Prema Murthy - Organizing Energy 9/16 - 10/26

Souza, Adieu

Hi, this is Eliot, the poster of many blogs here. In actuality, my name is Craig and I’m a white American living in the American Midwest. Before I was hired two and half years ago to write for Tamarind Art Gallery, my creative interests were Anglo-Saxon oriented. I was a lover of American artists—Warhol, Wood, and Whistler, as well as European masters like Van Gogh, Manet, Monet; especially the artist who set the art world on its ear, Pablo Picasso. I knew or cared little about Indian art and culture—it was half a world away.

Since then, I have developed a great respect and admiration for Indian art and culture. From Ganesh to Gandhi, Tagore to TV Santhosh, I have learned a great deal about the long, rich, sometimes tumultuous, always beautiful, creative history of the subcontinent. MF Hussein, what a master of lines, colors, and shapes, Raza’s bindus, intriguing. Most of all, however, I shall always enjoy the tortured works of Francis Newton. Nobody expressed their cynicism, disdain, and the foibles of life like Souza did. I shall carry his images in my heart and mind forever.

This is my last post. Life happens, things change. But I will always remember my new found respect for everything Indian. I would like to thank, you the reader, for perusing my blogs. I hope they were entertaining as well as enlightening. We learned together. Peace and joy to you all.

Craig

Alchemy of Enigma

Tamarind Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of works by contemporary Indian artist Ashok Bhowmik. This exhibition of his paintings, entitled Alchemy of Enigma, is his first solo in the United States. In it, Bhowmik showcases his dramatic interpretation of the curious intermingling between the worlds of fantasy and reality.

Juxtaposing images of both the human form in profile and everyday objects with contemporary surrealist visions of nature, Bhowmik creates haunting and dramatic images, which parallel those of Marc Chagall and Gustav Klimt. With his use of stark, monotone backgrounds, Bhowmik strips his subjects bare of any extraneous context and freely explores them through his own perception of time, nature, life, death, and reality.

About the Artist
Born in Kolkata in 1953, Bhowmik graduated from Government College of Art and Craft. He has displayed his work in many places such as, TAO Gallery, Gallerie 88, Kolkata, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Lalit Kala Akademi, National Exhibition, New Delhi, Sophia Duchesne Art Gallery, Mumbai, Annual Exhibition of Birla Academy, Sarala Art Gallery, Chennai, Indo-German Cultural Society and Center Art Gallery. Also, he has participated in workshops and art camps in China, Egypt, Thailand, Italy, Australia, as well as Istanbul. In addition, Bhowmik has directed Poster Workshops in Azamgarh, Bhopal, and spear-headed Project JointArt for the special needs children of Mano Vikas.

Along with his showings, workshops and camps, Ashok Bhowmik has received several awards such as, the Certificate of Merit, Annual Exhibition of Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata and the Academy Awards from Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, in both 1980 and 1981.

Alchemy of Enigma runs through 15 August. For more information visit www.tamarindart.com.

Structure & Mystic Space - Contemporary Indian Art

Tamarind Arts Council and Time and Space Gallery of Bangalore invites you to the exhibition “Structure and Mystic Space”, a show which will introduce the works of many contemporary Indian artists: Akkitham Narayanan, Amitabh Sengupta, Balan Nambiar, Bhavani Katoch, Dhiraj Choudhury, Gopinath S, Murthy M.S, Nagure K.S, Sidharth, Siraj Saxena, Somenath maity, and Vishal Joshi.

Though each artist’s work is fundamentally unique and different from the next, the underlying theme of the show will be presenting the interaction between the spiritual world and the real world. Indeed, Indian contemporary art is a beautiful mix between the old and the new, thus these works essentially revive traditional myths and place them in the present.

About the Artists:

Akkitham Narayanan’s geometric paintings reveal a synthesis of Indian Tantric art and European geometric art. Narayanan’s work reflects the organized structure of the world through geometry yet engages with the spiritual through the dynamic forms and vibrating colors. Born in Kerala in 1939, he now works and lives in Paris.

Amitabh Sengupta’s work is highly influenced by his study of ancient script. Indeed, the reference to these ancient forms that came from religion and rituals were translated by the artist onto the canvas to connect imagery with symbolic intent. Amitabh Sengupta now lives and works in Kolkata, India.

Born in 1937, Balan Nambiar is a painter, sculptor enamellist, photographer and a research scholar on folk cultures in Kerala, and it shines through in his work. Indeed, the artist is able to translate the sounds, smells, and theatre of his native Kerala into multi-sensory sculptures.

Bhavani Katoch’s work is focused on abstracting fleeting nature into an eternal landscape the mind will remember. Katoch plays with light and color to convey time and space, stillness and movement. Born in 1956, he lives and works in Paris now.

