Yestercentury Western Masters Share Space With New-Age Indian Artists

From inspiration, the focus of the titanic event has now moved on to perspective. From inner strength to up-close vision. There have been varied themes even earlier; a couple more are to come.

I.M.PRINT. That is the title of the latest in the series of a Delhi show that comes as part of what is a pioneering travelling multi-media art expo that has come to India for the first time. This segment, on display at a landmark building in the national capital from May 19 till 25, forms a section of ‘The Drifting Canvas’, which is a global agglomeration of celebrated works by 11 masters of the 19th and the 20th century. The images by icons, including Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin and Henri Rousseau, are splashed across larger-than-life high-definition screens at Select Citywalk Mall in Saket.

Organisers and buffs describe the April 27-June 15 show as India’s first-of-its-kind multimedia art exposition, also going by its whirlpool of colour and sound. There is effective use of state-of-the-art laser projectors and larger-than-life HD screens to the accompaniment of neo-classical music that transport spectators into an interactive and emotional space. It is an exhibition that, after having been in 12 countries, is set to make three more stops in India: in Mumbai this October-November, a month later in Kolkata and then down-country in Bangalore (March-April next year).

Young Russian Yasha Yavorskaya, who is the curator of the mega event, notes why ‘The Drifting Canvas’ needs to be in India. “Art in its present form is restricted to galleries in India. Masses don’t really go there. This exhibition helps bring art out of the galleries,” points out the 34-year-old alumna of the Moscow Academy of Painting, stressing on the need for innovation in the realm of art. “The new and different format creates interest about art in youngsters and educates them about classical art as well.”

Under its umbrella is the ‘Desi Canvas’ section, running concurrent to the expo, which is a joint initiative of Bangalore-based art platform Esperienza and Russian art cluster ArtPlay. Curated by scholar Aakshat Sinha, it seeks to give a similar hi-tech treatment to the best in Indian contemporary art—and features works of 41 artists in eight week-long shows. Each has unique themes and technology-backed display, opening every Friday.

Currently, it is I.M.PRINT, which showcases the works of Anandamoy Bannerjee, Dattatrya Apte, Moti Zharotia, Kavita Nayar, Sushanta Guha and K. R. Subbanna. As painter and installation artist Sinha notes, an imprint on a retina is stored within the maze of our grey matter. “The memory chips capture the bits and bytes that bombard our vision; consciously/sub-consciously with/without our consent/knowledge. A collective consciousness is reflective of the individual memories in a cluster,” notes the note by the curator, who holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Russian capital. “The imprints remain plain imprints without any context, connection or clarity till our brain tells us so.”

To him, art reflects the artist’s perspective, vantage point, and the decision to remember an event, a relationship or an emotion. “The artist is forced to simply print the imprint they have a sense of, in the depths of their consciousness and create a work that screams, ‘I’m a print. Your imprint’.”

I.M.PRINT is on just after the Desi section featured (for a week from May 12) powerful voices of women. Titled ‘Oorja’, they resonated in colourful abstracts, oil paintings, illustrations and sculptures, giving space to famed artists Arpana Caur, Rashmi Khurana, Durga Kainthola, Shanti Kushwaha, Kavita Nambissan and Hemavathy Guha.

Select Citywalk director Arjun Sharma says ‘Drifting Canvas’ blends art and technology together for an unforgettable experience. “Together they create a scintillating mixture of classic and contemporary, which visitors are enjoying,” he adds.

At ‘Oorjaa’, Caur’s engaging works on paper juxtaposed with Kainthola’s Warhol and History of Art series, while Khurana’s abstracts compositions, Guha’s Space series of stitched buttons on canvas, Kushwaha’s classical live model oil paintings, and Nambissan’s resin and stone sculptures sought to “create an energised environment”, notes Sinha.

The first two shows of the Desi Canvas, titled ‘Maya, Myth, Reality’ and Impressions/Expressions’ ran during the initial week of the exhibition and featured the works of Anupam Sud, Paramjeet Singh, Ram V. Sutar, Krishan Ahuja, Jagadish Dey, Biman B. Das and Umesh Varma. ‘Juxtaposed’, a collection of works by Kalicharan Gupta, S. K. Sahni, Kanchan Chander and Prasanta Kalita ended last fortnight.

The sixth show in the series, titled ‘Textures’, will open on May 26, followed by ‘Chasing Dots’ on June 2. The final show, named ‘Identity’, will run from June 9 to 15. The painters, sculptors and photographers at the last three shows will be Ravindra Verma, Shri Ram Gohri, Sudip Hazr, Neha Verm, Sangita Datta, Madhumita Verma, Meenu Verma, Vikash Kalra, Tirthankar Biswas, Amit Dutt, Adarsh Sinha, Aakshat Sinha, Sukant Khurana, Aadit Basu, Pranav Vashisht, Satadru Sovan, Janardhan Havanje and Darshan Singh Grewal.

‘The Drifting Canvas’, beginning with the anteroom, provides an immersive experience to visitors keen on knowing the life stories of the artists featured in the exhibition aong with its historical context. The exposition, which is attracting celebrities from the world of sports, fashion, arts, business and beauty, showcases works of the masters through a two-hour show, featuring more than 1,000 animated paintings.

The cutting-edge show, which marries technology and art in a new and original format, has been mounted with the help of 7000 sq ft of panoramic screens, state of the art laser projectors, 24 larger-than-life HD screens and neo-classical music that transport spectators into an interactive and emotional space. In addition, the exhibition, which continues till June 15, allows audiences to experience 3D art wearing special glasses. Visitors can also check out the giant 12,000-sqft exhibition space in the sprawling mall, which complements the larger-than-life animated paintings and three-dimensional art.

The spectacle was thrown open to art connoisseurs, enthusiasts and mainstream audiences by Union tourism and culture minister Mahesh Sharma on April 27. The minister was accompanied, along with curator Yavorskaya, by Nana M. Mgeladze, Counsellor (Culture), Embassy of the Russian Federation, N. Manikantan, CEO of Esperienza Exhibitions that has brought the exhibition to India. The minister observed how India’s identity is inextricably linked with its art and culture and commented on the apt timing of this exposition, given that his country and Russia are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic ties this year.