Group of India. His paintings are known for their trademark luminous colors, powerful subject matter and expressive brushwork.

In India, sadly, we do not have many art museums dedicated to modern art with permanent exhibits. We have public galleries where if you are lucky you get to see some fantastic shows once in a while. I remember one such exhibition from around 12 years back which was showing works by really big names from the world of modern art in India. The names were familiar to me having studied about these artists in my art school curriculum.
So there I was, walking very quietly, almost religiously, moving from one painting to another, very conscious of the big names behind the paintings, feeling respectful at a distance. But when I came to a painting by Tyeb Mehta, I felt compelled to go closer and preen at the exotic work before me, mesmerized by the vivid and stark colors that he had used. His paintings were completely different from what I had perceived them to be, based on their prints. Thereafter I rarely missed an opportunity to see his work. ( The opportunities were very rare though :-( )

Tyeb Mehta’s paintings have a mystic paradox of subject and application. While subjects strongly echo human suffering, trauma, violence and agony, the painting style is highly composed and structured. He would have easily taken the ‘gestural’ path and it would have been logical at that time. But it looks like he had sort of compartmentalized the subject matter from the style and a strong artistic assurance of discoveries shows through in his work. He was a quiet observer who loved solitude and loved reading. Not surprisingly, he formed his own powerful visual language which had its roots from Hindu mythology to modern historical events like partition of India and Pakistan. Pain and violence was observed, understood and finally rearranged in his own way. So, for example when a composition is based on some mythological story, it’s not laden with the usual pomp and ornaments, and when it is based on a bloody incident on the street, it does not display the cluttered realities of life. Everything floats between Tyeb’s artistic pursuits and the viewer.

Tyeb’s color palette is full of astonishing bright colors, as if picked from flocking colorful market streets. Neither do they replicate any pre-established, well received set of colors, nor do they intentionally project an ‘Indian-ness’. They appear to be an outcome of his personal artistic quests. He painted large solid plains with pure hues of oil paints most of the time. The colors in his paintings engulf the viewer in their span, almost hypnotizing, and when the viewer gradually floats out of these hues, he finds himself facing the brutal subject that the painting is talking about. It is like seeing the painting inside out! It is one indescribable experience and I will strongly recommend you to view Tyeb Mehta’s work when you get a chance.

Weekly market of Bagh: Colors of rural India

2011-05-29T23:43:00.001+05:30

It’s been a long time that I have wanted to post this video that we captured while driving through the weekly market in the village called Bagh, in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is a tribal belt in central India located some 600 km from Pune. My wife Nivi and I were passing through this village to see the 4th century Buddhist caves located nearby which have some stunning fresco paintings from Buddhist tales. Quite unexpectedly we landed in this colorful market and were able to see these wonderful people in their weekly shopping mood!

You can see some screen-grabs below and a small one minute video clip which gives an idea of what it was like to be in the middle of a rural Indian weekly market. People wore clothes in combinations of various pinks, reds, greens, shades of white and yellow ochres. These colors, organically evolved, uninterrupted and persistent for centuries, are very symbolic of the preference of people in rural India. Perhaps that’s the reason why these bright colors appear so true and original to eyes. Enjoy!

Mary Livoni’s charcoal drawings: A silent game of light and dark

2011-05-25T11:46:00.002+05:30

I have seen many versions of the legendary playwright Samuel Beckett’s play ‘Waiting for Godot’, in which two hopeful needy men are waiting endlessly for some unknown, unseen, superman like Mr. Godot to change their fate. The reason here to remember ‘Godot’ is, in the context of art very often I see that many artists keep waiting (which reflects in the tentativeness of their creations) for miracles in their art. They miss simple things or ignore daily life existence in the quest for ‘something beyond’. And here when I see artists like Mary Livoni, I feel amazed to see the artistic confidence they carry in their art works. The notion of ‘completion’ never gets hampered by the simplicity of the subject matter or the medium of paint. They do not wait for miracles, but they create something which is more genuine than a miracle.

Living in Chicago, Mary Livoni’s suburban architectural charcoal drawings prominently capture various views of old iron bridges that cross the river in her city. Mary’s use of charcoal as a medium and her metallic-structural subjects join together and offer one pure art experience.
For her, charcoal is not just a preliminary drawing tool, but she uses it to create masses, and forms, suggesting smoke and cloud vapors, painstakingly smearing it to achieve desired mood. Earlier she had her share of conventional painting education and art exercises as an art school student but she was always attracted to light and dark. Black and white photography was her starting point as a younger artist and she felt it fascinating to experience how the ordinary world is transformed when translated into black and white. She feels that, a world reduced into this high contrast palette is also suggestive of other elemental ideas and narratives. In the process of forming her own artistic dialect, three artists have influenced her very strongly. Giorgio Chirico’s paintings, Francis Ford Coppola’s movie “Rumble Fish” where a small industrial American city was transformed into a black and white world of intense beauty, and Frank Stella’s monumental sculpture “The Town Ho’s Story” which is created especially for the city of Chicago.

