Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Asurvedh's solo show of sculptures at Gallery Ragini, lado sarai, new delhi
Birds Home Coming - A solo show of Bronze Sculptures by Asurvedh
The artist grew up in the countryside. Their birds are an integral part of the environment. In his sub conscious mind he has adopted them as his own. Each morning began with the music of chirping birds "like a morning raga they fill up my day with music and peace". Birds tend to live enough ruins bringing life to still monuments that were inhabited in history. The artist is in tuned with nature and wants the delicate ecological balance to remain undisturbed, to provide nascent spaces for the proliferation of birds.
About his works I have found Asurvedh most effective when dealing with emotion, nature and environment. His elongated figures suggest dignity and their proximity with nature brings added emotion to his sculptures. Compositionally strong his works speak a lot about his sensibility and his attraction towards nature. "Birds Home Coming" suggests the artist's reaction to past and present. Monuments are an integral part of his compositions. This is a comprehensive sculpture bringing out human bonding with nature, with history and the outcome is futuristic or eternal. Sculptures like "The Journey" and "The Bird Seller" represent the evolution of the artist. There is a balance in composition and neatness of object, each figure individually sculpted to perfection.
There is certain smoothness in the silhouette of the form which almost invites you to run finger along the periphery of the sculpture. There is almost a poetic rhythm that frees the art work from geometric angularities. The subtle play of emotion in "Family Bonding" brings out the sensitivity in Asur's character. The muse and murmur of the artistic approach in the compositional element displays the tribal essence of the artistic endeavour which showcases the versatility of artistic genius. The serenity and calmness in the facial expression of the figurative representation of these sculptures leads the viewer to the other world. The visuals shaped by the sculptures are much prevailing imagery which may be credited to their being genuine and natural to the artist's philosophy. The artist has represented the traditional ethos of our cultural identity along with the innate bonding of relationship between male-female, human-bird and the monuments. The artist has tried to draw the cardinals of a web-cob which reflects that every creature shown in his sculptures have some unambiguous rapport with each-other.
Nidhi Jyoti Jain
Vikash Nand Kumar
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Affordable art with investment value by Nalini S Malaviya
Affordable art with investment value by Nalini S Malaviya
The definition of affordable art has changed over the years. Having grown at a furious pace in the last few years, the domestic art market is currently estimated to be around Rs 1,500 crores. And, market sources predict that it is likely to continue its impressive performance, but what is unclear or has an element of ambiguity, is the growth rate.Whether the market grows at the same spectacular rate or not has to be seen. Despite this, most experts feel that domestic art is one of the safest investment options, provided you invest after a thorough research and look at it as a long-term asset.Affordability is surely a relative term. Earlier, one looked at investing Rs 10,000-50,000 on a painting. Prices have now climbed substantially higher and involve more than five digits. A few years ago, you could buy an average-sized work of art that is associated with investment value for less than Rs 1 lakh. Now you would have to spend at least Rs 2 lakhs to pick up one with some investment potential.In fact, those contemporary artists who are considered to be 'safe' in terms of their investment potential are available only above Rs 5 lakhs.
Unfortunately, these high figures can be a major deterrent to those looking at buying an affordable range of art that goes beyond decorative purposes.Galleries and dealers are therefore introducing new artists with attractive pricing to plug the resultant gap in the market. This also helps in broadening the buyer base. At the same time, this bodes well for young artists and promising talent.Students, fresh graduates and artists with 2-3 years experience are in a better position than ever before to sell their artworks. The demand for affordable art ensures that gallery representatives scout actively for reasonably-priced artists and these are then marketed aggressively to create a clientele.
