’Metamorphic Medium’ Pablo Bartholomew speaks at Tamarind Art

On March 18 Tamarind Art Council was host to Eminent photographer Pablo Bartholomew who present his father Richard Bartholomew’s photographic oeuvre and discuss continuing aesthetic lineage in his own work in the talk ’Metamorphic Medium’. Pablo will trace the influences that are not just process for artisans passed on from one generation to other, but a much deeper engagement to work out issues and questions of roots and identity.

Richard Bartholomew (1926-1985), acclaimed writer, painter, curator, and art critic, rarely exhibited his photographic work during his lifetime. During the 1960s and 70s, he keenly photographed life as it revolved around him – his immediate family, his travels in India as well as the United States, and his intertwined relationship with fellow members of the art world.

Born in India, Pablo Bartholomew’s photographic career began in his teens. Since becoming a photojournalist in 1983, his work has appeared in major news publications, including Time, News week, Paris Match and The Guardian. Pablo has worked with leading film directors/producers, including Merchant/Ivory and Richard Attenborough. Having a strong belief in the exhibition space, he widely exhibited in India and internationally through one person shows museum shows and photo festivals.
The talk is free and open to public.

Kamal Mitra- “Oblique Memoir”
It has been nearly a year and half since Tamarind Art has been able to showcase one of its most powerful and thought provoking artists, Kamal Mitra. Tamarind Art Council would like to welcome our frineds back to the gallery with a second solo exhibition, “Oblique Memoir”, featuring oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas consistent with critically acclaimed exhibitions of the winter of 2006 and the fall of 2007. “Oblique memoir” is an internal monologue by means of which unfortunate events of Kamal Mitra’s life is broken into fragments of memory, which replicate and document the cacophony of emotions he experienced in recent time past.

An opening reception was held on March 19, 6:30-8:00PM

Exhibition runs through: March 19-April 30, 2009
This is a wonderful show that should not be missed.

Busy Spring At Tamarind Art

We have had a super fun spring so far and it is only going to get better. So far we have had 3 evenings of dance; Ramya Ramnarayan did a wonderful Bharathnatyam performance, Bani Ray brought us an evening of Odissi Dance, and Satya Pradeep and her students brought us a wonderful evening of dance in the Kuchipudi style. We were also treated to an evening of music with, Sanjukta Sen (Vocalist), Madhu Vora (Harmonium) & Tapan Modak (Tabla).

All of these performances were wonderful and very well attended often in spite of unpleasant wintry weather.

In the coming months we will be continuing to bring you more cultural programing, we will be having more dance evenings in addition to Music and some arts lectures as well as wonderful art shows.

Be sure to check our website www.tamarindart.org for more information on our upcoming events.

Satya Pardeep performs Kuchipudi dance at Tamarind Art Council

The classical Indian dance forms, is a combination of the arts of the stage, music, poetry, color and rhythm. Such a rich cultural tradition requires years of discipline, both mental and physical, hard work and dedication. A well known classical Indian dancer and choreographer in the New York metropolitan area, Satya Pradeep, brings to the dance forms, all these qualities enhanced by vigorous training under the best Gurus: Padmabhushan Kamala Narayan, Smt. Rhadha in the Bharatanatyam style of dance and Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam in the Kuchipudi style. It is with this approach and dedication, that she established her dance school, Nritya Saagaram in 1993, and is actively helping to propagate this dance art form to the community. She has given several solo and group performances, both in USA and India.

Satya has the unique talent to bring out the best in all her students, living up to the motto of her dance school - dance is an ocean of learning. She diligently instills the values of discipline and respect in all her students who ascend the stage.

Sanjukta Sen to perform at Tamarind Art

The Tamarind Arts Council is happy to host to a performance by - Hindustani Classical music by Sanjukta Sen (Vocalist), Madhu Vora (Harmonium) & Tapan Modak (Tabla) on 27 February 2009, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.
To attend RSVP to rsvp@tamarindarts.org or call 212-200-8000
Performer, teacher and composer, Sanjukta has a rich voice and eloquent style of music rendering and carries with her a diverse treasure of Hindustani classical and light classical music forms. She has performed in many places in the USA and India.
Sanjukta is a disciple of Padma Bhushan Girija Devi of Benaras Gharana and continuing the music tradition of her illustrious guru in the dominant classical genre of Khayal as well as Thumri, Dadra, Tappa, Hori, Chaiti and Kajri. Sanjukta obtained her Bachelors and higher degrees in Hindustani classical vocal music from the University of Rajasthan and the University of Delhi, and then pursued her musical training in Kolkata from late Jog Maya Banerjee of Kirana Gharana.


