• Tamarind Art Presents- Mind, Matter & Mystique

    Date posted: October 29, 2008 Author: jolanta

    Tamarind Art Council is pleased to announce
    Mind Matter & Mystique
    Opening Reception: 28 October 2008, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
    RSVP: rsvp@tamarindart.com
    Exhibition will run from 28 October – 6 December 2008

    Tamarind Art is pleased to announce "Mind, Matter and Mystique", an exhibition featuring seven promising Indian painters: Maneesha Doshi, Dipankar Dasgupta, Eleena Banik, Sharmi Chowdhury, Mahula Ghosh, Nikita Parikh and Nimesh Patel. Within the context of contemporary Indian art, the last decade of twentieth century is very important towards the development of modernity. Indian artists today are living in several cultures and times simultaneously. As times and cultures converge, the past exists as a living entity alongside the present, illuminating and sustaining each other. Many young and promising artists have tried to come out of conventional ways of image making practiced by their predecessors of the past decades.

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    Tamarind Art Council

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    Tamarind Art Council
    is pleased to announce

    Mind Matter & Mystique

    Opening Reception: 28 October 2008, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

    RSVP: rsvp@tamarindart.com


    Exhibition will run from 28 October – 6 December 2008

    Tamarind Art is pleased to announce "Mind, Matter and Mystique",
    an exhibition featuring seven promising Indian painters: Maneesha
    Doshi, Dipankar Dasgupta, Eleena Banik, Sharmi Chowdhury, Mahula Ghosh,
    Nikita Parikh and Nimesh Patel.

    Within the context of contemporary
    Indian art, the last decade of twentieth century is very important
    towards the development of modernity. Indian artists today are living
    in several cultures and times simultaneously. As times and cultures
    converge, the past exists as a living entity alongside the present,
    illuminating and sustaining each other. Many young and promising
    artists have tried to come out of conventional ways of image making
    practiced by their predecessors of the past decades. They have absorbed in themselves the turmoil created by globalization and its outcome- the market economy, which brought along with it an enormous shift in socio-political and cultural values. They have reacted, restrained or raised a voice of rebellion against these changing spheres through their art.
    Mind, Matter and Mystique is an attempt to bring together the conventions of conceptualism, unification of multidirectional norms, and mystical faculty of vision, and other varieties of the Indian Contemporary Art practice

    About the Artists:
    Eleena Banik Through the use of contrasting textures and materials, Eleena creates art that conveys myriad layers of meaning and feeling. Her large canvases, rich with additive, expressionistic marks and bold lines have a strong epic presence. Her work’s dark obsessions operate internally in the viewer, playing on their psyche, their own doubts, fears and prejudice. While feminist concerns and sexuality continue to be the undercurrents for much of her distinct work, the works on display voice a protest against the violence and terrorism in the world.

    Sharmi Chowdhury Figurative in nature the paintings depict the complexities of human relationships that the artist presents from personal experiences. The artist is a passive observer of the scene she has created. Multiple perspectives, reminiscent of miniature paintings, have been used by Chowdhury very effectively in order to delineate various related events. The use of theatrical backdrops adds drama to the overall composition.

    Dipankar Dasgupta In the abstracts of Dipankar Dasgupta, we are also shown a world that is bleak, empty, and sometimes dark. The rough side of existence is juxtaposed with ornamentation, which can be interpreted as the divisiveness of a caste system or modern society’s enticing cover-up, distracting us from the darker, bleaker side of an industrialized world. Dasgupta shows the devastation left behind when an industry has eaten its fill and moved on to greener pastures. Modern architecture is depicted as a maze of jagged lines and, like Patel, man and nature is shown connected by wires rather than the natural flow of energy and emotion between all living things.

    Maneesha Doshi Drawing close affinity with Mexican master Rufino Tamayo’s philosophy, Doshi’s art germinates from her inner being, involving her emotion and passion for life and existence. Human persona coupled with the divine is the basic theme and characteristic of her expressions. She explores her very self, delves deeper into it and from the depth of her being tries to comprehend the world around her. She uses jubilant colors, carefully meditated atmosphere, flat compositions and simplified conception of forms to decipher the complexities of reality.

