Manu Parekh at the National Gallery. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

In a cavernous wing of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, a man perched on a scissor lift is maneuvering a spotlight attached to the ceiling, to make the beam fall perfectly on a painting on the adjoining wall. The artist of the work sits at a distance, his gaze fixed on the lighting man. Manu Parekh, one of India’s most celebrated modern artists, is overseeing the hanging of his new show at the gallery, a retrospective covering 60 years of his life, which is accompanied by a new book, Manu Parekh: Sixty Years Of Selected Works (Aleph Book Co.).

Parekh, born in Ahmedabad, is most noted for his Banaras series, in which he depicts the colorful and zany “city of light” that never fails to inspire him. The retrospective offers a unique opportunity to explore the artist’s lesser-known, and perhaps unfairly overshadowed works. In an interview, Parekh, who is approaching 80, talks about his life, art, the market and Indian art education. Edited excerpts:

‘Flower From Heaven’ (1995). Photo: Courtesy the artist.
Click here for enlarge
Your flower vases are sometimes reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh or even Ambrosius Bosschaert. To what extent has Western art influenced your work?

See, the moment you do modern art in India, there will be a Western influence. The challenge is how to Indianize this Western element. You have to paint the reality you know and see. I found Paul Klee and (Pablo) Picasso very inspiring.

You have worked in theatre and then as a design consultant in the Indian handloom industry for 25 years. How did that influence your art?

All my life, theatre, and craft have helped me immensely. I look at Banaras with a theatrical eye and approach it like set designing. Secondly, my Heads series, I look at it as an actor. When I’m painting heads, I’m actually painting expressions and situations, because if something’s happening in front of you, only then will there be a reaction on your face. My job in handicrafts took me to many villages where the organic sensibility of rural life deeply affected me.

Did you ever feel you were sanitizing or romanticizing Varanasi, for apart from its spirituality, it’s also one of India’s dirtiest cities?

Filth is everywhere in India, even more so in religious places. That was never my concern, as it’s a political issue which doesn’t interest me at all. I was more concerned about the spirituality and life.

What’s your view on abstraction? If a viewer first has to read an essay to approach a work of art, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of art, which is about “looking” and not “reading”?

Look, if you listen to a classical raga, and you like it, that’s fine. But if you want to talk about it, you’ll need some training and education. Similarly, in art, you can’t just stand in front of the work and be given everything—it’s the same in literature, you have to know the nuances.

But a personal connection with an abstract work is still possible without any knowledge.

Oh, yes, and it should be. Look at Shivalinga—it’s completely abstract. But behind it, there is content. Abstraction for abstraction’s sake doesn’t interest me.

‘Painting is like chanting a mantra, sitting for hours to put the paint on canvas. There is a spiritual satisfaction in the repetition.’


Any views on art education in India?

It’s a bleak situation. We had wonderful teachers, but those teaching today are not practicing artists anymore—they’re interested in their own careers and don’t want to teach. Now even in art education, you need a PhD to be an art professor.

Does a work which sells in the market influence what you paint next?

No, otherwise there would be no work like this (pointing to an abstract work with animal heads). You can only do all this if you don’t keep an audience in mind.

What inspired the animal heads series?

It’s all about violence. I went to Africa once and saw a kill; it was an unforgettable experience. A deer was chased and killed by two cheetahs. The scene left an imprint and reminded me of the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’, and I started painting the animal heads when I returned.

Is there a difference between exhibiting in India and abroad?

I would say outside India there is more consciousness, but I have no complaints here. In such a large country with so much poverty, “modern art” is quite understandably not a priority for anyone. Also, Indian culture is replete with images; after all, painting is an image. The common Indian man remains contented in that world of images, of his religion, tradition, culture, family, etc.

Are you a believer and, if so, does it inform your art?

Yes, I am. I got the biggest clarity about faith in Varanasi. Man lives on the basis of belief, be it political, religious or whatever.

Is painting a spiritual act for you then?

There is a level of spirituality in painting, isn’t there? It’s like chanting a mantra, sitting for hours to put the paint on canvas. There is a spiritual satisfaction in the repetition.

Manu Parekh: 60 Years Of Selected Works is on till 24 September, 11am-6.30pm, at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Click here for details.

First Published: Fri, Sep 01 2017. 12 52 PM IST
Credits – Tanuj Kumar
http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/mlKXKtiwuUIER1CGsPq99L/Manu-Parekh-going-beyond-Banaras.html

The post Manu Parekh: going beyond Banaras first appeared on Indian Art News.

The post The Indian Museum Makeover first appeared on Indian Art News.

The new wing of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi (Ministry of Culture) was inaugurated here today by the UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi. The Tourism and Culture Minister Smt. Ambika Soni presided over the inaugural function and Minister of State in her Ministry Smt. Kanti Singh was the guest of honour. On the occasion specially curated two exhibitions – “in the seeds of time” – from the collection of NGMA and “Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose” were also opened.

