THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE
A research project on the new frontiers of art
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE ANTONIO STELLATELLLI COLLECTION - MONZA - ITALY
ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION - MONZA - ITALY
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE A research project on the new frontiers of art antonio stellatelli collection - monza - italy Project by: Antonio Stellatelli Texts by: Marina Pizziolo Romano Ravasio Antonio Stellatelli Printed by: L’Artistica Savigliano, 29-12-2011 Riproduzione vietata L’Artistica Editrice Divisione editoriale de L’Artistica Savigliano S.r.l. Via Torino 197 – 12038 Savigliano (Cuneo) Tel. + 39 0172.726622 Fax + 39 0172.375904 editrice@lartisavi.it - www.lartisavi.it ISBN 978-88-7320-270-7 © Antonio Stellatelli 2011 © Texts: Marina Pizziolo, Romano Ravasio, Antonio Stellatelli
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE
A research project on the new frontiers of art ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION - MONZA - ITALY
Edited by Marina Pizziolo and Romano Ravasio Text by Antonio Stellatelli
Italy and India share a long history of reciprocal influences. The name of the Silk Route or of the Spice Route evoke a steady flow from the Mediterranean to the East of merchants, tradesmen, travelers. Artists were not excluded from this constant stream: jewelers, painters, stone cutters visited India, particularly during Moghul times. In keeping with this ancient tradition, India decided to participate at the Venice Biennale 2011 with a national pavilion, for the first time ever. This is an important development which bodes well for the future relationship between respective art communities. Collectors can play a significant role in strengthening such ties. Antonio Stellatelli has started with passion and enthusiasm a collection of Indian contemporary art as a section of a project with a vast reach and the aim to explore “the new frontiers of art�. India is passing through a vibrant phase of transformation in the economic, social and cultural field. I trust that Antonio Stellatelli’s project will contribute in disseminating a better knowledge of the latest achievements by Indian artists, building a bridge of beauty between Italy and India. Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte Ambassador of Italy in India
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The collectors Antonio and Rita Stellatelli (portrait by Velasco Vitali)
The consultants Marina Pizziolo, Romano Ravasio and Farah Siddiqui
We would like to thank Cesare Bieller, Nikhil Chopra, Anne-Claudie Coric, Mario Cristiani, Giampaolo Cutillo, Sunitha Kumar Emmart, Shireen Gandhy, Sunil Gawde, Usha Gawde, Sakshi Gupta, Shilpa Gupta, Aarti Khanna, Jitish Kallat, Reena Saini Kallat, Sandra Khare, Bharti Kher, Neha Kirpal, Riyas Komu, Mortimer Chatterjee & Tara Lal, Nalini Malani, Geetha Merha, Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte, Peter Nagy, Mithu Sen, Sudarshan Shetty, Aarthi Sridhar, Jiten Thukral & Sumir Tagra, Jack Tilton, Angela Trezza, Hema Upadhyay Images courtesy Gallery Chemould, Galleria Continua, Nature Morte, Chatterjee & Lal, Sakshi Gallery, Gallery SKE, Jack Tilton Gallery, Galerie Templon
In the hope of creating his very own idol, the most sovereign Vajra asks the wise man Markandeya to reveal the secrets of the creation of images, principles jealously guarded by the priests and the art guilds. Although the wise man appreciates the king’s intentions, he asks if he knows the techniques of painting. The king confesses that he does not, but asks to be taught to paint as a requisite to learn to sculpt. The wise man informs the king that in order to learn the bases of sculpture it is first necessary to learn to dance. To learn to dance it is necessary to have an elementary understanding of instrumental music, which in turn requires a basic knowledge of singing. King Vajra then understands that painting is linked to sculpture, sculpture to dance, dance to dramatic art, drama to poetry and poetry to music. from Vishnudharmottara Purana, an ancient sacred Hindu text
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CHRONICLE OF DEPARTURE by Marina Pizziolo
“King Vajra understands then that painting is linked to sculpture, sculpture to dance, dance to dramatic art, drama to poetry and poetry to music”: so it is written in the Vishnudharmottara Purana, a splendid example of that ancient Indian wisdom that with infinite grace is able to go to the heart of things. King Vajra thus has the unity of the arts revealed to him: serene, anxious, magical mirror of life. Our lives are a strange path. They resemble those tortuous rivers that, when seen from above, seem like an inextricable maze. Yet water always knows how to find the way to the sea. Thus, in our lives, even the most chance events often reveal their reasons years afterwards. Or at least that is our hope. A hope that for Antonio Stellatelli becomes serene lucidity. Art, music, numbers, love, all inserted mysteriously yet harmoniously into the circle of life. This in fact is the philosophy that emerges from Stellatelli’s preface. Starting with observations associated with Chinese numerology, he