Source: Economic Times
The definition of affordable art has changed over the years. Having grown at a furious pace in the last few years, the domestic art market is currently estimated to be around Rs 1,500 crores. And, market sources predict that it is likely to continue its impressive performance, but what is unclear or has an element of ambiguity, is the growth rate.Whether the market grows at the same spectacular rate or not has to be seen. Despite this, most experts feel that domestic art is one of the safest investment options, provided you invest after a thorough research and look at it as a long-term asset.Affordability is surely a relative term. Earlier, one looked at investing Rs 10,000-50,000 on a painting. Prices have now climbed substantially higher and involve more than five digits. A few years ago, you could buy an average-sized work of art that is associated with investment value for less than Rs 1 lakh. Now you would have to spend at least Rs 2 lakhs to pick up one with some investment potential.In fact, those contemporary artists who are considered to be 'safe' in terms of their investment potential are available only above Rs 5 lakhs.
Unfortunately, these high figures can be a major deterrent to those looking at buying an affordable range of art that goes beyond decorative purposes.Galleries and dealers are therefore introducing new artists with attractive pricing to plug the resultant gap in the market. This also helps in broadening the buyer base. At the same time, this bodes well for young artists and promising talent.Students, fresh graduates and artists with 2-3 years experience are in a better position than ever before to sell their artworks. The demand for affordable art ensures that gallery representatives scout actively for reasonably-priced artists and these are then marketed aggressively to create a clientele.
Source: Economic Times
Monday, August 27, 2007
Bodhi Arts Presents : Unveiling - new works by Manish Pushkale
Bodhi Arts Presents
Unveiling - new works by Manish Pushkale
29th August to 27th September
28, K. Dubash Marg, I. T. T. S. House,Kalaghoda, Mumbai 400 001P +91-022 6610 0124------------------------------------------------------------------
In this significant body of work, Manish continues his search for luminosity. The pattern could derived as a chanced discovery or a meticulous construction. He is in constant search of colours. He hardly ever allows the colours of the tubes to exist in their original hues. He puts a layer of colour and rubs it off taking care that it does not disappear altogether. Each layer gives way to the next, while care is taken that they are always mixing. Eventually we arrive at an unidentifiable and unusual texture of colour, unidentifiable by any conventional name. Colours are not instruments of statement or narration; they are elements that come together in a communion under the ever-watchful eye of the painter creating a vibrant space. Here, they exist autonomously for and in themselves resisting the imposition of discursive meanings.
Pushkale works hard and painstakingly on his canvases to discover a colour, hue or shade, even a new texture as he pursues the relentless aesthetics of abstraction. In his art, the act of painting is simultaneously also a process of meditating, both formally and spiritually. Mark Rothko said, 'It is the misfortune of free conscience that it cannot be neglectful of means in pursuit of ends.' Manish, while acknowledging this truth, would perhaps insist that there are no ends other than the means themselves.
Unveiling - new works by Manish Pushkale
29th August to 27th September
28, K. Dubash Marg, I. T. T. S. House,Kalaghoda, Mumbai 400 001P +91-022 6610 0124------------------------------------------------------------------
In this significant body of work, Manish continues his search for luminosity. The pattern could derived as a chanced discovery or a meticulous construction. He is in constant search of colours. He hardly ever allows the colours of the tubes to exist in their original hues. He puts a layer of colour and rubs it off taking care that it does not disappear altogether. Each layer gives way to the next, while care is taken that they are always mixing. Eventually we arrive at an unidentifiable and unusual texture of colour, unidentifiable by any conventional name. Colours are not instruments of statement or narration; they are elements that come together in a communion under the ever-watchful eye of the painter creating a vibrant space. Here, they exist autonomously for and in themselves resisting the imposition of discursive meanings.
Pushkale works hard and painstakingly on his canvases to discover a colour, hue or shade, even a new texture as he pursues the relentless aesthetics of abstraction. In his art, the act of painting is simultaneously also a process of meditating, both formally and spiritually. Mark Rothko said, 'It is the misfortune of free conscience that it cannot be neglectful of means in pursuit of ends.' Manish, while acknowledging this truth, would perhaps insist that there are no ends other than the means themselves.
