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CULTURE |
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ARTSCAPE
Bringing art closer to people
Ravi Bhatia
Fever, an e-mail to Santosh—an artwork by Ajay Sharma. |
VIART is now showcasing contemporary art by two upcoming artists - Pradeep Mishra and Ajay Sharma from April 18 to May 2, at Viart Gallery C-36 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi.Viart, a new vision in art by the young curator Ashna Singh Jaipuria, has been in existence past one year. Ashna has been showcasing works of well-known contemporary Indian artists through exhibitions. Each work epitomised the artist’s distinct style and conveyed their opinions and thoughts. Receiving an excellent response from art lovers, Viart opened its first art gallery in December 2003 in GK 1. The year was marked by a black and white photo show held at Viart Gallery by a well-known photographer Deepa Parekh Dutta in January 2004. One of Viart’s objectives is to bring art closer to the people. In its attempt to do so, Viart intends to promote non-regular categories and provide platforms to younger artists, as it believes that in order to have art grow, more and more artists need to be encouraged and viewed. Viart would also like to break the myth that all good art is unaffordable and plans to have as many new shows as possible to sustain high levels of interest, awareness and excitement targeted towards a larger cross-section of society. Portraying Leela
The Tune of Peace - oil on canvas by Dhananjay. |
The Tune of Love - the workmanship of
Dhananjay. |
The Tune - an exhibition of paintings by Dhananjay at the India Habitat Centre earlier this week, was a major draw. Hundreds of visitors were enthralled and impressed by the artist’s depiction of the Krishna theme. According to the artist, “The Tune” presents the divine messages of Sri Krishna’s flute through its lilting notes. The paintings expose the doctrine of the divine love of the eternal spirit of Lord Krishna, which encompasses all the facets of life. “The Tune is my impression of life, the tune translates a warm invitation of love. Love, peace, faith are the melodies of life, the tunes that come forth from his flute and his wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita. The redolence of Lord Sri Krishna is the rhythm of The Tune, the beautiful melody that comes from him”, says Dhananjay. The expression in the art form stems from the desire to combine the real world with the spiritual melody of Sri Krishna. “It has been my effort to find actual life in our human form, even in an illusory and abstract world. Love, peace, different emotions and colours of life may be felt through The Tune. I have tried to depict Sri Krishna’s Leela through the colours on my canvas, in order to recreate the harmony and the eternal beauty of the music of life. Through His Leela, Lord Krishna teaches us how to live this life on earth. My effort is to reflect the smallest things in life and discover Nand Lala’s beautiful Leela through my imagination and the colours on my canvas. My art and imagination are trying to seek the melody and the actual truth in Lord Sri Krishna’s Leela.” The artist says that he has been painting for the last 18 years, and creates structural uniformity on canvas through play of light and shade. The essence of the paintings is basically a judicious mix of the abstract and realistic forms. The artist has tried to express art through oils and acrylic colours in mythological Lord Sri Krishna series, with the effort and the desire to depict the unknown mysteries in the depths of The Tune. Dhananjay completed his art education from Rabindra Bharti University (Indian Collage of Arts), Kolkata. He has participated in several group and solo exhibitions at annual exhibition in the Indian College of Arts, annual exhibition in Sahitya Kala Academy, Academy of Fine arts, India Habitat Centre (Visual Art Gallery), Ashoka Hotel, Daffodils (Grand Hyatt) Heart and Soul, Art Forum New Delhi. He also participated in solo exhibition at Lalit Kala Academy (2000, 2004) New Delhi. India Habitat Centre (Palm Court), India Habitat Centre 2003, 2004 in New Delhi. Dhananjay is recipient of an award from Ministry of Environment and Forest. His Major collections are in the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and many private collections including Singapore and London. Contributing for
a causeNearly hundred top Indian artists have contributed their works to raise funds for the new building of the Alliance Francaise de Delhi coming up at 72 Lodhi Estate. Conceived in 2003 and curated by Ravi Kumar in collaboration with the Delegation Generale of the Alliance Francaise of Paris in India, the unique exhibition-cum-sale will be inaugurated on April 20, and will be open for public from April 21 to April 24. Among the well-known artists who have contributed their work are Anjolie Ela Menon, Jatin Das, Subrata Kundu. S. H. Raza, Illosh Ahluwalia, Sanjay Bhattacharaya, Gopi Gajwani, Amitava Das, Shmshad Hussain, Serbjeet Singh and Hemi Bawa. MetacrilatiThe Italian Institute of Culture here is holding an exhibition of the paintings of the well-known Gino Marotta from April 15 to April 25, on its premises on Chandragupta Marg in Chanakyapuri here. Classical fusion Child Relief and You (CRY) as a part of their 25-year celebrations is organising an Indian Classical Fusion concert titled ‘Bal Taal’ with legendary tabla maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain. ‘Bal Taal’ will be held on Monday, April 19, at 7 pm at Siri Fort Auditorium, Khelgaon Marg, New Delhi. The concert will feature Ustad Zakir Hussain, his brother Fazal Quereshi along with artistes, such as renowned mandolin players U. Srinavas and U. Rajesh, young percussion maestro Selva Ganesh, prominent drummer/composer Ranjit Barot and violinists Ganesh and Kumeresh. The proceeds from this concert will help support CRY’s network of community-based organisations and NGOs across India that work towards restoring basic rights to underprivileged Indian children. CRY believes that every individual can make a difference - the CRY movement comprises over 1 lakh individuals and organisations who contribute an average of Rs 1,500 a year. In the last year, CRY was able to use these resources to reach 2,347 villages and permanently change the lives of 92,549 children.
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