The Bangalore chapter of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) has organised a special exhibition on the occasion of the country’s 68th year of Independence. Titled India and Art During Independence-creation of National Identity , the exhibition will be open to the public from August 20 to September 19. NGMA will also introduce ‘Weekend Family Walks’ in conjunction with the exhibition on August 23, 24, 30 and 31.
This exhibition, according to a release from NGMA, aims to showcase ‘Revivalism’, an art movement started by Abanindranath Tagore in the early 1900 and artists of the Bengal School. It shows the change from the pre-Independence era to modern times. It has been housed in the architectural space of the corridor with the intention that the visitors may also move alongside and across the world of miniatures, academic painting and post-Independent Indian art displayed around the other halls, the release said.
The curatorial narrative of this exhibition has been conceived in two segments; the first focuses on the aesthetics of the early revivalists — Abanindranath Tagore, Kshitendranath Majumdar, Asit Haldar, Sarada Ukil, Abdul Rahman, Chugtai, Bireswara Sen, and Sunyani Devi.
The second segment showcases the group of artists who moved away from this movement, rejecting it as romantic pursuit and found refuge in individual languages of modernity. This group includes Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Sudhir Khastagir, Pradosh Das Gupta to name a few, the release added.
Sudhakara Rao, former Chief Secretary of Karnataka, will inaugurate the exhibition on Tuesday at 5.30 pm.
