Chila Kumari Burman

Since the mid-1980s I have been exploring the experiences and aesthetics of Asian femininity in paintings and installations, photography and printmaking, video and film. In my more recent works, this theme has taken on a new power and vibrancy. I am currently making a new body of work to draw all of these together and to develop the ideas and images contained in the new cultural contexts of national and international politics in the twenty-first century.
Challenging stereotypical assumptions of Asian women, my work is informed by popular culture, Bollywood, fashion, found objects, the politics of femininity the celebration of feminity; self-portraiture exploring the production of my own sexuality and dynamism; the relationship between popular culture and high art; gender and identity politics.

(The artist)

Arnab Mukherjee

Vibha Galhotra

Born in 1978, Vibha Galhotra received her Bachelor’s degree in Graphics from the Government College of Arts, Chandigarh, in 1999, and her Master’s degree in the same from Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, in 2001. The artist works with a variety of media, ranging from print-making to painting, animation videos and site-specific installations. As she explains, “The medium isn’t important to me. It’s about conveying the message”. Galhotra’s work frequently addresses issues of urbanization, exploring the various relationships between city and citizen. Often, the human figure seamlessly blends into wider cityscapes, almost as if the city was an engulfing protagonist. 

Vibha Galhotra has exhibited her work in several solo shows, including most recently ‘Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?’ at Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2006; ‘Between Me and Delhi’ at Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2005; ‘White’ at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda, in 2004; and ‘Space Within the Space’ at Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, in 2002. Her works have been featured in several group shows, including ‘Everywhere Is War (and rumors of war)’ at Bodhi Art, Mumbai, in 2008; ‘Destination Asia: Flying over Stereotypes’ at Elementa, Dubai, in 2008; ‘Walk The Line’ at Avanthy Contemporary, Zurich, in 2008; and ‘Rethinking Materiality’ at Gallery Espace, New Delhi, in 2007-08. 

Galhotra was awarded the Inlaks Foundation Fine Arts Award in 2003 and a National Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in 2001. She has also served as a visiting member of the faculty at the National Institute Fashion Technology, New Delhi, and has been conducted several workshops all over the world. 

The artist lives and works in New Delhi.

(Profile from Saffronart)

Balan Nambiar

N Pushpamala interviews artist Balan Nambiar in Bangalore.
balan Nambiar [Balan Nambiar, [born 1937, Kannapuram, Kerala] studied sculpture in the Madras College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai. In 1971 he moved to Bangalore and has been working in the city as an independent artist. Balan Nambiar has intensively researched and documented the ritual art forms of Kerala and Tulunadu in Karnataka, for which he received the Nehru Fellowship.]

PN:  Balan, your recent work 'Valampiri Shankha' is a stainless steel image of a conch shell. What connection does the shankha, which is an archaic Hindu religious symbol, have with the state-of-the-art technology produced by Texas Instruments who commissioned the work?

BN:  You know the first conch sculpture I made was in 1978 in the Portland Cement Factory in Heidelberg in Germany, where someone pointed out to me that it was based on the golden section. The golden section or the golden mean has a proportion of width to height of 1:1.618, which is supposed to be the perfect proportion, and has been used extensively by Greek and Renaissance artists and architects.

While most conches have an anti - clockwise spiral, the Valampiri Shankha [which means 'right turning' in Malayalam] has a clockwise spiral and is considered auspicious and rare. I heard a story that a German collector offered 50,000 DM for one! A properly grown clockwise conch when blown produces a sound, which is closest to the 'OM' sound.
The sculpture is the logo of the Centre of Digital Technology, a laboratory sponsored by Texas Instruments who are the pioneers in introducing digital sound processing [DSP] to India. I was thinking of the inherent mathematical effect of the sound of 'Om' produced by the Valampiri Shankha in terms of digital power. I wanted to make it in stainless steel, using the most sophisticated processes like computer and laser technology. The software AUTOCAD was used to design the sections.

PN:   Visually, the sculpture has a light, shimmering, glassy quality- almost like a mirage ...Balan, you have used ritual symbols and stories from myths in your work but some motifs like the flame, rice plant, cactus and bird you say are autobiographical. Tell me about your life.

