Spotlight on Pratul Dash

Pratul Dash was born in Burla in 1974, received his BFA in Painting on scholarship from B.K. College of Arts & Crafts in Bhubaneswar, and his MFA in 1998 from the College of Art in New Delhi. His numerous awards include the Industrial Literature Society in Biella, Italy (2005), the Inlaks Scholarship (2004) and the Silver Medal of East Zone Youth Festival, Kalyani, West Bengal (1993).

His work has been exhibited extensively, both in shows throughout India and internationally. In 2008, he exhibited in Dubai at 1 x 1 Art Gallery; in Hong Kong at Visual Art Centre at Kennedy Road; and in Zurich, Switzerland at Avanthay Contemporary. In 2007, his work was shown in London at Royal College of Art and Garnier Contemporary Arts, and in 2006, at Air Gallery, London. He also had two shows with Alliance Francaise. His solo shows include “Proxy Horizon” at Palette Art Gallery in New Delhi (2008) and a show as Unidee in residency at Cittadelarte, Italy (2004).

Dash participated in several painters camps throughout India and one in Switzerland, and he did an international artist residency program in Nepal in 2004. Also in 2004, he did a project site-specific work in Latrrapa, Italy. His work is in both private and corporate collections throughout India, including the Devi Foundation and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi; Orissa State Museum; and the British Council Division, among others.

Skilled in the art of realism—much like his contemporaries Riyas Komu, Shibu Natesan, and Jagannath Panda—Dash’s huge canvases are steeped in surrealistic images conveying his concern with India’s rush towards Western-style development. “I have nothing against the growth of the country,” he says, “but my concern is with the cost of it.” His belief that it is the “vital role of the artist to uplift the society” is conveyed in his paintings of bare landscapes, concrete mazes, scaffolding, ladders and pipelines, warning of human alienation as well as the destruction of nature. Dash’s paintings transcend the viewer into another world, commenting on the aftermath of self-imposed displacement. Scaffoldings and factories in the distance dominate the surreal yet sublime landscape where the human figure becomes an object, an apparition, as if it doesn’t belong—where melancholy and silence hovers over the horizon.

Since 2000, Pratul became interested in popular imageries and signs of the mass media and has begun to spread his message through the use of Video Art. From his newly acquired camera, he wandered the streets of Delhi. The color, charm, seductiveness, and lure of various objects of daily life attracted his attention.

Originally conceived as multi-screen projections, “Reflections” narrates the scenes of lower class Indian life, where people rummage through piles of garbage—which are juxtaposed with scenes of India under development. We see Dash surrounded by judicial books, posing article 144 as an issue to be addressed, suggesting a hangover from Colonial past. Then we cut to the camera traveling past an empty countryside with only cranes and tractors in the distance—the real-life images so often conveyed in his paintings. In another segment Dash sits on a traffic island in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan, rocking himself with his hands covering his ears—the poignant image of a sensitive man bombarded by the onslaught of civilization. Scenes of a modern department store full of Western-type goods, perhaps unnecessary in his culture even a few short years ago, are contrasted by images of cattle standing in a pile of refuse. In the final scene, birds fly overhead in an empty sky—again an image often found in Dash’s artwork.

“Life of a Double”, a video performance by Dash, take a more comprehensive look at various dimension of the migration issue. In a migrant’s life the actual is where he is now and the virtual, a distant place where he lived and can never cease to be with till his death.
To show dual realities of his life, Dash goes back to his native village Burla, which becomes site of his performance near the edge of Hirkund dam, and secondly uses his bare body which is tormented, alienated at another site, releases all that it has withstood so far. The sacred thread becomes an instrument of torture, constructively guiding performer into emancipation and hope, engaging artist’s body into a subjective act spanning thru isolated time fragment that is driven by an inner need.
One might get a strange relief as the performance unwinds and the distorted image of the face gains the balance. What is left behind are trenches etched into his facial skin, perhaps much like the scars left behind when the tractors and cranes have done their work and left.
In the process of winding and unwinding of ‘Yagnopavitam’, Dash goes thru an extremity of detachment, pursues path of punishment and attains peace in the end. It is kind of come back for a migrant in his native land.

