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ShareAs Indian art makes it's presence felt in the West, Jitish Kallat is pioneering a look-East policy.
Art has no boundaries, they say. With news of Bose Krishnamachari making his solo debut in New York and Jitish Kallat taking his work to Korea, we agree.
Kallat, who's making his second trip to Korea for the 'Another Worlds' show curated by the Arario Gallery, says this show is a sort of resurrection of his earlier series on child labour and poverty. "Four of my works are exhibited there -- two sculptures and two paintings. They're actually the last pieces from my Humiliation Tax series, which showed in Mumbai about two years ago."
Kallat notes that the kind of contemporary art emerging from India and especially China is putting Asia on the global art map. "Some of the work that comes out of here is tremendous. Although Chinese contemporary art is touched with a cliche here and there, the art is effective because it is propped up against the strong social, cultural and political background of the country."
However, the artist realises this may be a bit of a generalisation - something he usually steers clear of. "The thing is that there is such a vast variety of work that comes out of India. And then the volume and quality of the body of work emerging from the Indian and Chinese artists is bolder than ever," he adds.
Kallat was in Korea late last year as well, becoming the first and only Indian artist to show at an exhibition based on the Korean War. Kallat's series of nine paintings, titled 'Vox Humana', elaborated on the various aspects of the war - from its cause to the armistice of peace that was signed.
He will be back in Korea again in September for the sixth Gwangju Biennale. This show, also curated, is aimed at showcasing Asia's cultural abundance while reflecting the kind of change that Asia is facing and the contagious enthusiasm with which it is accepting the change. Titled 'Fever Variations', the show is based on the theme of tracing roots. Kallat's offering to the show is, in his own words, "ambitious."
"I am taking a 35-foot photographic work to Gwangju. It's like a lightbox -- seven boxes will form this. Images of seven rotis, progressively bitten off, is what I will be showing in the work, which is called 'Conditions Apply'," he signs off.