Bacon, Freud, Souza and Mehta
Bacon, Freud, Souza and Mehta
31st August 2007 - 19th September 2007
At Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi.
We are pleased to bring you Bacon, Freud, Mehta, Souza as the second in our programme of International Art exhibitions at our premises in New Delhi. Starting in the spring of 2006 with a show of perhaps the very father of Modern Art, Picasso, this next exhibition progresses to look at those who were in many ways indebted to his legacy, four of the masters of Post-war 20th Century painting. Though contrasting in their cultural backgrounds, as Toby Treves discusses in his essay for this catalogue, these painters are in many ways connected through their artistic beginnings and their response to a London ravished by war, each respectively exposing through their work the anxieties and fears of Man in the shadow of its aftermath.
Creativity unbound
Source: DNA
Friday, August 24, 2007 18:05 IST
Soon after Independence, Indian art showed a modernist influence, from where it has only blossomed : Anjolie Ela Menon
What a long way we have come! With Indian art going global, Indian artists are on an unprecedented high. Post Independence, when they were still struggling to find an idiom, ‘Indianness’ was the supreme preoccupation. The search for roots was part of the attempt to shake off the shackles of Empire. However, the resulting rather mannerist work was redeemed by the advent of the Progressive Group, whose exhibition in 1948 opened up a new set of modernist influences.
Artists like MF Husain and FN Souza managed not only to bridge the east-west divide but also embraced contemporary trends. However, the JJ School of Art still taught drawing from Greek statuary, perpetuating the traditions of British academia which had been forced on Indian art students for three generations. In the late 1950s I held my first exhibition at the age of 18 in a Delhi garden. Those were days of a gentle amateurism, but art critics Richard Bartholomew and Charles Fabri rode high on the scene as arbiters of taste for the new cognoscenti.
Bhulabhai Desai Institute was one of the few private organisations that sponsored art. None of the new cutting edge, ultra-smart galleries of today can match the electrifying atmosphere that prevailed in that somewhat run down building where artists like Gaitonde and Husain had ‘studios’ in a roughly partitioned veranda, dancers practised, plays were performed on the terrace, and exhibitions hung against chatais in the hall downstairs. Though the facilities were amateurish, the work being done there was historic and the interactions between artists, actors, musicians, dancers and poets created a fabric of excellence.
When I returned from my years in France in the early ’60s, there were few opportunities available here. My exhibition was sponsored by the Alliance Francaise and there was the occasional group show. Artists painted because they were driven to. There was absolutely no thought of money or success. There was camaraderie among artists and the atmosphere was charged with creativity. The cliché, ‘Art for Art’s sake’ perfectly describes the time’s artistic activities.
In the ’50s and ’60s there were very few galleries. Artists would leave their work at Dhoomimal book shop in Delhi in the hope that they could sell something. Chemould and Pundole in Bombay started selling art out of their framing shops. Art was not a lucrative enterprise, so they earned their bread and butter from frames or books.
Under Karl Khandavala, the state-run Lalit Kala Akademi established after Independence, got off to a great start, establishing itself as ‘chief patron’ and dishing out awards and honours that were sought after and cherished. Unfortunately, it has evolved into a huge bureaucratic elephant, a symbol of mediocrity, from which artists of repute now distance themselves. The National Gallery of Modern Art, however, maintained certain standards and is a force today. However, it has taken 60 years of Independence for it to acquire an adequate venue which is still not ready.
The ’70s and ’80s saw many changes. In Bombay, acquiring art became fashionable and corporations like Burmah Shell, Air India and, notably, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research started serious collections.
In Calcutta, the Marwaris were furiously buying work from the Bengal school, with the great maestros of Shantiniketan giving an intellectual and romantic colouring to the pursuit of art. In Delhi, in those years, only the diplomats bought art and so we were generally impoverished, apart from the occasional windfall. Big buildings, especially five star hotels, started to commission artists, and consequently both ITC and the Taj have great collections of art which they had acquired for a pittance in the years before the big boom.