BN:   I come from a land owning family from Kannoor District in Kerala- but members of the family also worked in the fields- I used to plough the fields, plant rice and grow vegetables when I was a boy. There used to be Theyyam performances in my village and I used to watch the make up- they make elaborate ritual costumes from tender coconut leaves ...In high school I was very good in both mathematics and drawing. So after high school I did the Madras Govt. Drawing Examination, got a job in the railways as a draughtsman and moved to Chennai in 1959.
I was painting all the time and sending my work to exhibitions. Fellow artist Akkitham Narayanan introduced me to KCS Paniker in '62. As the principal of the Madras Art School, Paniker took a personal interest in my work. He gave me the courage to give up my Railways job and I joined the art school as a student at the age of 30!

PN:   When you came to Bangalore in 1971 you must have been the only contemporary sculptor working in Karnataka. What was it like?

BN:   I am like the cactus plant, which survives in the most uncongenial place! When I moved to Bangalore in the 70s, there was no proper art institute or gallery. The only other freelance artist besides me was the painter Roomale Chennabasaviah. I formed the Bangalore Art Club as soon as I moved here, where I ran evening classes for adults and children's classes at the Max Mueller Bhavan. The Brothers of the Holy Cross had given me their big hall on St. Mark's Road to use- I organized film shows, seminars, poetry readings, dance performances. I lived in an outhouse in the compound and did painting and drawing.
In '73, Shankar Hegde of Hegde and Golay Watches asked me to do a sculpture for them. I made an 8 ft. high welded steel sculpture symbolising time in front of his factory- he was very pleased with the work and offered me a shed and facilities to work. It was a lucky break! Most factories are not keen on artists using their space because they feel it is not profitable. In 1975 I had my first big exhibition of large welded steel sculptures on the lawns of the Hotel Ashoka [there was still no gallery!].

PN:   Your outdoor sculptures 'Monument to the Assassinated' and 'Resurrection of Janaki' which you made in the Art and Nature Workshop in Delhi in 1995 have an unusually sharp political content. Can you talk about that?

BN:  For a long time I have been disturbed by some of the characters in the Puranas. One incident from the Ramayana is the death of Bali. Sugriva is the younger half brother of the forest king Bali, who wants the kingdom of Kishkinda. He makes a treaty with Rama to eliminate Bali in return for his help in searching for Sita. I consider this the first recorded illegal treaty in the history of India! Rama hides behind a tree and kills Bali. In Northern Kerala where I come from there are hundreds of shrines for Bali who is worshipped by the artisan community- blacksmiths, goldsmiths, and carpenters. In Kerala, in the Koodiyattam and Kathakali performances, the most experienced actor always plays the role of Bali, while Rama's role is always given to a junior artist.
There are several versions of the Ramayana- in the Malayalam version; Rama was hiding behind seven sal trees. In 'Monument to the Assassinated', I used seven 2.5 metre high slabs of kota stone placed in a row- a groove was cut at the chest level of all the stones to show the path of the arrow shot from the bow of Rama. Rama was depicted by two footmarks carved on a slab of kota- and at the other end; a split boulder on a raised platform depicts Bali.
Janaki is another name for Sita - the one who was born out of the ploughing of the earth. After her marriage she goes through every kind of suffering and at the end she disappears back into the earth. She is the daughter of the earth.
In the work 'Resurrection of Janaki' I made a 10 metre long slit in the earth, which was surrounded by a line of boulders in an oval shape to suggest the womb of the earth. A big tree in the location was part of the work. Seven stones were placed on seven slabs at the head of the slit representing the Sapta Matrikas or Seven Mother Goddesses. They are like the only witnesses for a possible resurrection...

(Saffronart)

Prajakta Potnis

Although she is inspired by everyday objects and landscapes, Prajakta Potnis’ real interest lies in interpreting dreams. In a world where a great deal of attention and time is focused on realizing or fulfilling one’s dreams, Potnis attempts to reverse the process and understand people’s realities through their dreams. Her unique ability to rediscover, rather than merely document reality through her body of work, allows the artist to create a new world, much like ‘a fairytale suspended in reality’, exposing the fragility of desire and the impractical romanticism of dreams.

