By Aliya Usmani When the Mughal Emperor Akbar heard of the arrival of the first Jesuit Mission led by Rudolph Aquaviva and Monserrate from Goa, he immediately headed to the chapel in Fatehpur Sikri. He took off his turban, shook off his long dark hair and in respect, Akbar prostrated in front of Christ and...
On a cursory glance, Sudhir Patwardhan’s cityscapes might look akin to Edward Hopper’s paintings. But while Hopper’s scenes often show figures in solitude against the backdrop of the geometrically laid-out Western city, Sudhir’s canvases are often brimming with toiling bodies struggling in a bustling Indian city in construction. The Social backdrop of Sudhir’s Patwardhan’s visual...
By Vinay Seth Delhi Art Week, a unique “phygital” collaboration While happy to connect, the Delhi Art Week team began the conversation by expressing their disagreement with and disappointment over a particular point in my coverage pertaining to their effort — they stressed that the apple-to-apple comparison of the Delhi Art Week with the Delhi...
By Vinay Seth Are you aware that there exists an art gallery exclusively dedicated to children in the southern part of the country, Hyderabad? Yes, The Children’s Fine Arts Gallery is located right next to the Daira Center for Arts & Culture in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. They organise an annual Children’s Arts Festival, and this...
By Vinay Seth Back-to-back schedule: A lucky coincidence for Delhi art lovers! Anahita Taneja, Director of Shrine Empire Gallery, informed me that the Delhi Art Week and the Delhi Contemporary Art Week being back-to-back affairs this year was a lucky coincidence. “Bikaner House needed to be booked months in advance, and we had no idea...
Continued from Part 2. Somnath Hore, one of the most prolific artists in the canon of Indian Modern Art, was not only an accomplished visual artist, but also a well-respected art teacher. After graduating from the Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta, Somnath taught at the Indian College of Arts & Draftsmanship, Calcutta from...
Continued from Part 1. Beginnings Early to mid-twentieth century Bengal produced some very fervent artistic developments. Whether it was through the Revivalism pioneered by Abanindranath Tagore, or the Modernism embraced by the Government School of Art, Calcutta, visual art in Bengal gained from such different undercurrents. One undercurrent that had its roots outside the art...
Born in 1921, Somnath Hore has grown to be a widely known and well-celebrated visual artist of post-Independence India, and a staple name in the canon of Modern Indian Art. But why should a general art lover, or even a lay person, care to look at the works of this Modernist? Abir Pothi gives you...
Continued from Part 3. “Buddha and Mahavir were able to make progress only through their own experience, and that why I see art and spirituality being connected in this land. We will have to have conversations like those in the Upanishads, by immersing ourselves in art, and thereby with our artworks. We will have to...
Continued from Part 2. According to Himmat Shah, an artist should be a very sensitive person, who could experience art at the very subtle levels and could give unmatched form to their own artworks. So that the unmatchable quality of their individuality stays in their work, and when faced with doubt, they could search for...