A Desk of One's Own-Galeri/Miz Istanbul -5th March till 5th April 2014

Works at Atelierarts.org

 

ATELIER ARTS -A new online art initiative

I was recently approached by my classmate artist friend Ushmita Sahu. I have known her since 1990 ,when we joined Delhi College of Art . She is such a sincere and dedicated person.All these years she has been thinking, working, observing, absorbing and writing silently about the Indian art world. In a way processing the fast paced and ever changing chameleon like art world , which has changed tremendously in last decade. Although a lot has happened but still there is a need to do more , to find and support those artist who have no means of networking to promote their work, to help them survive so that they can continue their practice.Atelier brings that whiff of fresh fragrant air to the art environment. Ushmita is the chief art consultant with Atelier Art, doing her bit to promote good art by putting together lesser known artists with the well knowns on same platform.

Atelier Arts promises to bring you a refreshing view of contemporary Indian Art.

I am pleased to be part of it.My photographic works are for sale online.I wish them all the very best.I look forward to seeing new found artists and their brilliant works.

Atelier Arts is  brainchild of Amrita Kalia @ Amrita Atelier and Amit Arora along with consultant Ushmita Sahu.

PARTICIPATION:LES RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES IN PARIS 2014

LES RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES :AT GAÎTÉ LYRIQUE FROM FEBRUARY 25 TO MARCH 2 AND AT PALAIS DE TOKYO ON FEBRUARY 24


My video work 'Bird' is part of  Les Rencontres Internationales ,February 24 to March 2 in Paris. Out of 5650 entries made from some 100 countries only 120 works were selected.

Video still from 'Bird'

Les Rencontres Internationales will create a space of discovery and reflection focused on new cinema and contemporary art, for 7 days at Gaîté lyrique and Palais de Tokyo.

In the presence of artists and filmmakers from all over the world, this rare event will propose an international programme of film, video, multimedia, gathering 120 works from 40 countries, works by acknowledged artists along with young artists presented for the first time. It includes screenings - Premières, cartes blanches, video programme, etc. -, an exhibition, performances, a day out of town offering exhibition visits through the Ile-de-France Region, and panel discussion in the presence of art centre and museum directors. curators, artists and distributors who will share their experience and concerns about current moving image practices.

Les Rencontres Internationales offers more than just a simple presentation of the works. It introduces an intercultural forum gathering various guests from all over the world - artists and filmmakers, institutions and emerging organizations - to testify of their reflections and their experiences, but also of artistic and cultural contexts that are often undergoing deep changes. Les Rencontres Internationales reflects specificities and convergences of artistic practices between new cinema and contemporary art, explores emerging media art practices and their critical purposes, and makes possible a necessary time where points of view meet and are exchanged.
Programe

Those Who Dream by Night : Patricia Piccinini-Review

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Those Who Dream by Night : Patricia Piccinini

Huanch de Venison, London

28 Nov - 19 Jan 2013

After a walk through Oxford Street in central London, peeping through the glistened high end luxury brands finally I opened the doors of the Haunch of Venison presenting the first UK solo exhibition of internationally acclaimed Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. Piccinini has exhibited internationally including major museums and biennials. Spread on the two floors the exhibition are five new large-scale sculptural works alongside a few earlier works from 2005 to 2011.

Piccinini graduated the college of Fine Arts in Painting & Economic History, having a wide range of interests, from sociology to technology and computer graphics. She works in a variety of media, such as: painting, sculpture, video, sound and digital prints.

The very first room was showing a video on a flat screen TV mounted on the wall entitled “From within”. A bizarre landscape with amber like rocks surrounds a woman sitting in the centre of the space bowing her head.  From her mouth pours a thick glue like liquid.  The looped video makes it in to an eternal female cathartic process.  On closer inspection we realize in fact that she has herself created this whole environment around herself. It has this metaphorical aspect of Mother Nature. According to the artist perhaps she has created it so she can feel protected from the world. What to us appears grotesque, to Piccinini is “honey-like nectar pouring from an amorphous organism”. G.K. Chesterton argued, “energy and joy are the father and mother of the grotesque” (qtd in Harpham, 8).  Never darkness, never horror.  At the core of these sculptures, lie that energy and joy mixed with love.
Piccinini is enchanted by the irrepressible productive quality of the organic world. Her creations encapsulate this anxiety as well as wonder. She is incredibly impressed by nature’s drive to reproduce. Piccinini manifests her fascination in her hyper real sculptures. The success of these works relies on its similitude to the real world. In her interview she says that she has come to a point in her work when she can break the rule of suspended disbelief.  Piccinini reminds us that “it is very seductive to think that we could find a simple technological solution to complex ecological problems such as extinction. It is far more exciting to talk about genetic engineering than to designate a large area of habitat/real estate as national park so that dozens or even hundreds of native species might be given a better chance of survival.”
In another room we encounter meticulous drawings made on a skin like silicone support with hair.  These are both literal and representational. On the one hand these are literal as these drawings are actually works about hair growing in skin but at the same time they depict a drawing. We see an image of a botanical illustration of a plant, which provides taxonomies to understand.  In this work thorns surround beautiful flowers. These flowers are in the form of actual fleshy pink orifices, which is a reference to the fact that flowers are actually the sexual organs of plants. This leads us to second the saline theme in her work – the idea of fecundity.

