An air conditioned hush greets you inside the Tango Banquet Hall at Vivanta by Taj Surya. It is a hush-worthy occasion as the works of some of India’s biggest names in art is on show. It is an exhibition called Artforum brought to Coimbatore thanks to the efforts of art lovers Uttara and Ravi Sam and the Sakshi Gallery of Mumbai.
There are huge canvasses on the walls and installations and sculptures are artfully scattered around. At first glance, the eyes easily pick out the Raza, the Chintan Upadhyay, the Atul Dodiya…Apart from the senior celebrity artists, there are those who are the rising stars and are being watched with interest by art connoisseurs the world over. Where does one start? Sanyogita Deo of Sakshi Gallery points out the emerging artists, the ones who are creating a buzz in auctions, tells you about where they come from…and lets you soak it all in.
For many who are new to the art circuit it helps to know a little about the artist to better appreciate and ‘understand’ their work. For example the intriguing collection of old photographs in wooden frames. It is by Nandan Ghiya. Look closely at the black and whites and sepia photographs and you notice the faces are pixelated, so you can’t identify them. Ghiya is a young artist known to present work that portrays the contrast between the traditional past and the globalised present. He presents what a critic calls ‘flux of identity’.
‘Draw your own conclusions’ is the message the artists in the room seem to be telling you. Indeed, stand there long enough in front of an art work and it starts conversing with you. A heavy iron box on a pedestal begs explanation. It is covered with small stainless steel discs with faces on them. It is Valay Shende’s homage to istriwallahs everywhere. The faces are those of men who iron clothes. Similarly there is a thaili , a bag hanging on the wall, just like the ones workers carry their lunch in. Shende hails from Vidarbha and his works smoulder with the ills that plague contemporary Indian society.
In fact, many of the paintings are a reflection of the world as it is today – beset by poverty, war, violence, inequality and environmental degradation. Arun Kumar H.G.’s black nandi is made of recycled glass and another sculpture is made of papier mache. There is the work of Nilima Sheikh who has done a series on Kashmir. Her painting is accompanied by the lines of Kashmiri Saint Nund Rishi. Lekha Washington’s “Fantasy of peace” wistfully imagines a world without weapons of destruction. Some others bring a smile. Such as Vivek Vilasini’s huge canvas. It shows Julius Caesar being stabbed by his Senators. Only, they are in Kathakali costume and are in Times Square! Ravi Sam tells me of another Vilasini painting of The Last Supper where Jesus and his disciples are eating off banana leaves.
Artist Dilip Chobisa has sent his work on doors and they are evocative, tempting one to peep in and see what is behind them.
Nearly 40 artists are on display, including Jitish Kallat, Thukral & Tagra, Sunil Gawde, Dhruva Mistry, Sabir Ali, Rekha Rodwittiya and Laxma Goud. Apart from Indians there are also works of Moroccon Safaa Erruas, British Julian Opie and South Korean Kim Seola whose delicate works are stunning.
Artforum was an opportunity to see and learn about the movers and shakers of the art world. It was gratifying to know that so many of them were from India and so ridiculously young. Some of the works fell into the ‘beautiful category’ and some were moving. Then there were those that in the words of Uttara Sam were “difficult to love”! But they were all nevertheless vibrant and a powerful comment on society, love and life…As director of Sakshi Gallery, Geetha Mehra said, “It was an attempt to showcase the scope of contemporary Indian art.”
