The travelling art caravan

The works of 30 prominent contemporary Indian artists are being taken to eight cities in Maharashtra in a unique experiment. Archita Wagle has the details  

Drawing from his experiences and interactions with art students in small cities, most of whom don't get an opportunity to see contemporary Indian art, artist Sudhir Patwardhan has come up with a unique idea of an art exhibition which will travel from Mumbai (Oct 7 to Oct 16) to seven smaller cities — Amravati (Nov 7 to Nov 13), Nagpur (Nov 17 to Nov 23), Aurangabad (Nov 27 to Dec 3), Sholapur (Dec 8 to Dec 14), Kolhapur (Dec 18 to Dec 24), Pune ( Jan 5to Jan 11), and Nasik (Jan 15 to Jan 21) — in Maharashtra. He says "Most people in small towns are exposed to modern literature, theatre and films but visual art doesn't have the kind of reach and exposure that the other mediums have. They are aware of contemporary Indian art and artists but they haven't seen many of these exhibitions".

Patwardhan in collaboration with Bodhi Art Gallery is curating a show called 'Expanding Horizons' featuring 30 artists like Francis Newton Souza, Tyeb Mehta, Bhupen Khakkar, Gulam Sheikh, Manjit Bawa, Arpita Singh, Gieve Patel, Sudhir Patwardhan, NS Harsha, Anju Dodiya, Jitesh Kallat and others who are prominent names in India's art scene. The exhibition, which Patwardhan describes as "a festival of visual art aimed at visual literacy", will showcase apart from the works of the artists, talks by them about their works, and panel discussions and documentary films about India's art history and her artists.

To turn this idea into reality, Patwardhan along with writer and critic Deepak Ghare (who provided the synopsis and textual information for the exhibition) and other artists like Ranjit Hoskote, Dilip Ranade and Gieve Patel worked out a list of the artists who had influenced contemporary Indian art and the mediums in which they had worked.
The criteria for choosing each artist was the artwork available and how representative the work was of a particular style. The exhibition focuses on the different styles (stylistic, abstract and realistic), the media (from classic drawings, paintings and sculptures to more modern forms like videos and installations) and the different generations to which the artists exhibiting their works belonged to.

However, oweing to the nature of the exhibition certain things (like the size and mobility of the works) had to be kept in mind. Many artists like Atul and Anju Dodiya and Jitesh Kallat from the later generations produced original works for the exhibition, while the artworks of older generation artists like Francis Newton Souza and Meera Mukherjee had to be borrowed from various art galleries.

A unique feature of this exhibition is the narrative and synopsis written in Marathi (keeping in mind the audience) which accompanies every artwork. The narratives give a brief history of the growth of modern art in India and the influences that have shaped contemporary Indian art. Ghare's synopses give a brief idea about the artists and more importantly the styles and mediums for which they are well known. This makes it easier for the common man to understand the artist and his work. After discussing a brief outline with Patwardhan, Ghare worked on the profiles based on his knowledge and the information available to him. “As I was familiar with the works of most of the artists it was easier for me to select the points to be highlighted," he says. As Patwardhan puts it, "The whole narrative is an entry point for the layman. The historical viewpoint and the artist bios are the guidelines to understanding contemporary Indian art".

After looking at the artists included in the exhibition, what appears striking is the absence of a certain name — MF Husain. The reason for his absence is, "First, we didn't get any work which was representative of his style. Second, his inclusion could have created problems for the exhibition and taken away the focus from the purpose which is visual literacy".  But Patwardhan hopes that after viewing the exhibition, people will understand what contemporary Indian art is and then "they will realise what the charges against Hussain is all about. Hopefully, they will also realise that his works are not offensive but are simply his interpretations".

The exhibition also features panel discussions and  talks by contemporary artists. The panel discussions offer the audience a chance to gain a perspective on the art scene in India today and how it is viewed by various eminent art personalities. The talks offer the audience a chance to interact with the artist and get his perspective. In the Mumbai leg of the exhibition, Valsen Kolleri gave a slideshow presentation, followed by a panel discussion which had eminent personalities like Shanta Gokhale, Jabbar Patel, Kumar Ketkar and others.

No plans have yet been made to sell the artworks on exhibition. According to Vinay Badve, the Bodhi Art representative, while the works which have been borrowed will be returned, Bodhi Art Gallery owns all the works that were specially produced for the exhibition.  The audience will simply have to satiate its thirst for contemporary Indian art by viewing the works of these greats.
w_archita@dnaindia.net