In future she wants to create larger works and is also planning to work on murals without compromising the ‘charcoal and paper’ feel of her work. For some time she is also planning to work on series of illustrations based on Marilynn Robinson’s novel ‘Housekeeping’. It is going to be interesting to witness her artistic journey!

Mary Livoni’s works are simple to perceive and rich in the experience. I loved them! Visit her website to learn more.

My heartfelt thanks to Mary for her patience with my long e-mails :) and also for sharing pictures with the blog.

The magic of the ‘Monumental’ (Part 2): Tim Maguire, Volkan Diyaroglu and Zhang Xiaogang

2011-05-15T21:14:00.010+05:30

Is there any ‘method’ that artists use to choose a physical size for their painting? Which aspect of the process plays a significant role in this decision? Is it the subject matter, idea, artistic inspiration, artist instinct or practicality? I haven’t come across any definite theory or recommended process that might work as a guideline to decide the ‘right size’ of the painting surface.

It will sound a little crude but I loosely see four categories of paintings as far as painting surface scale is concerned. Good painting on good size, good painting on bad size, bad painting on good size (frankly, very rare) and bad painting on bad size (I don’t care much about which) ;) Let’s not get into what I mean by a ‘good painting’ for it is always an up-close, personal and complex thing to write about. But let’s focus on the ‘good size’.
In the previous post (part 1), I had briefly covered the historical significance of the scale and had promised to write about some of the well-known contemporary artists who are admired not only for their expression but also for the large scale of their works. Here are three of my favorite artists who are from three different corners of the world, and are known for their absolutely different styles and subjects: highly acclaimed Australian contemporary artist Tim Maguire, talented young artist Volkan Diyaroglu from Turkey, and Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang who is admired for his large scale portrait like paintings.

Tim Maguire: Born in 1958, he has completed his education from the prestigious Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf in 1985. Tim has participated in numerous group shows and many solo exhibitions, and is represented by many well known galleries across the world. When I first came across his very famous large flower paintings, I was thrilled to see his pure painterly approach to the quite simple subject matter. The combination of a large scale, a distinct warm color palette and the dexterous handling of paint makes these paintings look majestic! Currently he is also exploring large scale print-making that involves digital reconstruction of abstract, mystic elements. His prints are also as interesting as his flower paintings. If you happen to be in NYC, there is a solo show of his works at Von Lintel Gallery till June 5th, 2011 which you might want to catch. You could learn more about Tim from his website.

Volkan Diyaroglu: Born in 1982, this ‘young Turk’ is one of the much admired young artists on the international art scene. Initially he started his art education in Turkey, later he was awarded the prestigious ‘Promoe scholarship’ and continued his education in Valencia, Spain. I was impressed to see his constructive bold style and simple brush work. I feel that his work has a very interesting resemblance to the raw style and primitive forms handled by the great French artist Jean Dubuffet. The choice of large canvases looks quite apt for his expressive work. It gives Volkan’s work a fantastical twist and makes his work really enjoyable. Volkan has been awarded many scholarships and has exhibited widely around the world. You can check out his website to learn more.

Zhang Xiaogang: Born in 1958, Zhang is popular for his ‘bloodline’ series of paintings. He belongs to the ‘top brass’ of the Chinese contemporary art scene. His paintings are exhibited and collected worldwide. If you are looking at the images of his work without knowing the scale, they may not seem very striking. But once you understand that the paintings are in a very large scale, you automatically become curious. His figurative works are stiff in appearance, but that stiffness has a huge bundle of emotional traction which happens behind the scene. The paintings are based on black and white photos of people from 2-3 generations before, from the time when people witnessed critical social and political transitions in China. Although based on photographic references, his paintings are not realistic but are more surreal in nature. I could not locate his official website or a single source of information to direct you to, but it is not very difficult to learn more about Zhang Xiaogang, his work and artistic philosophy from the scattered information available online.

As an end note to this post, I want to express an agreement with the views shared by many of my artist/blogger friends about the ‘monumentality’ in art. Indeed, monumentality is an appearance as well as an experience which goes beyond the scale. These two posts were to discuss good art which has been executed on a good large scale. Let’s discuss ‘monumental’ art particularly accomplished in the small size some other time!