Some of her notable performances are at American Museum of Natural History, World Music Concert at Hunter college, 25th Anniversary Celebration of LaGuardia Community College accompanied by Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Pandit Ramesh Misra , 50th martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi and 30th martyrdom day of Martin Luther King at the United Nation, Indian Consulate New York, World Life Conservation Society on behalf of Department of Tourism, Govt. of India, Najrul Manch, Kolkata, Anila Sinha Foundation, Chicago, Sivananda Centers at Bahamas and at the New York Ranch. She also performed in Washington DC and at The Northeast Theater, Scranton, PA.

She composed and rendered a song written by Honorable Prime Minister of India Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his visit to New York on Sep. 1998.

Sanjukta is a dedicated music teacher and has been teaching for more than twenty years at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA. She also teaches at Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, New York, as well as at Queens, New York.
142 E 39 Street, New York 10016 T: 212 200 8000 F: 212 990 9900 www.tamarindarts.org

performance by ritual Odissi dancer, Bani Ray on February 5th, 2009, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

The Tamarind Arts Council enthusiastically plays host to a performance by ritual Odissi dancer, Bani Ray on February 5th, 2009, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.
To attend RSVP to rsvp@tamarindart.com or call 212-200-8000
Odissi is an ancient traditional dance originating in the 1st century BC in Eastern India. It is primarily religious in nature and has lately undergone a revival.

Bani Ray has been a student of dance since the age of six, and has been learning Odissi since 1970 from Shri Hari Krishna Behera, Valmiki Banerjee, Guru Shri Durga Charan Ranbir, and the Late Guru Shri Nath Raut. Apart from Odissi, Bani has also studied Mohini Attam, Manipuri and various other folk dance forms.

Bani has performed extensively throughout India and the United States, receiving numerous scholarships, fellowships, and awards for her expertise in the field of dance. As a joint director of Nehru Institute of Odissi Research and training in Delhi, India, she has organized international seminars, symposiums and training programs for aspiring young dancers. Currently she is teaching,

performing and doing in-depth research and training on the style and compositions of the Late Guru Deba Prasad Das. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, Bani teaches at Lotus Music and Dance Studios in midtown Manhattan.

142 E 39 Street, New York 10016 T: 212 200 8000 F: 212 990 9900 www.tamarindarts.org

In the Indian Art News

I have found a few thinks of interest in the Indian Art news-

First the good news, Dayanita Singh et al. Awarded Prince Claus Award -

The Prince Claus Award for culture and development was awarded last month with its major recipient and one of its minor recipients, Indira Goswami (writer) and Dayanita Singh (photographer) both contemporary Indian artists prominent in their respective fields. The award, which has been handed out annually since 1997 is intended to honor and encourage the work of artists, thinkers and cultural organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. This years theme was Culture and the Human Body, which Miss Singh certainly explores with her intimately humane, highly contextualized, portraits. See the links below for information on the award as well as further links to examples of Singh's work:

http://www.princeclausfund.org/nl/what_we_do/awards/PrinceClausAwardDayanitaSingh.shtml - award information

And the bad news, Indian artist S. H. Raza finds exhibition of his work full of fakes.

See excerpts below from the Times Online

S.H. Raza, one of the country's foremost artists, attended an opening for an exhibition of his paintings in Delhi – only to discover that most were fakes.

Raza, who is based in Paris, had contributed some drawings to the show at the Dhoomimal Gallery while the gallery had borrowed about 30 more paintings – supposedly his early works – from his nephew.

"When I reached the gallery and started looking at the canvases on the walls, I was stunned," Mr Raza wrote in an Indian newspaper.

The scandal highlights the lucrative opportunities for forgers in India, which has witnessed an unprecedented boom in demand for local modern and contemporary art over the past few years.

The value of Indian art sold at auction has risen from about $5 million (£3.4 million) in 2003 to $150 million last year and the local art market in India is now estimated to be worth around £200 million.

But art experts and dealers say that one of the main risks for buyers is that India does not have any fixed mechanism for authentication of art works.

"Forgery is a tremendous problem now," said Mrs Jain. "In the last 10-15 years, so much money has come into the art market and a lot of people who are buying don't have much experience."

To Read the compleat article- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5544692.ece