As I moved from one space to another in gallery, the works started growing on me. Another work “Ghost” imagines the body as protein and corporal, but not as a recognizable animal or human. It is startling, because the artist has taken the familiar, the homogenized, and flipped it to be imperfect and disparate.  It is a response to the emerging understanding of body as a mutable entity. For Piccinini it is disappointing that the end result/final outcome/idea of aesthetic, is so narrow. Hyperrealism is undermined by an intended tendency to be real.

In these sculptures skin works like a dividing line between the inner and outer worlds. It also serves as a blurring point when the spectator is provided with unsettling glimpses of what could be growing inside these lumps - maybe living bundles of flesh. The strategically positioned and often half open orifices show developing, ready to ooze, palpitating organs – a raw expression of fecundity,  a sign that the body is seen as a site of production.
In “Carrier”, a bear like man with a big gut, carries an elderly clothed white woman. The possible conversations we can have with this work are what do we expect from animals we create for a change? He is a servant as he is carrying as a slave a vulnerable and possibly inferior human. The relationship of servitude here makes us uneasy. Though it is not a totally black and white situation. He is almost like a sage embarking on a journey with this woman. There seems to be a physical and emotional connection, an intimacy and equality. Knowing how we treat the animals, this would not be the situation in real life. In Piccinini’s words, ”We really do not share the same kind of equality with animals we share the planet with”.
In her work ‘Lovers’, we encounter motorbikes with human emotions - anthropomorphized machines . The whimsical and funny mix here with the instinct to imply human emotions like desire not only to all animals but even to  inanimate objects. Machines have a gender and they show off like male peacocks trying to impress the female. They are intertwined showing affection and love. In this work she exhibits her desire to humanize technology in the human quest to homogenize the manufactured ideas of perfection. It implies the genealogy that humans and technology are increasingly intertwined. Taking science as her underlying mode she explores her fascination with medical science and biotechnology. She further explores the fears and concerns of modern society, such as appearance, ageing and disease.
We as spectators seem to follow a narration with lifesize, hyper real, and startling hybrid alien like creatures. These creatures make us curious enough to walk closer to scrutinize them, but a glance in to their eyes is enough to raise the palpitations of the heart. The artist sees them as ‘beautiful rather than grotesque, miraculous rather than freakish’.
The exhibitions raises the question of human responsibility in the changing scenarios of relationships and understanding in this age of contemporary technology and culture in the name of progress & development. It questions the safe path in co existence of humans, nature, science and technology with deep ethical issues. It also raises questions about the future of the body in the age of genetic engineering, stem cell research, advanced prosthetics, cloning, and other medical breakthroughs, which will lead to radical changes in human identity and psychology, and to our relationship to other species with whom we might find kinship.

As the Chief Curator for one of her other exhibitions, Alice Gray Stites says “Hybridity is a defining characteristic of contemporary existence: the mysteries of identity—both aesthetic and genetic—are increasingly complex and potentially fantastical. Our global village shelters both the human and animal kingdoms, and the boundaries between them may be dissolving, as many of these artworks suggest: animals transform, merge, and mutate, with others, with humans, and with machines, offering both a provocative vision of the future and an incisive examination of human behavior and psychology—what drives, delights, and frightens us—in the new millennium.”

Sabrina Osborne

 

 

 

Press Reviews- Memorabilia Exhibition, Samukha Gallery, Bengaluru, India Till 22nd February 2014.

The Hindu

Time Out

The 'Memorabilia' exhibition is getting deserved attention of media.It has been covered by major news papers.Here I am sharing few news paper clippings.
The exhibition has been extended till 22nd February 2014 on popular demand.

MEMORABILIA

 

E Catalog "MEMORABILIA" 

At Samukha Gallery Bengaluru,India till 22nd February 2014

Curated by Lina Vincent Sunish  

Known Unknowns

A3 Size

Hand crafted archival print on Hahnemuhle  German 300 gsm photo rag

Photographs from  family albums and junk markets.

Edition of 50

Hidden behind the layers of memory,

Children sing songs and dissolve in waves of laughter.

