Saturday, March 22, 2014

Stories of Delhi,Tales of two cities, Jungle Me and more..

NEWS

Jungle Me

Come and experience the contemporary art exhibition, ‘Jungle Me’, a selection of latest Green Graffitis by French artist Jonathan Longuet at Niv Art Centre. 

Jonathan Longuet works with a living plant paint, Green Graffiti, and on the development of autonomous evolutive paintings. Green Graffiti’s are made from algae, harvested at buildings feet, cultivated and applied to a substrate, canvas or a wall. These paintings are like a plant, growing slowly over time depending on conservation’s conditions. This project invites the audience to rethink about their integration to an ecosystem of everyday.

For this series, Jonathan Longuet questioned the notion of the urban jungle, density, movement, with a focus on the people evolving in such environment, their relationship with that world which defines their identity. To conduct this project, he began a conversation with a person who deals everyday with these issues - Manou, street fashion photographer. This exchange of ideas transformed itself into collaboration. Manou photographed  people in  the street of  India and Jonathan proposed  a vegetal version  of  these  subjects - a  kind  of  inventory   of  originality,  difference,  and evolving identities.

Jungle Me will also feature images of Reverse Graffiti. These are small interventions in the street, they are draws written with water pressure on a wall covered of algae. The visuals can last several weeks or months on the wall, until the next rain. These have made using stencils in various locations in Neb Sarai and have been photographed.

The exhibition is on view till 20th April 2014.

Rustic Hues
(work on display)
Magnitude Gallery, Bangalore captures the various moods and beauty of countryside and presents, the theme ‘Rustic Hues’. After the astounding success of its previous themes this is sure to delight the art lovers of Bengaluru. This exhibition showcases paintings of countryside which depicts images of women in different rural scenes that accentuates the beauty.

Rustic Hues depicts the countryside people in different situations from their rich cultural celebrations to the passionate and caring families at work. It also highlights on the different and diverse sections of rural people who strive to create a livelihood.

The artists have created with various mediums and tried to synergise their feelings of rural scenes to create a harmony. These paintings are sure to grace homes, offices and other living spaces as it is a hot favourite by many and usually blends with any rustic interiors.

The show is on till 31st March 2014.

Stories of Delhi
(work on display)
Delhi O Delhi Foyer, Delhi is hosting ‘Stories of Delhi's magnificent past set in stone photography’, a photography exhibition by Prerna Jain. 

Prerna finds her penchant in abstract photography, especially floral abstract. Colours, shapes and depth have a special attraction for her. Most of her work is an exploration of beauty with detailed or macro photography.

The show is on till 31st March 2014.

Tales of Two Cities
( work on display)
Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hyderabad is here with an exclusive painting exhibition for all art lovers in the city. The exhibition titled, ‘Tales of two cities’  brings to you some of the unique and eye-catching art works by a group of artists that are sure not-to-be-missed. The exhibition will include the works by creative artists like Anjani Reddy, Priti Samyukta, Rohini Reddy, Srinivas Reddy, Dr Vidhyasagar Upadhyay and Vinay Sharma.

The show is on view till 31st March 2014.

(News Reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Cultural commentary
‘Password of Kerala’, an exhibition of artist Chandranandan’s paintings, combines the culture of the State with artistic insights
(Artist Chandranandan with one of his paintings. Photo: Sooraj Rajmohan)
Trees wearing traditional mundu, a Kathakali performer whose upper body, for lack of a better word, blooms into an expanse of coconut branches and a humanoid figure merged with a tree that appears to provide sustenance to a casually lounging green elephant. These are some of the images that await viewers at ‘Password of Kerala’, an exhibition of paintings by artist Chandranandan, on at the Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum art gallery.
Chandranandan explains that the images endeavour to capture an essence of life in Kerala, but also tell individual stories. The tree-man and elephant are a representation of the relationship between parents and children in this age. “The tree providing nourishment to the elephant is a look at the plight of the average Indian father, who strives his entire lifetime to provide for his children, sacrificing everything and keeping nothing for himself, being slowly drained of his life force,” he explains cryptically. He then picks out a work that he describes as his interpretation of a mother, a female form set against a tranquil blue background resembling a planet and starry space beyond.
The works contain passing references to the culture of the State, some easily recognisable, some incorporating symbolism, and others featuring strange juxtaposition. An example of the latter is a yak roaming about between the trees in a rubber plantation, with Kerala’s ubiquitous rubber trees contrasting with the creature Chandranandan observed on a trip to Ladakh. A depiction of the traditional illam featuring various animals, and a frozen frame of an elephant ride gone awry add to the surreal nature created by the 18 works on display.
Chandranandan, a former employee of the Kerala Agricultural University and an expert in publication design, believes in the superiority of oil over acrylic colours. “While acrylic does have many advantages, oil is always in a class of its own. Despite the rigours of painting with oil, it is my medium of choice.” And in between his Kathakali performers and coconut trees, there are also subtle socio-political messages. Hidden deep within a fiery red canvas are two figures, one wearing a mundu and the other stark naked. “The king is naked,” he says simply, perhaps in reference to the Danish tale ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’.
There are many more works that invite interpretation among Chandranandan’s collection, with the work ‘Starry, starry night’ serving as a simple balm for the mind after the workout it gets from the other images. The painting depicts a man and woman working a water pumping apparatus in the wee hours of the morning before dawn’s first light. “There are many sides to this, the tranquillity of the morning, the coordination required to operate the apparatus and even a shared love,” says Chandranandan.
The exhibition is on at the Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum art gallery from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. till March 31.
(Report by Sooraj Rajmohan for The Hindu)

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