discovers that his story was already written in the numbers that recur in the dates of the salient events of his life. Eight and nine, symbols of stability and of change respectively, reoccur repeatedly. A subtle game? Why not? In any event, Stellatelli’s story is not a linear path. It is a story made of upswings, turns and major changes. And at the same time, of great achievements, the result of constancy and stability. Events always experienced with the disenchantment of someone who has understood that “Lo raro es vivir”, in other words, “living is the strangest thing”. Strange because our lives are littered with the traps of history. And with the inscrutable chance that at times seems to govern them. This is the meaning of the memory of the disaster of the liner Andrea Doria, on which Stellatelli could have died, if his arrival in New York had been moved forward just slightly. But who is Antonio Stellatelli? A brilliant Italian gentleman, who for over half a century has made art his second life. The first is that of a teacher of statistics and then a manager at the top of private and public companies. A gentleman who has devoted himself, during his life, to putting together major collections of art, to which books and exhibitions in prestigious Italian museums have been devoted. Passion for art can be expressed in many ways. Collecting is perhaps the most complete way, because it offers the possibility of powerfully expressing our preferences, of encapsulating them in the gesture of acquisition. The collector - and here we are obviously referring to the enlightened ones - does not buy to exclude others from enjoying the work.
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Sudarshan Shetty, Pizziolo and Siddiqui
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Ravasio, Mithu Sen and Pizziolo
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Stellatelli and Reena Saini Kallat
He purchases to study, to support and to stimulate. Not only that: to save, to publicize and to display. Antonio Stellatelli has chosen to collect in order to know and to make known. His collections only remain temporarily within the walls of his home. His story as a collector is the story of the exhibitions of his collections. After a major collection devoted to modern Italian art, displayed many times and which museums have fought over for years, he has created an enormous collection devoted to contemporary Italian art, containing more than four hundred works, including paintings, sculptures and photographs. That collection has been exhibited many times in Italy. But since periods of stability must be followed by phases of change, then came another turning-point. After devoting himself exclusively to Italian art throughout his life, fascinated by the major changes affecting Asia, Stellatelli began to follow us in our explorations on the new frontiers of art. So a few years ago he travelled with Romano Ravasio and me to China. Together we visited the studios of the greatest artists, Zhang Xiaogang, Rong Rong, Wang Qingsong and many others. Thus the idea of a new collection came about, devoted to Chinese art. We will present a preview of this in 2012. But here we want to talk about yet another collection. And another trip, this time in February 2011 and to Mumbai. With our irreplaceable Farah Siddiqui, here too we visited the studios of great artists: Shilpa Gupta, Jitish Kallat, Reena Saini Kallat, Riyas Komu. For Stellatelli the encounter with contemporary Indian art was the discovery of an art that was still able to amaze. An art that is proudly rooted in a history thousands of years old,
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
of which it is able to reinvent the magic. An art that knows how to speak to the heart. Intense and profound. The young Indian artists dare to tackle demanding issues, often associated with the dramatic, recent historical events of their country. They have the courage of denunciation, but of a denunciation that is never a pretext for a splatter art, dripping blood, Ă la Hermann Nitsch, so to speak. But where death also has the form of a red rose, as in the poetic Virtually untouchable, by Sunil Gawde. Antonio Stellatelli finds so many parallels between the current historical phase that India is experiencing and the years immediately after the Second World War in Italy. This country had emerged devastated from the war, but everybody wanted to rebuild, to restart. There was an extraordinary transformation at all levels. In just a few years the country moved from a rural economy to a major industrial economy. Italy found its unity, after the scourge of the civil war, also through art, theatre and sport. Art, in particular, underwent a period of extraordinary energy, with the experimentations of Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni and Burri. In the last few years India has been experiencing an extraordinary renaissance, from the social, cultural and economic perspectives. This collection, undoubtedly a work in progress, which we present as the testimony of a project, of a journey just begun, is intended to be an Italian homage to Indian energy and also an act of faith in the infinite possibilities of man. Shubhkamnayein, India!