Unfortunately, the government’s efforts to promote art abroad concentrated on our ‘Ancient Culture’ and contemporary art was generally given the bum’s rush. The few exhibitions sent with the festivals of India were shown in substandard venues such as the open air gallery in Hyde Park! In 1988, The Times of India, celebrating its 150th birthday, held an auction of Indian art, with a professional auctioneer from Sotheby’s doing the honours.
For the first time paintings crossed the magic figure of Rs1 lakh. Now suddenly everyone wanted to get onto the auction bandwagon, notably, charitable organisations like CRY and Ashraya. Art was at last making waves in the media. Unfortunately, the interest was more in the event than in the paintings and continues to be so. But many people were being drawn into the fold, perhaps for the wrong reasons. The nouveau riche jumped into the fray with alacrity. One woman asked me to change a blue painting to red, to match her new sofa, and everyone wanted a Husain horse.
The ’90s saw a proliferation of new galleries and for the first time, ‘selling’ was becoming less of a dirty word. The market was growing rapidly. Some artists made half-hearted attempts at installation art without understanding the difference between installations and assemblages. The big revolution came in the new millennium. Riding on the economic growth wave, Indian art began to be acknowledged on the global scene. The frequent auctions pushed prices so high that Tyeb Mehta’s busting of the Rs1 crore barrier created great jubilation among artists. What is of significance is that these truly international prices and the consequent publicity have at last urged the great museums of the world to consider acquiring Indian art.
Now the so called ‘masters’ are being displaced by a bright, well-educated, somewhat brash group of young artists whose buzzword is ‘cutting edge’. Finding new markets and huge prices, some of them ape the well-known gimmicks of the West, while some others, showing great originality, have found acceptance globally. Notable among them is Subodh Gupta, whose installations of buckets and tiffin carriers have drawn acclaim, as did a bold installation by Bose Krishnamachari in New York.
Indian galleries have mushroomed in New York and London. Artists are being pampered by dealers. The current boom is fuelled by syndicates and funds. These are not collectors — merely investors. Once they start to cash in, there is bound to be a slump. Union finance minister P Chidambaram took the wind out of their sails with his 20 per cent capital gains tax on art, but after the inevitable correction, Indian Art will continue to grow. There is no stopping it.Anjolie
Ela Menon is one of India’s prominent artists
Friday, August 24, 2007 18:05 IST
Soon after Independence, Indian art showed a modernist influence, from where it has only blossomed : Anjolie Ela Menon
What a long way we have come! With Indian art going global, Indian artists are on an unprecedented high. Post Independence, when they were still struggling to find an idiom, ‘Indianness’ was the supreme preoccupation. The search for roots was part of the attempt to shake off the shackles of Empire. However, the resulting rather mannerist work was redeemed by the advent of the Progressive Group, whose exhibition in 1948 opened up a new set of modernist influences.
Artists like MF Husain and FN Souza managed not only to bridge the east-west divide but also embraced contemporary trends. However, the JJ School of Art still taught drawing from Greek statuary, perpetuating the traditions of British academia which had been forced on Indian art students for three generations. In the late 1950s I held my first exhibition at the age of 18 in a Delhi garden. Those were days of a gentle amateurism, but art critics Richard Bartholomew and Charles Fabri rode high on the scene as arbiters of taste for the new cognoscenti.
Bhulabhai Desai Institute was one of the few private organisations that sponsored art. None of the new cutting edge, ultra-smart galleries of today can match the electrifying atmosphere that prevailed in that somewhat run down building where artists like Gaitonde and Husain had ‘studios’ in a roughly partitioned veranda, dancers practised, plays were performed on the terrace, and exhibitions hung against chatais in the hall downstairs. Though the facilities were amateurish, the work being done there was historic and the interactions between artists, actors, musicians, dancers and poets created a fabric of excellence.
