Art is Not Cut to Size

Does size matter in art? That is the question curator Bhavna Kakar asks in the inaugural exhibition of her gallery Latitude 28 at Lado Sarai.

Does size matter in art? That is the question curator Bhavna Kakar asks in the inaugural exhibition of her gallery Latitude 28 at Lado Sarai. At a time when canvases are measured and priced according to square inches and faux connoisseurs buy an art work that will be just the right size for their drawing-room walls,Kakar has got 12 artists to make gigantic and diminutive works and she places them next to each other for some delightful reading. I wanted to look at a gamut of contemporary artists who are proficient at creating big and small works, she says.

There is a mammoth 16.5 x 4.5 ft canvas by GR Iranna called Kawwali that covers an entire wall. It has Sufi singers,the peace minstrels,their faces pockmarked by time or bullets,while on a smaller 6 x 6 inch work Iranna presses surgical forceps against ancient wooden slippers. Sufism does not promote any religion,while terrorists are tampering with it to fulfil their objectives, says Iranna.

Arunkumar HG brings his trademark clay toys. Inside a glass-topped box,he brings together miniature figures of Mahatma Gandhi,Subhas Chandra Bose,Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah standing on tiny pillars made of plastic gears. Pushpamala Ns Lady on Bicycle talks about a big issue womens struggle for emancipation in the 20th century through a quirky 4 x 6 inch studio photograph that seems to reimagine Ravi Varma. Two women in traditional attire and against an idyllic backdrop have a bicycle between them and it playfully but significantly changes the context.

Vadodara-based artist Siddhartha Kararwals eye-catching installation,Wardrobe Closet has a couple of military shirts on one end of a metal rod,while another stack of shirts,of all sizes,waits in the corner for new wearers. Does size matter? The artists do not think so; art is not cut to size. Kakar has got another group of 12 artists to reflect on the same theme. Their works will be showcased next month.

Show is on till March 10.Contact 46791111.

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