The Network: Contemporary Art from India

February 13 - March 7, 2015

 

In April 2014, Jonathan Smart took an exhibition to the Chatterjee & Lal gallery in Mumbai, India. The works, by a selection of his gallery artists, gave the local audience a snapshot of contemporary art from New Zealand. To complete the exchange, Chatterjee & Lal is currently presenting an exhibition of works by eight of its artists here at Jonathan Smart Gallery in Christchurch.

 

The Indian contemporary art scene in 2015, is marked by difference. Artists involved in the scene are based around the world, not just in South Asia. They are working in a range of media. Their works are being showing in venues that range from the smallest of galleries in rural India to the largest of international Biennales and art fairs. Concerns range from the highly political to an exclusive interest in colour and form.

Since 2004 Chatterjee & Lal has been exhibiting amidst a scene defined by a cacophony of artistic voices. There are a few constants that have emerged in their programing and which form some sort of credo: humour, the body, moving image, installation & drawing.

The artists included in the present exhibition are some of the most interesting to have emerged from the Indian contemporary scene over the past decade. The mastermind behind the exhibition is Sanjay Theodore, an artist whose practice manages to elude easy categorisation and who has worked in New Zealand, America and India over a career that span nearly two decades. With his site-specific installation functioning as an anchor to the show, other exhibits include video works by Bangalore-based Kiran Subbaiah and UK born Hetain Patel, photography by well-known author Rana Dasgupta and the young emerging artist, Sahej Rahal, along with works on paper by Minam Apang and Gagan Singh.

The hope of both galleries is that the two exhibitions which constitute the exchange, pique the interest of viewers in both New Zealand and India. Regardless of the very profound differences between the works in the two shows (and even within each of the shows themselves), it is hoped that there is an appreciation of the commitment of each artist to his or her own practice, and of the manner in which each can speak to the global audience without losing any integrity and relevance to the local context from which the work emerged.

Selected works

Please hover over image to see title and description...

 
Kiran Subbaiah

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minam Apang

 

 

Hetain Patel

 

 

Rana Dasgupta

 

 

Nikhil Chopra

 

 

 

 

Sanjay Theodore

 

 

List of works:
 

Kiran Subbaiah
Flight Rehearsals, 2003
Video with sound    4 min 4 sec   edition 3/6

Kiran Subbaiah   
Fly, 2002
Photographic print on archival paper
330 x 430mm framed    edition 3/4

Kiran Subbaiah
Inversal III & Inversal I, 2003
Photographic prints on archival paper
520 x 430mm framed    editions of 6

Sahej Rahal
Tandav III, 2013
Photographic print on archival paper
530 x 730mm framed    edition 4/5
     
Sahej Rahal
Bhramana II, 2012
Photographic print on archival paper
730 x 530mm framed    edition of 5

Gagan Singh
Untitled, 2014
x9 works, ink on paper
195 x 180mm framed      
270 x 240mm framed    
420 x 330mm framed

Minam Apang
Moon Mirror Mountain Series, 2013
Tea and charcoal wash on cloth
650 x 1060mm

Hetain Patel
The First Dance, 2012
Video with sound   7 min 57 sec   edition 1/5

Rana Dasgupta
Vox in Camera 2, 4, 5, & 7, 2001 - 2013
Digital photography on archival paper, found text
450 x 450mm framed    editions of 5

Nikhil Chopra
Blackening V, 2013
Costume
X2 Photographic prints on archival paper  
Slide show (hardware not included)
Photographic prints available separately   editions of 3        

Sanjay Theodore
The Temple of Apollo, 2015
Mixed media installation   dimensions variable
Framed photographs available separately   editions of 5
Plaques available as a pair

 

For more information on these artists, check out the following links:

Sahej Rahal:
http://artradarjournal.com/2015/01/09/indian-artist-sahej-rahal-on-the-kochi-muziris-biennale-and-finding-inspiration-in-mumbai-interview/

Nikhil Chopra:
http://artforum.com/words/id=24110

Minam Apang:
http://chatterjeeandlal.com/artists/minam-apang/

Hetain Patel:
https://www.ted.com/talks/hetain_patel_who_am_i_think_again?language=en

Rana Dasgupta:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/23/capital-review-rana-dasgupta-modern-delhi

Gagan Singh:
http://chatterjeeandlal.com/artists/gagan-singh/

Kiran Subbaiah:
http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/reviews/kiran-subbaiah/

Sanjay Theodore:
http://www.spheres-lemoulin.com/spip.php?article553