They are like this only!
RANA SIDDIQUI
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Take a look at how young artists are defining themselves through different media.
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NEW DEFINITIONS: Vadodara-based Nikhileshwar Baruah's creation How Far, at Vadehra Art Gallery.
When young curator Vidya Sivadas from Vadehra Art Gallery travelled through cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Vadodara, Kolkata and Delhi this year to find out what the third generation of artists is creating in the name of art, she was in for a surprise.
They weren't expressing themselves, as our old or rather traditional schools of art would expect them to, but have created their own symbols, own medium and own subjects, mostly conditioned by the area they live in.
So when she gave them a theme "Are we like this only" to express themselves and curated a show of some 60 such artists in the age group of 25 to 50 from all these cities, it received overwhelming response.
The reasons were two: the art fraternity and the art lovers were looking for change from the oft-repeated exhibitions, and some patrons were looking for new artists to invest in too.
New symbols
The show Are We Like This Only is displayed at Vadehra's new art gallery at D-178 Okhla Industrial Area.
It contains video installations, images of politicians directly picked up from the news channels, use of advertisements, images of film icons like Guru Dutt and Ritwik Ghatak on the canvas and so on. Images of self-assertion, protest and some semi-nude paintings form a part of the exhibition.
"In each city artists are expressing themselves with new aesthetics, diction, and media. Artists in Mumbai for instance are expressing isolation, alienation and the commercially hit ambience of the city but in a very slick language, while in Bangalore lots of women artists are coming up and taking video installations to express themselves. Vadodara artists are very painterly. They talk about politics in their works though in a slow tempo, and Delhi's artists are usually very much alive to the concerns around and work with dedicated research," explains the curator.
The show has an additional dimension to it. This time artists have crossed boundaries. "Those who were only painting have come up with sculptures and vice versa. The experiment has given very good results," so much so that Vidya claims that "most of the works are sold".
A show worth a visit!
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Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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Thiruvananthapuram
