Walking into this gallery at the Lalit Kala Akademi is like entering a place of worship that encompasses all faiths and creates a meditative space.
The gallery is currently housing an exhibition titled “Forms of Devotion”, which features over 400 artworks by nearly 200 artists from across India with a focus on the spiritual and the devotional.
One of the standout works is by Manjunath Kamath, that comprises over a 1,000 miniature water colour and tea stain paintings that come together as an installation tribute to Lord Vishnu.
The exhibition, an initiative by director and founder of Belgium-based Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) Martin Gurvich, engages with continuity and change as reflected in various faiths, ideologies and cultures across the country.
It features original and recent works of Indian art in the devotional genre — the traditional, folk, popular, and contemporary, and its collection boasts of works by some of the most celebrated contemporary artists.
The central focus of the exhibition is on the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or ‘the world is one family’. The works include paintings, drawings, collages, digital works, sculptures, installations, videos, films and mixed media works that are featured alongside research and concept-based expressions.
The project has been curated by Sushma K. Bahl and Archana B. Sapra and features an especially-made film Studios of Devotion , that will go on throughout the exhibition.
The exhibits are part of a collection of over 1,000 works sourced and commissioned by Mr. Gurvich for MOSA’s permanent collection and contain works of art that have been sourced from the roadside to those done by renowned Indian masters and emerging stars.
The exhibition will travel to Bangkok and Shanghai, as well as other unconfirmed venues across the world after which it will finally become a part of the permanent collection to be housed in MOSA’s new building in Belgium.
The exhibition is on till April 26 at Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhawan, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