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Pizziolo and Stellatelli
designing a collection by Romano Ravasio
Antonio Stellatelli had just got off the aeroplane, after a 15-hour flight. Adjusting from the snow of that time in Milan to the sultry February heat of Mumbai is no fun at all. He approached me with his firm stride and immediately asked me: “Where do we start?� Used to considering time as the only truly non-renewable resource, he did not even want to go to his hotel. He wanted us to go to the studio of the first artist straight away. For years Marina Pizziolo and I have worked in contact with Indian artists. We have seen extraordinary works take shape in their studios, to then see them exhibited in the museums of London, Paris, Rome and New York. We have discovered the poetry of these artists, their capacity to enchant by telling stories flavoured with joy, pain, love, anger and irony. But always with truth. Every time we return to Italy, we tell of the energy that is breathed in India, of the extraordinary blossoming cultural spring of this great country. For two decades we have accompanied Antonio Stellatelli, following his extraordinary adventure as an art collector with passion. Between him and us, beyond the profound bond of friendship that now unites us, the relationship between art consultant and collector is expressed in the most truthful and stimulating way. First of all, because we are animated by the same passion for art. Art is not any old investment sector; it has thousands of added values. It is culture, it is emotion; above all it is the impassioned, tireless search for meaning in this span of time that is life. The art consultant works like a mountain guide who studies the slopes right down to the smallest detail, preparing the expedition. Then he goes up the rock face first, securing the
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Jitish Kallat and Ravasio Shilpa Gupta and Ravasio
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
rope for the other members. The guide does not deprive those who climb with him of the joy of discovery. But he works to make the summit possible, secure, thrilling. Of course, those who climb, such as the collector, must harbour trust, willingness, desire to know, to discover. That’s why the relationship with Stellatelli has worked so perfectly for such a long time. Before beginning our Indian adventure we investigated with him the aims, the scientific criteria of selection, the critical margins of the collection, the concrete possibilities of acquisition, all in unforgettable, passionate discussions. Just as we had done many years earlier, when we worked alongside him in the creation of his great collection devoted to Italian modern art. But while in those years we were engaging with a historical corpus of works, a collection that already had a precise physiognomy, in what was a moment to chisel away, to identify gaps or tautologies, here it was a matter of starting from scratch. It was very clear that the historical value, the beauty and harmony of the first collection came about from the fact that it was ordered around a very solid conceptual linchpin: the Corrente movement, a fundamental movement in the panorama of 20th century Italian art. Chance is the worse ally in the realisation of any idea. We know it is necessary to set ourselves an objective and to develop the strategy to achieve it. Hence the establishing, thanks also to the contribution of Farah Siddiqui, of precise coordinates for our research. The mosaic we are composing, in new passionate discussions, in untiring trips, in adventurous explorations, is intended to portray the complex and mutable face of contemporary Indian art. Antonio Stellatelli has stunned us once again with his capacity for growth, his curiosity about new artistic languages, his desire to understand. This catalogue presents an important milestone, even if an entirely partial and provisional one, in the realisation of his new project.
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Siddiqui, Sudarshan Shetty and Ravasio
BACKGROUND Numerology in art collection di Antonio Stellatelli
Chinese numerology The number 8 in Chinese culture is not solely or simply a lucky number (we all recall how Beijing contrived to open the Olympic Games on 08/08/2008), but rather the positivity of 8 lies in being a complex value with multiple meanings and the product of the interweaving of traditions and cultures dating back to different eras. The creation of ideograms is also connected with numerological systems from previous eras, given that the most ancient examples of writing can be found in ancient prophetic instruments. In the culture of Confucian extraction the number 8 gradually became associated with the concept of justice. The numbers 2 and 3 are the base numbers of numerology and Chinese divination. The number 8, on the other hand, sums up the entire cycle of possibilities (8 = 2 x 4, 2 + 2 + 2 + 2, 3 + 3 + 2, and again from 2 cubed) from which harmony derives. 8 is therefore a sign of stability, harmony and well-being; it is the basis on which to construct the change ascending to the number 9. 8 is therefore also a limit on stability, because 9 is mutation, change and risk. 8 is also the number of the Chinese compass points, while in the West these only number 4. 8 plays an important role in the symbolism of cultures that are closer to us, such as those of Persia and Arabia, as well as in Islam, where the Octagon again has meanings associated with harmony and ways of achieving it. The Octagon is also found in the West with the military architectures of the Templars, while in Italy one of the most fascinating and mysterious architectures can be found in Puglia in the castle of Frederick II in Castel del Monte in Trani. Numerology in Johan Sebastian Bach In the name of Bach. Numerical correspondences and symmetries are present throughout Bach’s compositions, from the “Well-tempered Clavier” to “The Art of Fugue” right up to the “Goldberg Variations”. With the first eight notes Bach writes 14 variations that can be read from left to right (as is normal in music) but also from right to left, while still maintaining its harmony; but these changes may also be inverted, as can be done with a triangle with the base at the top and the point at the bottom, whereby the low notes become high and the high notes low, while still maintaining a solid harmony. The number 12 is the symbol of the chromatic entirety, so it is composed of 12 notes in the basic subject compositions. The base numbers of Bach’s works are 7, from the letters of his name B A C H; the numbers 14 and 41 are also from his name Johann Sebastian Bach.