Dhiraj Choudhury’s paintings are works that unite the spiritual and the material by creating narratives that engage man with nature.

Gopinath S. is inspired by the process of sculpture, the transformation of matter to image: his sculptures reveal the spirit of the material. He now lives in Bangalore.

Murthy M.S was born in 1960 in Bangalore. This artist uses cartography in space to track the terrestrial and celestial trajectories on the canvas. His play with surface and depth, as well as his skillful layering of pigments, create minimalist yet sublime works.

Nagure K.S’s works are inspired by the life of Buddha and the ascent of His spirit. The artist transfers the avatar in a mystic landscape of paradise, where Nature becomes the witness of his transformation. Nagure’s imagery represents the transcendental mind that has attained Nirvana.

Sidharth’s figures give visual embodiment to the intensely spiritual implications of Life. He plays with scale and perspective to restore dignity to all creatures, nurtures the connectivity and continuity of life, and the earth and all creatures belong to the sacred.

Siraj Saxena was born in Madhya Pradesh, India in 1974 and now lives in New Delhi. Linearity is at the basis of his works: the artist traces the circuit of particles in a maze to unravel the matrix of life. His canvases are a testimony to control over the dynamic flows of echoes and variation of patterns in a grid.

Somenath Maity paints the urban environment, where the city is the primary source of inspiration. Like an architect, Maity constructs his paintings: from colors to textures, he projects structures as the life force of the city. He was born in 1960 in Midnapore, West Bengal; he now lives and works in Gopalpur West Bengal.

Vishal Joshi is fascinated by the internal spirals that symbolize the cosmic rhythms of organic forms and the movements of the galaxy. Joshi gets inspiration from the textures and forms of Nature, and hopes to evoke Rasa-artistic delight- in the viewer.

Structure & Mystical Space opens on Wednesday 26 June. For more information visit www.tamarindart.com

Summer Wind Blows Hot at Saffronart

What won’t sell? That’s an intriguing question as Indian modern and contemporary art continues to remain a sizzling sellers’ market, as Saffronart’s annual Online Summer Auction 2008 has once again reminded collectors. Held June 18 –19, works by the PAG masters, regardless of the medium, are still highly sought after, as are artists who arrived on the Indian art scene later. Of the 90 lots that sold, 69% went down the hammer at above their pre-auction estimate.

The prices heated up early on with an oil and ink on canvas of a figurative horse painted by MF Husain selling for $201,250*, a cubism piece titled Dark Silhouettes, The Moon by Jehangir Sabavala for $146,625, and two FN Souza oils on board going for $232,300 and $218,500. One of the most revolutionary of India’s modernists, Jagdish Swaminathan’s untitled oil on canvas doubled estimates and sold for $460,000.

Next up were artists born during or after the 1940’s. A painting by Manjit Bawa finished at $117,875, Atul Dodiya’s mixed media piece Each Father Lost-III at $201,250, Rashid Rana’s Red Carpet – 2 for a hot half million dollars, TV Santhosh’s untitled work tripling estimates at $140,875, Jagannath Panda’s acrylic on canvas, The Urbanscape III, for $129,375, and Jitish Kallat’s Rubber Hammer for $197,225. Also performing well were works by Barl Kumar, Anant Joshi, Jayashree Chakravarty, Meera Mukherjee, KM Adimoolam, and Bose Krishnamachari.

Prices midway through the two-day auction caught fire when SH Raza’s acrylic work Germination, an outstanding combination of line, color and shape, sold for $1,056,250, and Subodh Gupta’s untitled oil on canvas of shimmering stainless steel pots and pans sold five times the estimate at an unbelievable $1,427,500. Also smoking were Hema Upadhyay’s mixed media on paper, Bleeding Hearts ($133,975), Justin Ponmany’s mixed media on canvas Riverbed ($235,750), an untitled oil on canvas by Jagdish Swaminathan ($218,500), other works by Husain and Souza, and a Bikash Bhattacharjee that sold for $132,250.

Prices cooled a bit for the remaining lots, but still managed solid numbers for other Indian contemporary artists. A bronze untitled bust by Akbar Padamsee sold for $34,500, Himmat Shah’s bronze Head of a King for $47,150, a Lalu Prasad Shaw tempera on handmade paper for $25,300, and an untitled K M Adimoolam oil on canvas for $27,025.

As summer officially begins and the art auction world relaxes some, it still seems as though the market for anything Indian—regardless of artist or medium—continued to be dominant for the first half of the year. Autumn will bring cooler temperatures, but hopefully the heat drawn from these prices will remain throughout the remainder of the year.

*Winning bids include buyer’s premium

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.