Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A travelling show that hopes to bring quality art to the common man
It is perhaps the first time we see works by some of India8217;s top artists along side text in Marathi. It is also the first time that a show, showcasing works by F N Souza, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, Manjit Bawa, Atul and Anju Dodiya, Jitish Kallat and Subodh Gupta, is being held at a venue like the PL Deshpande Hall, Prabhadevi.
Expanding Horizons, an exhibition curated by painter Sudhir Patwardhan and sponsored by Amit Judge of Bodhi Art, is meant to be accessible and the Marthi text is just part of the endeavor.
This non-profit show travels from its premier in Mumbai to Amravati, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Solapur, Kolhapur, Pune and Nasik in November. 8220;The point of travelling with this show is to give people who are already interested in reading and theatre, an entry point into art. It is important to take shows to London, New York and Singapore, but spreading awareness in one8217;s own state is equally important,8221; says the radiologist turned artist Patwardhan who has also held talks on art at Bodhi and is active in creating avenues for art education.
The show presents a collection of 30 artists who have been important in shaping Modern and Contemporary art in India and it covers three generations of artists from seniors like Mehta and Padamsee to middle career artists like Alex Mathew, Gulammohammed Sheikh, bringing you up to speed with Contemporary artists like Dodiya, Kallat, Gupta and N S Harsha. The Marathi and English text by Deepa Ghare also gives enthusiasts a background of the development of Modern art in India, from Raja Ravi Varma to Amrita Sher-Gil. MF Husain has been ironically omitted as the curator wanted to play safe.
8220;In the 1960s there was a strong tradition of Academic Realism in Maharastra that the JJ School perpetuated. People could easily understand that art and kept prints of portraits and landscapes in their homes,8221; says Patwardhan who is known to practice social realism, a style which depicts the working class and their issues.
8220;However with the advent of abstraction, which became the dominant style at JJ School, there was a huge chasm between the 8216;intelligentsia8217; and those who enjoyed realism. This was not the case in Baroda or Santiniketan since they found innovative ways of reconfiguring simplistic landscapes and portraiture,8221; says Patwardhan who has also included one of his own works in the show.
Another idea that the show tries to propagate is that art is not just for the elite. 8220;Of course a lot of the excitement generated around art comes from a younger generation of collectors who want to possess art works, but in India no one charges for just looking.8221;
Now only if there was more of this kind of philanthropy.
