Emami Art is presenting Kāru an exhibition of contemporary miniature, tribal and folk art of India. The exhibition features the representa...
Emami Art is presenting Kāru an exhibition of contemporary miniature, tribal and folk art of India. The exhibition features the representative work of the six well-known living masters – Bhuri Bai, Nand Kishor Sharma, Ram Soni, Pavan Mohan Prajapati, Akshay Kumar Bariki and Kalyanmal Sahu - and the skilled artisans working at SHE Kantha , showing innovations in the rich traditions of visual art.
The intricate dotted lines and
brilliant hues in Bhuri Bai's paintings bring to the fore not the local fables
of the Bhil community depicted through them but also a wave of emotions. The
large Pata paintings based on Vaishnava and Jagannath themes by Akshaya Bariki,
born to a family of traditional painters in Ragurajpur, Odisha, and the tales
of Krishna depicted in the Pichwai paintings by Kalyan Mal Sahu, a largely
self-taught artist, enchant our eyes. One can find similar delicacy in showing
the devotional contents in Nand Kishor Sharma's Phad painting and Ram Soni's
fine paper cutting of Sanjhi Art, two unique traditional art forms of Rajasthan
and North India. The refined treatments in Mohan Prajapati's Mughal and
Rajasthani styles of miniature paintings contrast the playful, unsophisticated
quilt embroideries done by the skilled women artisans of Bengal. In all these
diverse artworks on display, the creative energy of India – the distant sound
of the earthen drum – reverberates in widely different forms.
“I am
delighted to present Karu. Done by the widely recognized artists, the
large body of diverse indigenous art from different parts of the country shows
the ingenuity of the pre-modern art forms and imaginations, giving us a sense
of reassurance in our troubled present. Working within the framework of
tradition, the artists are faithful to the heritage but do not imitate the past
blindly. In the exhibition, what attracts us are their inventiveness and self-developed ingenuity, which, unlike modern art, are
defused and do not dissociate them from the shared traditions. Karu is an
astonishment. It is a space for enjoyment, enchantment, and ethical and
emotional investment in promoting India’s unique indigenous visual arts.” said Richa
Agarwal, CEO Emami Art.
The exhibition is on view from September
4 to October 30 at Emami Art, Kolkata and can be also be viewed at www.emamiart.com
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