Karan Mahajan's book reading on 12/2 a huge success

Last nights book reading at Tamarind Art was a huge success over 75 people attended this wonderful opportunity to meet the writer. Karan read briefly from his new book Family Planning, and spent the rest of the time mingling with guests. Thank you to Harper Perennial and the South Asian Journalist Assoiation for helping to make this event a huge success.

Mind, Matter & Mystique-- Last Week

This is you last chance to catch Mind, Matter & Mystique at Tamarind Art. We have been very proud of this show which has brought back some artist who have previously shown with us and also brought some exciting emerging artists to Tamarind Art as well.

We are going to be sad to see this show come down but our next show is going to be very exciting as well. Look for information on that show later this week!

If you have not seen Mind Matter & Mystique do come by and see it- If you have seen it see it again before it is gone for good.

Spotlight on Maneesha Doshi

Post-Modernity in Indian Art has often dwindled in two directions: one mostly cerebral, the second thriving on passion or emotive faculty. Maneesha Doshi follows the later mode of expression.

The daughter of an eminent architect, with a Bachelor in Psychology, Maneesha studied painting at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, under the tutelage of well-known artists such as Jeram Patel, Bhupen Kakkar, and Ghulam Mohammad and Nilima Sheikh.

Drawing close affinity with Mexican master Rufino Tamayo’s philosophy, Doshi’s art germinates from her inner being. It involves her emotion and passion for life and existence. Human persona coupled with the divine is the basic theme and characteristic of her expressions. She explores her very self, delves deeper into it and from the depth of her being tries to comprehend the world around her. She uses jubilant colors, carefully meditated atmosphere, flat compositions and simplified conception of forms to decipher the complexities of realities. When she steps out of herself and enters the world around her, the process of assimilation between ‘heart’ and ‘head’ begins. The end result is divine, tranquil, internal landscapes with vivid imageries narrating fables of her life as she lives each day.

By portraying woman as a deity in allegorical representations against mythological backdrops, decorated with devotional motifs such as flower garlands and lighted lamps in temple-like sanctums, Maneesha glorifies the feminine by raising it to the level of divinity.

How far she can control this synthesis of personal ideologies and spiritual themes depends upon her aesthetic success.

Spotlight on Nikita Parikh

In contrast with other women artists of her time, there is neither idea of feminine dominance nor feminine vulnerability in Nikita Parikh’s work. Nikita ingeniously bypasses the classic feminist issues of equality and social justice simply by taking inspirations from traditional Indian art such as Pichwai paintings and Shekhavati Murals. Born to a religious Vaishnava family, Nikita received MFA from M S University, Baroda. Like many Indians, Parikh in her childhood imbibed a rich storehouse of mythical and magical narratives. As an artist, she carefully reconstructs Indian myths and fables mingled with nostalgia to achieve an atmosphere of alternative fantasy in her work. While one cannot categorize her works as naïve art, there is a definite and deliberate naivety and innocence in her unique style which is reminiscent of modern masters such as Ken Kiff, Chagall, Miro and Kandinsky. Oddity of form, clumsy application of color and a tinge of humor in her earlier work has evolved into subtlety of statement gaining mature adaptability of style where Western influences do not remain as alien in Indian context. She often embellishes her work with playful, narrative captions that add ambiguity more than giving a clue to the images shown by her. In the current series “Sab Bhumi Gopal Ki’ she fabricates serene visual statement with repeated images of cows and flowers with traditional block printing methods in the composition to symbolize Lord Krishna’s Gokul with many cows and vegetation. In the course, she has subverted the modernity of high art practices by bringing traditional craft practices and material as Post-Modern art practice. This statement also merges the differences between the high art and craft practices, highlighting the labor involved in traditional artistry.

