Fantasy and truth in contemporary narratives

Eight artists from Baroda have created contemporary extensions of miniature sensibilities, borrowing images or techniques from some of the old masters, known and unknown, for the Things That May Matter exhibition. Arundhati Saikia, Charanjeet Singh, Heeral Trivedi, Himanshu Joshi, Krishnal, Rajesh Kumar Prasad, Sanket Viramgami, and Sudpta Das have created artistic contemporary worlds of their own and the show presents fantastical narratives through paintings and sculptures. Rukshaan Krishna, the owner of Rukshaan Art gallery, tells us more about the works...

What was the thought behind this exhibition?

Personally, I love the genre of miniature art and thought it’d be a good idea to bring together some of the young, emerging and mid-career artists to paint and sculpt their stories using old iconography or process. The outcome is a beautiful spread of contemporary narratives with each of the artists creating their own worlds of fantasy and truth.

What is the common thread that holds them together?

I selected eight artists who have been using old forms or iconography or process from traditional art forms already in their practice. All eight artists have created contemporary extensions of miniature sensibilities, borrowing images or techniques or exhibiting temperaments from some of the old masters, known and unknown.

Have you worked previously with any of these artists? Why did you think their sensibilities would be right for this exhibition?

Yes, Rukshaan Art has included these artists in some editions of our annual exhibition, The Baroda March. Their sensibilities are right because they have been working with traditional forms for quite a few years now. So, there is a spontaneity of spirit of the old masters and the freshness of contemporary approach to storytelling in their works.

There are paintings and sculptures. How do they think they embody the idea of Things That May Matter?

The manner of depicting some visuals, the scale and the execution of some part of a work are intrinsic to the artists’ narrative. Sometimes the viewer will connect and therefore these may matter to him or her.

Things That May Matter is on at Rukshaan Art, opp Lion Gate, till December 15