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Jiten Thukral, Stellatelli and Sumir Tagra
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Stellatelli and Sunil Gawde
Numerology in an art collection September 1953 (3 times 9) was the year of change; I was personally recruited by Adriano Olivetti to work in Ivrea. The number 9 appears twice in the publication date for this catalogue, 29/12/2011 (9 and 2 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 = 9). 9 is the sign of change and the 12th day of the month of December is the symbol of chromatic tonality. The “Latin square” of the catalogue cover is 8 x 8. While 9 is the number of gallery owners who have most closely followed the collection, and this is a number of change. These numbers were neither anticipated nor planned in advance, but are simply an observation made afterwards. In 1998 the exhibition of the Corrente collection was organised, with the publication of a catalogue published by Charta. In 1998, there are three 9s, which strengthens their meaning of change: it was then that the new collection of Contemporary Italian Art presented in this catalogue began. The Sinfonia Concertante, finale 2028 that closes this catalogue numerologically is composed of 12 = 2 + 2 + 8, which confirms the continuity of the chromatic tonality and corresponds to Bach’s 12 notes, but above all 2028 occurs 100 years after 1928, the year of my birth in Puglia, in a place not far from Frederick II’s Octagonal Castle.
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Riyas Komu, Stellatelli and Siddiqui
Fatality or fate “25 July 1956” a tragedy at sea. At that time I was in New York for work and I experienced that tragedy first-hand: the Andrea Doria, with 1706 passengers on-board, was rammed off the US coast by the MN Stockholm (with a bow reinforced for ice-breaking). There were 46 deaths on the cabins on the port side; I had arrived in the USA on the Andrea Doria on its previous journey and had stayed in one of the rammed cabins. Blame was immediately placed on the Italian ship and its Captain Piero Calamai, who never went back to sea after that. Many years later, investigations resulted in confirmation that the manoeuvring error was entirely attributable to the inexperienced third officer of the Stockholm, who was on the bridge and at the controls at the time of the collision; a mistake was also made due to the incorrect calibration and poor lighting of their radar (“just one light on the radar would have prevented the tragedy” said one expert). Captain Calamai was therefore re-instated with full honours, but posthumously. Back in 1957 an inquiry by the Italian Merchant Navy had reached the same conclusion, but the results were kept secret because of agreements between the shipowners and the insurance companies, which prevented the case from getting underway. Artistic note: in the central lounge of the Andrea Doria there was a life-size statue of Admiral Doria, created by the sculptor Giovanni Paganin (an artist included in my previous collection devoted to the Corrente movement).
“Lo raro es vivir”
Antonio Stellatelli
Born on 13/10/1928, which has two number 8s and one number 9 (stability and change). He was born on the 13th at 13:00 and his saint’s day is on 13th June, so 3 times 13, all prime numbers.
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE THE COLLECTION
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
NIKHIL CHOPRA Born in 1974 in Calcutta. He lives and works in Mumbai.
Yog Raj Chitrakar: Memory Drawing IV (Yokohama: blue chairs), 2010 digital photograph on archival paper 73,6 x 110,5 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Sunil Gawde Born in 1960 in Mumbai. He lives and works in Mumbai.