Opening reception Organizing Energy

The opening reception for Tamarind Arts September show Organizing Energy was a huge success. Many attended and marveled at Murthys installation Fuzzy Logic II based on her installation at PS1 MoMA in 2007.

For those who have not seen this show yet it is wonderful in addation to the installation a number of the artists drawings, and prints are also featured.

This is a wonderful show that should not be missed with a number of wonderful works.

The image is the Artist with her installation.

Baithak performance by Pandit Birju Maharaj on June 25, 2008, 6:30 to 8:30pm.

On June 25 from 6:30 to 8:30 Pandit Birju Maharaj will honor us with a Baithak performance at the gallery. His performance last summer was an outstanding success and we are looking forward to this evening.

Pandit Birju Maharaj is the torchbearer of the famous family, Kalka-Bindadin Gharana of Lucknow. Named Brijmohan Nath Mishra, he is a descendant of the legendary Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, including his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lacchu Maharaj and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He took Kathak to new heights by composing choreography of new Kathak dance dramas. He has toured extensively across the globe, given thousands of performances and held hundreds of workshops for Kathak students.
Even though dancing is his first love, he also has an excellent command over Hindustani classical music and is an accomplished vocalist as well having command over Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, Abhinaya and Ghazals, which will be a part of this Baithak.

For more information on this event or to attend RSVP to rsvp@tamarindart.com or call 212-200-8000.

Tamarind Art is located at 142 East 39th St between Lexington and 3rd Avenue.

Herd on Wall Street, Masterpiece in Midtown East

By Christina Wilson

The Scoop... Behind the bull on Wall Street, mathematically-minded suits use complex formulas and algorithmic sophistication in search for new patterns in the stock market. In the end, for some Wall Street traders, it can present opportunities for high-profit returns. It is with this practice of precision, the symbol of the bull on Wall Street holds true to the meaning of financial optimism and prosperity. Excited 1 Acrylic on Canvas A.V. Ilango However, the bull has taken on a new meaning in New York City and Tamarind Art, holds the secret. Tamarind Art, located on 142 East 39th Street, represents one mathematically educated artist by the name of A.V. Ilango. This European Academy of the Arts Gold Medal artist is showcasing his new exhibit titled, "Introspection," which places the bull at the forefront of Indian culture. In Indian culture, the sacred bull is associated with Hindu Mythology. Shiva, one of the primary deities of Hinduism, cherished Nandi, the sacred bull. In addition to being the principal gana (follower) of Shiva, Nandi also posed as Shiva’s transportation, the gatekeeper of Shiva temples, as well as, a guru in Natha and Siddhar traditions. Ilango earned his B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics from Central College, Bangalore in 1971 and 1973. His exhibitions have been displayed in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, London, Singapore, Kuala Lampur and San Francisco. Along with his art installations, Llango has received many awards such as, in 1992, he received the ABS Chennai Chapter & British Council Fellowship and in 2001, he received the Jury Award of the Lyons Fine Arts Society Salon International de Printemps, Lyons, France. Ilango fuses the meaning of the bull by capturing the mood of the bovine through such works as, "Charging," a sculpture made up of hundreds of aluminum hangers intricately connected to form a bull in motion. Along with his metal and stone sculptures on display, he is also showcasing acrylic on canvas with "Mahishasura I, II, III," "At Rest III," "Excited I, II," "Jallikattu I, II;" also portraying mood and posture. It is with this practice of precision, the symbol of the bull in Midtown East holds true to the meaning of divine introspection, at least, for, this area of the city. The "Introspection" exhibition will be showing at Tamarind Art Council. 142 East 39th Street, New York. For more information, call 212-200-8000; e-mail:admin@tamarindart.com; visit www.tamarindart.com, This Article was Article of the day in the Art Business News Website.