Artists Avijit Dutta and George Martin knew it wasn’t going to be easy when they set about bringing together Indian and Chinese counterparts for an exhibition mooted by Kalakriti art gallery. The two countries share certain similarities in art and this collaboration, Avijit and George hope, would highlight how artists in China and India portray the world around them.
Language stood in the way of reaching out to Chinese artists. “We would e-mail them in English and they would translate it into Chinese and then respond. Discussing even simple things required time. Some of them didn’t know even a basic ‘hello’,” says Avijit, who has interacted with Chinese artists earlier and will be showcasing some of his works in Beijing next month. “I felt a collaborative exhibition would work as a bridge and we could communicate through visual language,” adds Avijit.
The enthusiasm and curiosity of the Chinese artists to showcase their work here made up for the difficulties in communication. “If one looks at the history of art in China, they have been using watercolour and ink on paper. We appreciate calligraphy for its visual appeal whereas it is a meditative process for them,” says George, who hopes the exhibition will enable further collaboration and help Indian artists to visit China and see how artists benefit from good infrastructure. “They have good art villages and studios,” he emphasises.
Among the artists from China, Liu Dong has had a taste of India four months ago when he visited Goa with a friend for an artist-in-residency programme. “I painted around 20 pieces,” he beams. Liu Dong understands a few words in English. Guo Jian Ting, Wei Shen and Huang Wen Feng rely on him to get their thoughts across. Where that fails, there’s Google translator to help, as we discovered while trying to converse with the artists. Type a keyword, translate and they respond instantly with a twinkle in their eyes. “Most of us come from Beijing and Chengdu,” Liu says, for the benefit of accompanying artists.
The paintings, some of them on large scrolls, are representative of people and urban lifestyles in present day China. “Historically watercolour paintings have played a major role in Chinese art. Most of their works are in black, occasionally with a touch of red. The younger artists are now beginning to work with colours,” explains George.
What to expect
Da Qian mirrors the city and its people in the midst of transition. Guo Jian Ting’s series, curiously titled Pupil, communicates how the idea of modern living gets embedded in a newborn child.
Liu Dong’s paintings are edgy, with quirky expressions characterising the portraits. Lu Lin gives viewers a peak into landscapes while Qian Lei takes us into vast open spaces bursting with monsoon clouds. Nature is the chosen subject for Ji Ping and Wei Shao Dong as well.
Huang Fangqi talks about culture and transition through newborns of the 80s and the memories they carry with them. Huang Wen Feng dips into behaviourial science to sketch the process of evolution. The paintings exhibited by Chinese artists are mostly often monochromatic, with textures adding to visual appeal. In contrast, the paintings exhibited by Indian artists often burst with colour, barring a few like Rajeshwara Rao. In tones of blue, he depicts the mood in the Old City of Hyderabad, moments before a curfew is lifted and another aerial view of the locality, the vibrancy of which cannot be thumbed down for long.
What : Tradition and Transition, an exhibition of watercolours by Indian and Chinese artists, curated by Avijit Dutta and George Martin.
Where: On view at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Road No.10, Banjara Hills, and Kalakriti Art Gallery, Trident, Hi-tech City
When : Till August 25.
Participating artists:
India — Atul Dodiya, Anandajit Ray, Avijit Dutta, George Martin, Sujith S.N., Jagannath Panda, Manjunath Kamath, T.V. Santosh, Theodore Mesquita, Veer Munshi, Rajeshwara Rao and V. Ramesh.
China — Dai Qian, Guo Jian Ting, Huang Fang Qi, Huang Wen Feng, Ji Ping, Lu Lin, Liu Dong, Qian Lei, Wei Shen and Wei Shao Dong.