Laughter travelling through the swaying eucalyptus trees,

Making it’s melody sweet and memorable.

In a blink of an eye they turn into fading pages.

Pages so brittle that a mere touch disintegrates it into a puff of dust.

Their names just peep through the scratches of tombstones.

They play hide and seek with places and times in universe.

They are now me , they are now you.

Reflecting the similar images back and forth on a non-stop loop.

Clinging to the crumbling walls and chipping surfaces,

Now described in sizes, ink and paper quality.

Reflection of reality encapsulated in the corner of the eye,

Controlling again light and dark with rapid eye movement.

Making the once seen, still visible and present.

Standing close and existing next in line,

Silently slipping through the door cracks,

To smell the memory of the neighboring image.

In continuation to the game of hide and seek,

In the everyday fabric of the home

They are there still waiting in hiding,

It’s only that we fail to find them.

 - Sabrina Osborne 2014

A(f)Fair of Art: Hope & Despair

A(f)Fair of Art :Hope and Despair

International participation at India Art Fair 2012

Sabrina Osborne

The rock band on the stage, the athlete on the soccer field, the politician at the podium and Art on the wall - all command the attention of huge crowds. The India Art fair 2012 turned the lens back on the audience, exposing the dramatic and narrative potential of the spectator alias the collector in waiting!

Previously known as the India Art Summit, the fair's new name confirms its growing commercial importance. Ninety-one exhibitors from 20 countries showed work by more than 1,000 artists. This year, a British production company (20-20 events), German tents and an Indian set designer have all come together to stage the Fair, which charges galleries a fixed rate for exhibition space. Global heavyweights such as Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, Gallery Continua and Lisson Gallery were at the Fair due to the large numbers of people who attend, relative to other Asian art fairs such as those in Singapore and Dubai. The India Art Fair attracted some 128,000 visitors last year. The hope is that a significant percentage of these visitors will convert into buyers.

With the growth of the Indian economy, the Indian art market has also seen tremendous growth. The sales from £2.5 million in year 2000 grew to £25 million in year 2007. London had three auctions in 2006. This resulted in an increased number of international taste makers along with NRIs exploring different categories of Indian art other than modernists . Giants like Charles Saatchi lead the way to other European collectors. Sotheby’s 2007 auction included names of contemporary Indian artists such as Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher, Ravinder Reddy and Raqib Shaw. The secondary market had opened for Indian art. Bharti Kher sold for £850,000 in 2010 at Sotheby’s auction. Growth in the value of Indian art has facilitated in more international touring exhibitions of contemporary Indian art such as “Indian Highway”. A recent Indian art exhibition at the Pompidou centre, Paris received over 300,000 visitors. Interestingly these now internationally established Indian artists rarely showed their works in India itself. Soon Europe started selling Indian art to Indian collectors along with Western names. "We've brought Damien [Hirst], Tracey [Emin], Gary [Hume], Mark [Quinn] and Antony [Gormley]," said Graham Steele, Director of the London-based White Cube gallery. Charlotte Nunn, Manager of Other Criteria, said India was "relatively unexplored". Experts say even after a decline in art prices in India, as in China, after surging through the last decade, the demand still remains strong. "The big museums are all sending teams. They are actively thinking that they need some Indian element in their collections and that is very new."

As the Indian art bazaar has became hot and happening, many the international galleries participated to sell art works from the West and other parts of the globe. On the last day of the fair, I interviewed 9 of the international art galleries. Most of the galleries took this fair as a long term investment and introduction for future, an opportunity to open a possible dialogue between the Indian audience and their artists. Most of them found it difficult to identify the Indian collectors, as most were unfamiliar with who is who in the Indian art scene. The lack of an outreach programme, advertising campaign and networking was very evident. Clara Ha, Director of Paul Kasim Gallery in New York City, felt that in the main the audience were primarily artists themselves. Fabian J Walter of Fabian & Claude Walter Galerie in Zurich has been working with many Indian artists and primarily wanted to show only their works at the Fair, but the Fair’s organizers interests were more towards the international participants showing more of their non Indian artists. Fabian said, ”I realized that many of the visitors do not know what is happening in contemporary art, so they do not know how to deal with it”. He said that this Fair is more or less similar to any other art fair in Europe, it is only that people come and ask questions, it used to be like this 20 years ago in New York. He thought that Indian society has gone through a very rapid change in recent years . In another five years a perspective will develop and people will form their own judgements and reflection, focusing on the quality of the art. For him the presence of tons of school children at the Fair confirmed a strong sense of respect for art and craft in Indian society.