My sincere thanks to Tim Maguire and Volkan Diyaroglu for permissions and providing pictures for this post. I could not contact Zhang Xiaogang for permissions, but I would like to acknowledge various sites for the pictures I have used. A. Chang W. Lee for The New York Times B. Mike Clarke-AFP/Getty Images / Washington Post C. Dan Chung / Geotypographica

The magic of the ‘Monumental’: Large expressions- Part 1

2011-05-05T20:24:00.002+05:30

While studying from books, I had seen Claude Monet‘s ‘Water lilies’ several times. But a few years back at NY MoMA, when I had an opportunity of looking at this great impressionist’s masterful work, I was completely amazed. Monet’s complex brush work, his signature style of handling light and shadows, the sheer monumental size of the painting, everything put together created a magical atmosphere. This post is about one of these elements which contributed to the astonishing experience I had while looking at Monet’s water lilies - the physical size of the painting.

In art, I don’t think ‘anything that is important has to be monumental’, but some of the very important works are indeed monumental, much larger than imagination. I feel that size has also played a very big role in establishing them (artists or their paintings) as important.

Flipping through the history of art pages, we can see that the decision making on the physical attributes of a painting rested on various factors, often ‘requirements’. For instance celebration of triumphs or royal portraiture (example ‘Las Meninas’ by by Diego Velázquez) demanded impressive proportions. Similar hefty expectations were made from art for religious purposes (example: ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’ by El Greco), architectural needs (frescos, example ‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael) or for propaganda making (example: The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David).

Then came the great masters like Georges Seurat, Claude Monet who painted on very large sized canvases. Large size painting now became more of the artist’s own decision. In modern history, we see that some of the artists were flexible in their choice of the painting size and based it on the context of the work. For example Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, it is undisputable that the subject which was Picasso’s universal remark about war needed its monumental size. While Picasso painted on various sizes, his contemporary Paul Klee remained loyal to his iconic small sized works. And I absolutely don’t need to mention that whatever the size of Klee’s paintings he holds a very important place in the history of art!

In post WWII era, we had abstract expressionism and its European contemporary movement called Tachisme. Artists perhaps started enjoying supreme freedom of expression in the broadest sense, which reflected in their work and its size too. Painters like Rothko, Newman, Karel Appel, Jean Miotte are some of the artists whose large canvases are greatly celebrated by the art world.

We cannot move on without mentioning the modern masters Cy Twombly, Chuck Close, Zhang Daqian and Gerhard Richter who are well known for their large expressions.

This post was just about the large scale in paintings and not about large scale art in general (for example Richard Serra or Jeff Koons). In part 2, I will discuss some contemporary art stars who are admired for their monumental paintings. See you then!

My sincere thanks to all the people who have captured and posted online, these fantastic views of various art exhibitions. Without these pictures it would have been very difficult to convey the idea of the scale.

Memorials: Art, Design and emotions

2011-04-26T23:38:00.004+05:30

A ‘generation next’ monument is about to be raised in Berlin to celebrate the German reunification of 1989. It is going to be a dazzling, monumental, steel disk which will move like a see-saw, with a capability to hold up to 1400 people at a time! (I hope it will be a free ride. :))

Monuments and memorials have an ancient history. People have started building or carving them out much before art, design and architecture became clearly separated streams of knowledge. From the finest specimen of sculpture, great achievement in metallurgy to complex architecture or engineering excellence, memorials have come a long way. What has not changed is perhaps the ‘monumental’ nature of memorials.

These are built with the support of public commissions in modern days and in the past were often ‘gifts’ to fellow citizens from some ‘dear king/queen’. I think it is a subject certainly very dear to the artists, designers, architects and engineers but also for the sociologists. These pieces of public art reflect upon the decision makers and subsequently the society which commemorates them. They could be artistic- non artistic, pompous-humble, honest-dishonest, autocratic-democratic in their own special way based on the timeline and political situation.

Here are some interesting monument-memorials around the world, varying in style, medium and purpose. There is invariably a story behind each memorial, perhaps evoking joy, but more often sorrow. Let us leave off the story for now and view each of these interesting creations as manifestations of art.

Trajan's Column, Rome, Italy (113 A.D.)

Asoka's Pillar, Vaishali, Bihar, India (300 B.C.)

Chernobyl nuclear disaster memorial, Chernobyl, Russia (1986)

Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C., USA

War Memorial, Mansu Hill, N. Korea

Memorial of the native people, Plaza de Armas, Santiago, Chile

War memorial, Swakopmund, Namibia