Potnis has painted houses, scooters and cars, all objects of desire, covered in corrugated sheets or packaging material. These material objects, usually identified with position and status, when cloaked by the artist reveal that the significance of the objects within are largely based on appearances, and that the dreams to possess them are dangerously fragile. Through her work, Potnis unsympathetically makes her viewers aware of their false sense of security and superficial desires and measures of success.

Prajakta Potnis was born in Thane and completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Fine Art from the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai.

She has participated in several group shows, the more recent ones being ‘Some Blind Alleys’ at Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2007; ‘Soft Spoken’ at the Bombay Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; ‘Reading Paint’ at Gallery Soulflower, Bangkok, in 2007; ‘III/III - Here and Now: Young Voices from India’ at Grosvenor Vadehra, London, in 2007; and ‘Myrrh’, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006. The artist’s first solo show was ‘Walls-in-Between’, held at Kitab Mahal by the Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006. In 2003-04, Potnis received the Inlaks Fine Arts Award, and in 2001-03, she was awarded a Young Artist Scholarship by the Department of Culture of the Government of India.

Prajakta Potnis lives and works in Mumbai.

(Profile by Saffronart)

Dilip Kumar Samanta

Raju Patel

Vanita Gupta

While referring to her work, artist Vanita Gupta says, “I believe in the ardent need to paint, nothing more nothing less.” This single statement explains how, although minimal, Gupta’s work is always complete. The dynamics of her images, however, are constantly evolving; she experiments with size and texture but the solid white background on which her paintings are mounted remains constant.

Gupta’s monochromatic compositions, rendered almost fluidly with her masterly brushwork, leave the viewer captivated by their Zen-like quality. Since her first solo show in 1994, Gupta has worked assiduously towards mastering the multiple techniques by which paint may be applied onto a surface. In her more recent works, the viewer can instantly recognize her command over mark making techniques and the effortless way in which she now maneuvers between speed and patience, discovery and concealment. Her brushstrokes, varying from a drip to a splash or draggle, suggest a deep intimacy between solidity and the ambiguous nature of liquids.

Vanita Gupta was born in 1971. She studied Fine Arts at L.S. Raheja School of Art, Mumbai, from where she graduated in 1992. She has had a number of solo shows and has participated in select group exhibitions, the more recent being those held at the Gallery in Redchurch Street, London, in 2007; Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006 and 2004; Gallery Threshold, New Delhi, in 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2002; the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, in 2004; and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2002, 1998 and 1994. The artist has also exhibited at ArtSingapore fair in 2006.

(Profile by Saffronart)

Sanjeev Sompimpri

Manjunath Kamath

Manjunath Kamath tells stories with his images. His narratives, however, are altered and adjusted constantly, adapting fluidly according to the environment they are narrated in, and resulting in a different meaning each time a story is told. As a visual artist, Kamath feels impelled to regularly reinvent his method of storytelling. By relentlessly working on his articulation and modernizing his techniques, the artist continuously updates his visual vocabulary.

The artist’s need to draw and hold his viewers’ attention is palpable in his varied use of painting, drawing, sculpture and video. With the help of these disparate genres he creates narratives that are gripping in content, even though they are composed of simple, commonplace elements. Thus Kamath’s forte ultimately lies in creating fantasies out of the ordinary.

Kamath usually begins a painting with just one element; this could be drawn from memories of past experiences or the reality of present contexts. He then keeps adding and taking away from the imagery, paying particular attention to structuring throughout this process, and ultimately arrives at a composition that he deems suitable to be the vehicle of his narrative. To Kamath, then, the process of construction is more important than his completed work.

Born in 1972 in Mangalore, Manjunath Kamath obtained his Bachelor’s degree in sculpture from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore, in 1994. He was also an artist-in-residence at the School of Art and Design of the University of Wales, Cardiff, in 2002. Kamath’s works have been featured in a number of solo exhibitions, the most recent ones including ‘108 Small Sories’ and ‘Something Happened’ at Gallery Espace, New Delhi, in 2007 and 2006 respectively; and ‘About Something’ at Sridharani Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 1996.

Kamath lives and works in Delhi.

(Profile by Saffronart)