Though the big giants like Hauser and Wirth tried to play safe and showed more Indian artists like Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher, the relatively small Tasneem Gallery from Barcelona showed the Cuban artist Ernesto Leal, unfamiliar to Indian audiences in his use of aesthetics. Tasneem said,” Problem is during the Indian boom, just before recession, people bought badly for investment with bad advise. They burnt their fingers and now are scared. India has fallen behind in the growth which one finds in China. Art has become investment focus-like commodity buying & selling of gold or coffee beans. Art is a great investment, there are number of boxes one has to tick, before you want to go down that route. It is not something you can flip later”.

Third time participant Lisson gallery from London had a curated stand and the only one with bi-lingual titles with exhibits. Ellie Hanson Read, the Sales Associate for the gallery also observed the developing community of Indian collectors and stressed the importance of participation in the Fair. The gallery showed works of New York based Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic’s works for the first time in India, hoping for more challenging aesthetical investment from spectators. They had good sales. Ellie said,” the key thing is to keep coming back and to make real relationships and investment”. Lisson works with Indian galleries Chemould and Chaterjee & Lal representing artists such as Anish Kapoor and Rashid Rana.

When asked about collaborations with Indian artists and galleries, all galleries politely said that they are open to it within in their gallery programme and have already been making investigations with artist studio visits etc. Some younger galleries like Ignacio Liprandi Art Contemporned from Buenos Aires, Argentina were very clear about defining their profile and only showcasing Latin American artists.

On the critical side, Jasdeep Sandhu of Gajah Gallery, Singapore, said,“ Galleries are bringing surplus works, not many collectors are seen coming to fair. It should be a venue for great Indian art not unsold surplus works. All this does not help make it an event to celebrate. It is still in transitory stage and need to develop a lot”.

Tomoko Tajima of the Japanese Tokyo Gallery came in search of more mature flourishing markets with great potential like India and Turkey, where she participated in Istanbul Fair in November 2011. She strongly expressed that a country like India with such great art history does not need such a big Western stage. She questioned the reason for lack of Asian galleries at the Fair while the Western galleries dominated the scene. Tomoko said ,” Why to go to Singapore to see Basel, when one can see Basel in Basel?! As an event it is good to have prestigious galleries but one should not forget about uniqueness and purity. Mix locality not just majority. “Gallery showed Formula One inspired work by Showichi Kaneda.

All had astounding nightmares dealing with the logistics and Indian customs department. Many galleries brought works for exhibition only. Everyone found it hard to absorb what was going on when it came to collector’s taxation. Even the Fair’s organising staff were not much help with this. There was a total lack of specialized internationally trained staff to help with such matters or FAQ’s. Basic orientation, explanation and information has to be in place for next year’s event. The introduction and identification of collectors seemed another huge obstacle for international galleries, who found themselves at total loss. Some galleries felt overwhelmed with number of visitors along with school children and art students and their hundreds of curious questions. Clutching her last business card in her hand, Mylene Ferrand of Galleria Continua /Le Moulin (France /Italy/China) said, ”People are very eager to know and learn about art but we are a gallery not museum. We are here to do business not education.”

Chris Dercon , Director Tate Modern who happen to visit the Fair briefly, remarked, ” I wish that Indian collectors would look more actively in to acquiring international modern and contemporary art. Indian collectors do talk enthusiastically and knowledgeable about modern international modern artists such as Henry Moore or Howard and their liaisons with Indian modern artists, but these artistic exchanges of the past and present are barely noticeable in their collections. The same can be said about the exhibition programs of the national galleries of modern art, but is that not due to the disinterest, both financially and otherwise, of the national government in the operations of those galleries? As a result these galleries become also inefficient as a tool for international exchange. Therewith the circle is round: no examples are in the make about the manifold dialogues between Indian artists and their international colleagues, no Indian private collection will feel to have to make an effort either. Nationalism and nationalist pride are one thing, the development and understanding of art in a world gone global is another thing. For the sake of Indian modern and contemporary art, do collect international art as well!”

This Fair made one think about the modernist notion of the audience that has been discussed in terms of spectatorship, whether Guy Debord’s notion of the spectator and the mediated spectacle or Jacques Ranciere’s more recent writings on the spectator, which poses doubt around the relationship between looking and knowing. There have always been examples of performing audiences that are not ones that only see, an obsession of modernism and a supposed marker for the civilized way to participate in the social life of watching live events or behaving in the museum. The silent and seeing person with a focus on the retinal reception of visual cues, mindfully contemplative and searching for meaning represents one set of values. Audiences at rock concerts, for example, produce another one. Nevertheless, I still hope to find my lost twin at next ‘Mahakumbh’ of Indian Art with the red dot on the cheek.

This review is published in February 2012 issue of Art Etc News & Views Emami Chisel Kolkatta ,India.