The Delhi Contemporary Art Week is all set to make a vibrant return, starting on September 3 at Bikaner House. The event promises to be a celebration of contemporary art, with six city-based art galleries participating and showcasing the works of emerging artists from India and the broader South Asian region, including Bangladesh and Pakistan. In this article, we delve into the exciting highlights of this upcoming artistic extravaganza.

Participating Galleries and Diverse Artistry

The six participating galleries are Blueprint12, Exhibit 320, Gallery Espace, Latitude 28, Shrine Empire, and Vadehra Art Gallery. Each gallery brings a unique perspective to the event, presenting an impressive lineup of artists who have explored a wide array of styles, media, themes, and techniques in their works.

Gallery Espace: Textile Art’s Creative Flourish

Gallery Espace is set to captivate art enthusiasts with an exhibition featuring ten contemporary textile artists from across India. These artists have pushed the boundaries of fiber and yarn as art mediums, with inspirations ranging from the sea and coast of Goa to traditional male attire in Kerala. Their artworks, crafted using wool, silk, jute, and assorted fabrics, employ techniques such as knitting, crochet, batik, weaving, braiding, stitching, quilting, and beadwork. These textile creations delve into social, political, ecological, and art historical themes, presenting a rich display of contemporary Indian artistry.

Renu Modi, founder-director of Gallery Espace, expressed, “This year, the Gallery Espace space at Bikaner House will have a curated presentation of textile art showcasing the many diverse, ingenious, and dynamic ways in which contemporary Indian artists are making art with fiber or fabric as material or as an idea.”

Latitude 28: A Glimpse into Pakistani Artistry

Latitude 28 gallery will shine a spotlight on Pakistani visual artist Farhat Ali, who specialises in reinterpreting history and popular imagery. The gallery will also feature artists like Jahangir Asgar Jani, Shubham Kumar, Manjot Kaur, Anupama Alias, Chandan Bez Baruah, Gopa Trivedi, Ketaki Sarpotdar, and Khadim Ali. These artists employ a range of media, including gouache, textile, ceramic, and paper, to explore themes such as migration, climate change, biodiversity, mythology, and socio-political issues. Their fusion of traditional styles with new media creates a captivating commentary on contemporary trends.

Bhavna Kakar of Latitude 28 remarked, “The common thread unifying these artists’ distinct forms and techniques is the infusion of traditional styles with new media to generate their own personal aesthetic as a comment on the current trends concerning contemporary times, depicting both socio-political and poetic life experiences.”

Vadehra Art Gallery: A Mix of Veterans and Emerging Talents

Vadehra Art Gallery will display the works of both veteran and emerging artists, offering a diverse blend of artistic expressions. The lineup includes renowned artists like Sujith SN, Jagannath Panda, Atul Dodiya, and Sudhir Patwardhan, as well as emerging contemporary talents like Shilpa Gupta, Shrimanti Saha, Sachin George Sebastian, and American-Pakistani artist Zaam Arif. This juxtaposition of established and emerging voices promises to provide a thought-provoking and visually stimulating experience for art enthusiasts.

Blueprint12 and Exhibit 320: Exploring Shifting Dynamics and New Media

Blueprint12 gallery will examine the shifting dynamics of people, culture, and identities through a collection of photographs, paintings, and installations by artists including Avantika Bawa, Ashfika Rahman, Nidhi Khurana, and Shashank Peshawaria.

Exhibit 320 gallery will take visitors on a journey into new media, featuring works by emerging artists like Sumakshi Singh, Kumaresan Selvaraj, Wahida Ahmed, Sareena Khemka, and Gopi Gajwani. Among them, Wahida Ahmed’s works stand out as she explores the socio-political fabric of Assam using jacquard as a central theme, reflecting the complex interplay of various forces in the region.

Shrine Empire Gallery: Spotlight on Bangladeshi Artists

Shrine Empire gallery will showcase the works of Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi, alongside Baaraan Ijlal, Priyanka D’Souza, Shreyasi Pathak, and Divya Singh. This exhibition offers a glimpse into the vibrant and diverse art scene of Bangladesh, enriching the cultural matrix of the Delhi Contemporary Art Week.

‘Conjunction of the Spheres’ Group Exhibition

In addition to the curated shows by the participating galleries, a group exhibition titled ‘Conjunction of the Spheres’ will feature works by 18 artists, curated by Girish Shahane. This exhibition draws inspiration from the vision of the cosmos articulated by the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia, promising a unique and captivating artistic experience.

Symposium: ‘Horizon and Perspective’

Delving deeper into the world of art, a two-day symposium titled ‘Horizon and Perspective: Curatorial Gaze to Gauge Promise of Art’ will take place on September 4-5. The symposium will explore topics such as archival excavation to reimagine the past, establishing a new world order, curatorial collaborations, community building, and a radical approach to viewing art.

Conclusion

The Delhi Contemporary Art Week promises to be an immersive and thought-provoking experience for art lovers and enthusiasts. With a diverse array of artists, themes, and mediums on display, it is set to be a celebration of the rich contemporary art from India and the South Asian region. The event will run until September 7, offering ample time for visitors to explore and engage with the captivating world of contemporary art.

Feature image: Stakeholders of all the galleries at Delhi Contemporary Art Week. Courtesy: delhicontemporaryartweek via Instagram.