The expansion of NGMA includes the building of three new blocks together with two levels of basements, adding almost six times the space to the existing Jaipur House. This brings about a quantum leap in the positioning, status and infrastructural environment of the National Gallery of Modern Art, making it at par with best museums of modern art worldwide.

While the exteriors of the new wing respect and complement the art-deco style heritage building Jaipur House, using similar pink and red sand stone for its façade, the interiors introduce a modern and contemporary look. A new exciting design space unfolds, lit by both natural and artificial light. The asymmetrically placed levels break the rigid monotony of an orthogonal space and allow the visitor a view of the dazzling display of art spread through the whole space. Areas open from one to another, while the walls give way to glimpses of the outdoors. The use of cutting edge technology for ‘Intelligent’ artificial lighting, sensitive internal environmental control and electronic security system enhances the efficiency of the Gallery floors. The predominantly sand blasted granite flooring, laid to a rational pattern, provides for a variety of display options for the curator.

The three new blocks include permanent gallery spaces, temporary exhibition spaces, a new auditorium, a special preview theatre, conservation laboratory, library and academic section as well as a cafeteria and museum shop. The new spaces incorporate all aspects of NGMA’s vision to develop a modern, state-of-the-art museum building in terms of flexible display systems, varied ceiling heights, lighting and support facilities and much more.

The new wing makes the NGMA a unique institution; perhaps no other museum in the world has such a vast space at its disposal, in the heart of a metropolitan city. Built on 7.84 acres, the indoor display area alone will be approximately 12000 Sq. mts, while there is more than ample space in the courts and sculpture gardens for outdoor display and site installations.

All the spaces easily accessed by walk-ways, ramps, lifts and staircases together with special facilities and comfortable seating within the Galleries and on the outside, the new wing of the NGMA welcomes senior citizens and the differently abled equally.

The extension reaffirms NGMA’s position as a premier institution of modern art in the country. It will continue to track the trends in modern and contemporary Indian art, acquire, preserve and document the best of Indian art practices. It will use state of the art storage, conservation and movement facilities, providing quality care to art heritage. In parallel, emphasis would be on research and documentation, an enhanced reference library with web based linkages to premier institutions in India and abroad, and a wide range of programmes.

NGMA has had a long and credible history. Its inception was in the year 1954 and it has celebrated 50 years of its existence in the year 2005.

The post Inauguration of the New Wing of National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi first appeared on Indian Art News.

At a time when the art market is booming, India has lost out chance to send enough invited works for the Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize supported by the Singapore Art Museum.

Only one work instead of three will represent India at this inaugural event where 34 artworks from 12 Asia-Pacific countries will compete for five awards — three juror’s choice awards of S$ 10,000 each, a S$ 10,000 people’s choice award, and the grand prize of S$ 45,000 (Rs 14.30 lakh). This is the highest art prize to be awarded by a jury in the South-east Asian region.

The lone artist chosen from India — each country is expected to nominate three — is G R Iranna, whose Wounded Tools is representative of the contemporary art in diverse themes that the triennale award hopes to promote. The sculptural installation has used fibreglass, artificial fur, iron, wood, acrylic colouring and cloth to comment on the development of human civilisation and its intrinsic follies.

Other representative works are from Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Signature Art Prize has been compared by Trustee and Chairman Koh Poh Tiong of the APB Foundation’s advisory committee with the John Moores Painting Competition in the UK and the RBC Canadian Painting Competition in Canada.

According to Kwok Kian Chow, director, Singapore Art Museum, which claims the largest collection of contemporary artworks by artists from the South-eastern region, “The quality of the nominated artwork is remarkable…[It] will provoke and stimulate lively public debate about contemporary art in the region.”

According to Vinay Mathur, chief finance officer, Asia Pacific Breweries (Aurangabad) Ltd, “The nominator for the works from India is Professor Rajeev Lochan, director, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.”

He said nominations were made by a nominator appointed by the company in each of the 12 participating countries, “all of whom are knowledgeable and experienced in contemporary art in their country”.

Though three artists were nominated as “the most outstanding artworks produced by a visual art practitioner in the country over the last three years” based on “the strength of the idea and concept; creative and interesting use of medium and material; technique, expression and form; artistic insight and interpretation; and imagination and originality”, he said: “Two of the artists later decided to withdraw; one because of a change in circumstance, the other for personal reasons.” The artists who pulled out have not been identified.

Mathur explained, “The nominator [Prof Lochan] had reviewed many visual artworks created in the last three years to arrive at the nominations. The decision-making process was challenging and probably agonising. Asking the nominator to select two more artworks in India was simply not feasible at so late a stage in the nomination process, and therefore, we made the decision to proceed with one nomination from India.”

The post Wounded` at the awards first appeared on Indian Art News.