Palette Tour

As the heat and humidity rises in the Capital,the art circuit slumps into slumber.

As the heat and humidity rises in the Capital,the art circuit slumps into slumber. Though galleries here wear a deserted look with only a handful exhibitions,this is the time when Indian art travels long distances to bring the summer alive in faraway art hubs from New Delhi to New York and Baroda to Bangkok.

Reena Saini,who travels to Milan later this month for her solo show at Marella Gallery,says,Winter is a time to exhibit in India,and summer is busier abroad. She is upbeat about her exhibition,We are expecting high visibility. There will be lot of traffic in the city due to its proximity to Venice where the Biennale,which showcases the best of world art,will begin in June, adds Saini. After the show opens on May 27,she plans to travel to Zurich and London with husband Jitish Kallat,who is part of a show that brings him together with fellow Mumbai-based artists Riyas Komu and Sudarshan Shetty at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in Hague. The husband-wife duo is also currently exhibiting at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea,in an exhibition titled Chalo! India: A New Era of Indian Art that features works by 27 artists including NS Harsha,Pushpamala N,Atul Dodiya and Subodh Gupta. With a dip in the number exhibitions in India,the social commitments tend to be limited at present and artists can use the time to concentrate on their work, says Kallat.

Delhi-based Gigi Scaria agrees. The artist,who is planning a vacation to his hometown in Kerala this summer,was in Berlin till a few days back for his solo exhibition titled Settlement that is on at Christian Hosp gallery. The space,previously owned by Bodhi Art,now has on its walls photographs of Scarias sculptures taken by the artist in open patches in Rohini in New Delhi. There is also his plywood-and-glass installation showing a tractor doubling as apartments,depicting rapid development and reconstruction in India.

Indian art will also make its presence felt in the Big Apple. While Sakti Burmans fresco-inspired canvases and watercolour on paper are on exhibition at Aicon Gallery,on view at Bose Pacia is Ranbir Kalekas recent work where,after a long spell of producing video art,he returns to painting and blends it with elements of installation art. Shilpa Gupta is representing India at the group exhibition The Generational: Younger than Jesus that has been put together by New Museum to describe the next generation of emerging artists.

Sheba Chhachhi and Hema Upadhyay have come together with Thai artists Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook and Jakkai Siributr to project the relation between the private and the public in the exhibition Dreaming in Public that is on at Gallery Soulflower in Bangkok. Opening in July,at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai,is an exhibition titled India Xianzai that will dwell on cultural assimilation and dichotomy between Indian and global influences on Indian art. This will comprise artwork by over 20 Indian artists including Chitra Ganesh,Jagannath Panda,TV Santosh and Thukral and Tagra.

The study of the evolution of Indian art spans over 60 years at Grosvenor Vadehra gallery in London. Called Progressive to Altermodern, the exhibition brings together members of the Progressive Artists Group like MF Husain and Ram Kumar with younger artists like George Martin,Rajesh Ram and Praneet Soi. The exhibition is aimed at generating awareness about Indian art. It is an opportune time as a lot of people converge in London now, says Arun Vadehra,director of Vadehra Art Gallery. The consultant for Christies in India,too,will travel to London for the auction of Contemporary Art in June. Time to plan your art excursion?

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