The first time we met was at a gathering of luminaries at a retreat in Goa intent on saving “Democracy in India”. We did such things in those distant days of the 70s. Goa was still an unexplored destination. There were dancers, poets, historians, political activists, the odd freedom fighter, one of each. Manohar Malgoankar […]
When I first met Krishen Khanna in early 2001, the clean-shaven gentleman in a sharp waistcoat hardly looked like an artist. I was used to most in the community outfitted in kurta-jholas and, in the case of Khanna’s contemporary M.F. Husain, walking barefoot, with his beard and unruly white hair in tousled glory. In contrast, Khanna was […]
Dr Boban Ramesan at Meditations, Chapter One | Photo Credit: Nainu Oommen Chapter one of Meditations, an art exhibition by Dr Boban Ramesan, currently on at Vylopilly Samskrithi Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, presents a glimpse into what truly affects the artist — consciously and subconsciously. From depictions of frames inspired by legendary filmmakers Satyajit Ray and […]
As one steps into the white-walled, high-ceilinged hall on the first floor of the Durbar Hall Art Centre, the Last Supper I at the far end screams ‘look at me’ and ‘keep looking at me.’ It is very hard to take one’s eyes off the six-feet-by-eight-feet oil on canvas painting. The show features the artist’s […]
Wooden toys that one can make at the workshop | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The joy of building a paper boat with dad. The excitement of holding the same pair of scissors, the small shared silences while making something together. In a world of screen time and busy schedules, it is rare for fathers and […]
Artist Balan Nambiar’s home in Bengaluru | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Located a few lanes within Jayamahal Extension, is artist Balan Nambiar’s home studio. Sunlight sweeps in through the long windows and hits the framed glass paintings on the walls as Balan passes around freshly cut watermelon pieces to the group assembled in his living […]
In its 15th edition, Emerging Palettes returns to Srishti Art Gallery in collaboration with Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad, presenting young contemporary artists who are pushing the boundaries of material and memory. Selected from over 300 entries, this year’s 11 participating artists explore diverse mediums ranging from textiles and ceramics to steel, wood, and video installation. They craft […]
Olympe Ramakrishna with her installation | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement “I’ve displayed these portraits under high ceilings too, but I think this is the lowest one,” says Franco-Indian visual artist Olympe Ramakrishna, referring to the low ceiling at Alliance Française of Hyderabad. Her installation, Women of Urban India, currently showing at the French institute, features […]
Educator and Padma Shri awardee Arvind Gupta who makes toys from trash to teach science to underprivileged children | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Arvind Gupta folds a sheet of paper to the right and then to the left, and comes up with a design that shows the rhombus, diagonals, and the mathematical rules hidden within […]
150-year-old tapestry | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement When people think of Kalamkari, the first words that come to their minds are Srikalahasti or Machilipattanam and not Karuppur or Thanjavur, though the art form has its roots in the latter towns too. “Kalamkari first found royal patronage in Tamil Nadu in 1540, when Sevappa Nayak, the […]
