2001

Similarities and Dissimilarities is less about divisions and more about co-existence. Infact it is all about co-existence of styles, schools, ideologies, techniques, influences, and so on. It is not about lesser and greater, nor about judgments and off-hand personal selections. It is, rather, a presentation - perhaps limited - of the various similar or dissimilar forms of expression in different parts of the country.

The West, East, North, South and Central Zones are divisions that are neutral, and not bound by a school, a caste, a community or a religion. We are not making a statement that there is a 'West-kind' of art, or an art that is typical of the South, etc. Fortunately, direction cannot become a theme.

An observation regarding most Indians is that we tend to shift across different zones and regions depending on what is convenient at a given point in time. So a debate to determine who belongs where would be a futile, petty exercise. Rather than struggling with these arbitrary divisions, let us look at what we, as a people, are capable of producing. How are we able to embrace influences without being misled? What does it matter if an African is inspired by African art or by American art, or vice versa? If it mattered at all, then most of Picasso's paintings would be rejected, leaving only those inspired by his own continent. What would remain of Picasso's work, in that case, would not amount to much at all!

There are many kinds of painting - the kind that has the power to create illusions, and the kind that draws into itself a tactile, alien object, incorporating it, as though born of its womb. From the mild relief of collage, to the daring structuring into paper, to the strong relief of the surface itself, or the addition of organic and other materials – all kinds of paintings co-exist today. No matter what, they cannot obliterate each other.

Another co-existence is that of subject matter. Here too, one kind of subject cannot ate the other. The power of co-existence is peculiar to our culture in more ways than one. And the balance is tilted not by those who co-exist, but by cultural and political mongers. We see that the joyous exists with the tragic, the political, the beautiful, the ugly, the erotic with the repulsive, the old with the new, the traditional with the non-traditional!

Just as we can read words literally, theoretically or emotionally, art too may be seen literally, theoretically or emotionally. The choice is the viewer's, because ways of seeing also co-exist. And the final choice, that of catering to a particular way of seeing, lies with the artist. It is from this variety and these choices, that the works in Similarities and Dissimilarities emerge. We hope it proves to be a memorable experience for all of us.

East Zone: Curated by Nanak Ganguly and Siddharth Ghosh, Kolkata (Wednesday, August 1)

West Zone: Curated by Anahite Contractor and Jyotee, Mumbai (Saturday, September 1)

North Zone: Curated by Probir Gupta, Delhi (Monday, October 1)

South Zone: Curated by Lakshmi Venkatraman, Chennai (Thursday, November 1)

Centre Zone: Curated by Akhilesh Verma (Saturday, December 1)

(Thursday, March 15 to Friday, March 30)