    Mahula Ghosh Many of Ghosh’s works appear deceptively serene from a distance. However, upon closer inspection, one sees depictions of war and terrorism, destruction and chaos. Tanks and war machines, automobiles broken by bombs and the silent faces of witnesses all express a world where car bombings and death has become the day-to-day backdrop for many as they go about their lives. As newspaper articles and news programs bombard us with images of war, terrorism and torture, there is poignancy in seeing these topics represented in acrylic, watercolor and gauche. Works with titles such as "View from Distance" and " Eyewitness" present an abstract representation of what for so many have become commonplace, and give homage to their experience.

    Nikita Parikh Like many Indians, Nikita Parikh in her childhood imbibed a rich storehouse of mythical and magical narratives. As an artist, she carefully reconstructs Indian myths and fables mingled with nostalgia to achieve an atmosphere of alternative fantasy in her work. There is a definite and deliberate naivety and innocence in her unique style which is reminiscent of modern masters such as Ken Kliff, Chagall, Miro and Kandinsky. The tinge of humor of her earlier work has evolved into subtlety of statement gaining mature adaptability of style where Western influences do not remain as alien in Indian context. She often embellishes her work with playful, narrative captions that adds ambiguity more than giving a clue to the images shown by her.

    Nimesh Patel Nimesh Patel’s work makes us question the progress of a world in which we are hooked-up, linked-in and tied-up to a constant barrage of information and misinformation, sound and sound-bytes, blocking out our finer sensibilities, sensitivities and humanity.
    "Reproduction before Revolution" series portrays the production house, one of a kind with simultaneous exploration of the repercussions of its products on the society. The seduction and intimacy offered by laboriously rendered images, far from being repellent or horrific, makes an everlasting statement which finds complete acceptance in our minds.

    About Tamarind Art Council 

    Tamarind Art Council is dedicated to contemporary Indian art, literature and film. We are one of the foremost institutions in North America celebrating the continuing heritage of India. We regularly host art exhibitions, performing arts, book launches, lectures, and other cultural programs. We have become a nexus for many art organizations. As part of our on-going efforts, we support art museums, cultural communities and non-profit organizations around the globe.
     
    In addition to showcasing high caliber art, we are a resource center for gaining an understanding of Indian art and artists. Our select Senior artists include Bal Chhabda, V.S. Gaitonde, M.F. Husain, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza. Some of our select established and upcoming artists include, Eleena Banik, Bhupen Barman, Ashok Bhowmik, Sudhir Kumar Duppati, Prabhakar Kolte, Bimal Kundu, Kamal Mitra, Kausik Mukhopadhyay, Prema Murthy, Mehul Patel, Pradip Kumar Patra, and Hema Upadyay.
     
    We are proud to announce our collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City to sponsor the film festival titled "India Now", which started in April 2007.
     
    Some of our sponsorships include Festival of India with World Music Institute featuring Shivkumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain. Also Masters of Indian Music – Rahul Sharma & Zakir Husain with World Music Institute, November 2007.
     
    Prema Murthy, Fuzzy Logic exhibition at P.S.1 MoMA from June – Sept. 2007.
     
    Contemporary Photography and Video Art "India Public Places / Private Spaces", at The Newark Museum of Art, from Sept. 2007 -January 2008.
     
    Our most successful and well-received exhibition was at the beginning of this year. An exhibition of Gandhi, titled "Gandhi-The Legacy", in collaboration with Philip Glass Opera and Satya Graha Forum, was a photography exhibition that captured a nostalgic view of Gandhi’s true legacy. The Gandhi exhibition ran from April 10th – May 3rd 2008.

    For more information please visit our website at www.tamarindarts.org , or email us at info@tamarindarts.org, or call 212 -200 – 8000. We are located at 142 East 39th Street, New York, NY 10016. Our office hours Mon – Friday 9 – 5pm. Gallery Hours of operation Tuesday – Saturday 11 am to 6 pm. RSVP: rsvp@tamarindart.com

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