Virtually Untouchable III 2007, razor blades, steel cable, artificial roses and wooden chair, garland 170 x 20 x 11 cm (each) set of 3 / wooden chair 90 x 50 x 50 cm
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Shilpa Gupta Born in 1976 in Mumbai. She lives and works in Mumbai.
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BlindStars StarsBlind 2008, animated light installation, 290 cm diameter
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Shilpa Gupta
Untitled 2006, photograph on archival paper, 101,6 x 63,5 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Shilpa Gupta
There is No Explosive in This - Street Series 2007, photograph on archival paper 106.7 x 71 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
JITISH KALLAT Born in 1974 in Mumbai. He lives and works in Mumbai.
Untitled Stations of a pause (1) 2010-11, acrylic on canvas and bronze, canvas 175 x 183 cm sculpture 43 x 28 x 29 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Reena Saini Kallat Born in 1973 in New Delhi. She lives and works in Mumbai.
Falling fables 2011, painted rubber stamps on canvas, 122 x 198 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Reena Saini Kallat
Synonym 2010, paint, rubber stamps, acrylic, wood and steel 152,5 x 114 x 10 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Bharti Kher Born in 1969 in London. She lives and works in New Delhi.
In your absence 2010, chair, saree, resin 109 x 81 x 48 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
RIyas Komu Born in 1971 in Kerala. He lives and works in Mumbai.
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Roll Models 2011, digital printing on polyester, frame (acrylic and wood) 122 x 20 x 20 cm
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
RIyas Komu
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Leg series 2011, wood, iron and concrete 183 x 71 x 86 cm
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Nalini Malani Born in 1946 in Karachi, Pakistan. She lives and works in Mumbai.
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What does it matter if you do not believe me the future will surely come just a little while and you will see for yourself 2009, acrylic, ink and enamel reverse painting on acrylic sheet, 76 cm diameter
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANToNIo STEllATEllI CollECTIoN
mITHu SeN Born in 1971 in Burdwan, West Bengal. She lives and works in New Delhi.
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Black candy 2009, mixed media on custom made, handmade acid free paper 211 x 107 cm
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANToNIo STEllATEllI CollECTIoN
mITHu SeN
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there is no hero or victim 2009, mixed media on custom made, handmade acid free paper 211 x 107 cm
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Mithu Sen
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Spine 2011, metal and stuffed velvet cord 275 cm height (variable)
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Sakshi GUPTA Born in 1979 in New Delhi. She lives and works in New Delhi.
Landscape of Waking Memories 2007, steel wire, mesh and chicken feathers, 213 x 138 x 25 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Sudarshan Shetty Born in 1961 in Mangalore, Karnataka. He lives and works in Mumbai.
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No title (from The more I die the lighter I get) 2009, steel sword, carved wood, leather mattress, 127 x 261 x 167 cm
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Sudarshan Shetty
Untitled 2011, wooden bleed polished wood, 90 x 32 x 70 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Thukral & Tagra Jiten Thukral born in 1976 in Jalandhar. He lives and works in New Delhi. Sumir Tagra born in 1979 in New Delhi. He lives and works in New Delhi.
Kingdom Come V, 2011, acrylic and oil on two canvases, stretched over foam, 188 x 188 x 9 cm
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE - ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION
Hema Upadhyay Born in 1972 in Baroda, Gujarat. She lives and works in Mumbai.
Untitled 2009, mixed media on paper 122 x 183 cm
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Antonio Stellatelli collection’s catalogues
dieci artisti di Corrente Vangelista Editori Milano 1987 a cura di Rossana Bossaglia Mario De Micheli
Corrente e oltre
Edizioni Charta Milano 1998 a cura di Marina Pizziolo Antonio Stellatelli
NEW ENTRIES
Antonio Stellatelli 2007 a cura di Marina Pizziolo Romano Ravasio
artisti di Corrente 1930/90
Vangelista Editori Milano 1991 a cura di Elena Pontiggia Giuseppe Appella Luciano Caramel
Tre artisti milanesi a Milano Guida - Nido - Vescovi Antonio Stellatelli 2005 a cura di Paola Artoni
DELLE DISSONANZE Antonio Stellatelli 2011 a cura di Beatrice Benedetti Marina Pizziolo Antonio Stellatelli
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THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE
A research project on the new frontiers of art
THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE ANTONIO STELLATELLLI COLLECTION - MONZA - ITALY
ANTONIO STELLATELLI COLLECTION - MONZA - ITALY