2008

The paintings of the renowned Shobha Broota, harmoniously intertwines meditative profoundness with the abstruse tincture of Jain Cosmology allowing her canvases to exude spiritual radiance and inner energy. Saba Hasan meticulously layers eloquent textures and gentle pigments conceiving picturesque waves of minimalism. Continuously evolving, exploring new genres and conjuring surprising mixtures of the tried and tested, Gina Brezini presents portraits charmed by the newfangled perception of reality as revealed in a click and a flash, dreamlike and effervescent- unfolding and coming to life. Aesthetic sensitivity and expressive textures are mapped out by bold brushstrokes in the works by Kavita Jaiswal- visions of the refined lexis as told by Kavita’s abstracts. Restless, self- perpetuating forms inspire the quintessence of Sangeeta Gupta’s paintings while Shanta Rao who is known for fusing the traditional with the digital presents curious blends of staged silver prints and animated digital images. Governed by her intricate observation of ancient Indian sculptures, Arpana Caur infuses in these her own contemporary perceptions- modernizing myths and exploring eternal dualities. Jaya Ganguly’s work unfolds the shadows of life with the eyes that perceive the darkness of her soul. Depicting rather extreme moods, this versatile artiste invites you to experience her imaginative recall, one that is disturbing yet invigorating. Renowned for her righteous place in the archives of contemporary Indian art, Seema Kohli’s paintings transform into enchanting visual poetry as they vibrantly translate her surreal reality. While Pooja Iranna immaculately translates human emotions, experiences and relationships into pristine urban structures. The geometrical and architectural profoundness of her inimitable art governs her highly perceptive and acclaimed works.

(Friday, November 21 to Tuesday, December 2)

"To prepare a face to meet the faces that we meet." Chinthala Jagdish's papier mache masks bear out the well known Eliot line. As a viewer one wants to probe beneath this alluring, immaculately crafted surface of paper and paint, to break through their immobility. Mouths slightly open, eyes like slits, torsos elongated sinuously, his solitary figures seem at first to have been caught unawares in a private reverie. Those in pairs, men in sola topis, women with flowers in hand, as though frozen mid-sentence - constitute the artist's gently satirical observations of social mores. This show is a collation of the artist's concerns. People, animals and flowers are vivified with a solidity that belies the material out of which they have been crafted.

(Friday, September 5 to Thursday, September 25)

Haku Shah is a painter of considerable individuality. His works may depict a ubiquitous blue shepherd with a staff across his shoulders, but that could be a Fulani of West Africa, a Masai of Kenya, a herdsman of Persia or Afghanistan. That's exactly why Haku Shah is known to be a "global" artist with a rural Indian touch. His simple images of trees, cows and flutes reflect his close relation to tribal art and associate them with a world that knows no boundaries. He makes the images look so simple that a viewer may indeed be fooled into believing so, but the layers of thought processes beneath tale a different tale. His paintings reflect the apparent simplicities of rural life, which have given rise to astounding refinements in quality in all spheres. In the apparent flatness of pictorial space in Haku Shah's paintings, it is not merely the integration of the tribal conventions into the practices of the present.

He possesses an ever deepening interest in collecting art objects and documenting their techniques and functional background and encouraging their practice wherever feasible, moving from object to technique, technique to function, function to concept and concept to background lore and beliefs.

(Friday, March 21 to Monday, March 31)