When I returned from my years in France in the early ’60s, there were few opportunities available here. My exhibition was sponsored by the Alliance Francaise and there was the occasional group show. Artists painted because they were driven to. There was absolutely no thought of money or success. There was camaraderie among artists and the atmosphere was charged with creativity. The cliché, ‘Art for Art’s sake’ perfectly describes the time’s artistic activities.
In the ’50s and ’60s there were very few galleries. Artists would leave their work at Dhoomimal book shop in Delhi in the hope that they could sell something. Chemould and Pundole in Bombay started selling art out of their framing shops. Art was not a lucrative enterprise, so they earned their bread and butter from frames or books.
Under Karl Khandavala, the state-run Lalit Kala Akademi established after Independence, got off to a great start, establishing itself as ‘chief patron’ and dishing out awards and honours that were sought after and cherished. Unfortunately, it has evolved into a huge bureaucratic elephant, a symbol of mediocrity, from which artists of repute now distance themselves. The National Gallery of Modern Art, however, maintained certain standards and is a force today. However, it has taken 60 years of Independence for it to acquire an adequate venue which is still not ready.
The ’70s and ’80s saw many changes. In Bombay, acquiring art became fashionable and corporations like Burmah Shell, Air India and, notably, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research started serious collections.
In Calcutta, the Marwaris were furiously buying work from the Bengal school, with the great maestros of Shantiniketan giving an intellectual and romantic colouring to the pursuit of art. In Delhi, in those years, only the diplomats bought art and so we were generally impoverished, apart from the occasional windfall. Big buildings, especially five star hotels, started to commission artists, and consequently both ITC and the Taj have great collections of art which they had acquired for a pittance in the years before the big boom.
Unfortunately, the government’s efforts to promote art abroad concentrated on our ‘Ancient Culture’ and contemporary art was generally given the bum’s rush. The few exhibitions sent with the festivals of India were shown in substandard venues such as the open air gallery in Hyde Park! In 1988, The Times of India, celebrating its 150th birthday, held an auction of Indian art, with a professional auctioneer from Sotheby’s doing the honours.
For the first time paintings crossed the magic figure of Rs1 lakh. Now suddenly everyone wanted to get onto the auction bandwagon, notably, charitable organisations like CRY and Ashraya. Art was at last making waves in the media. Unfortunately, the interest was more in the event than in the paintings and continues to be so. But many people were being drawn into the fold, perhaps for the wrong reasons. The nouveau riche jumped into the fray with alacrity. One woman asked me to change a blue painting to red, to match her new sofa, and everyone wanted a Husain horse.
The ’90s saw a proliferation of new galleries and for the first time, ‘selling’ was becoming less of a dirty word. The market was growing rapidly. Some artists made half-hearted attempts at installation art without understanding the difference between installations and assemblages. The big revolution came in the new millennium. Riding on the economic growth wave, Indian art began to be acknowledged on the global scene. The frequent auctions pushed prices so high that Tyeb Mehta’s busting of the Rs1 crore barrier created great jubilation among artists. What is of significance is that these truly international prices and the consequent publicity have at last urged the great museums of the world to consider acquiring Indian art.
Now the so called ‘masters’ are being displaced by a bright, well-educated, somewhat brash group of young artists whose buzzword is ‘cutting edge’. Finding new markets and huge prices, some of them ape the well-known gimmicks of the West, while some others, showing great originality, have found acceptance globally. Notable among them is Subodh Gupta, whose installations of buckets and tiffin carriers have drawn acclaim, as did a bold installation by Bose Krishnamachari in New York.
Indian galleries have mushroomed in New York and London. Artists are being pampered by dealers. The current boom is fuelled by syndicates and funds. These are not collectors — merely investors. Once they start to cash in, there is bound to be a slump. Union finance minister P Chidambaram took the wind out of their sails with his 20 per cent capital gains tax on art, but after the inevitable correction, Indian Art will continue to grow. There is no stopping it.Anjolie
Ela Menon is one of India’s prominent artists
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