Exhibition of Indian Contemporary Prints
Gandhi Centre The Hague
Exhibition of Indian Contemporary Prints Gandhi Centre The Hague, Cultural wing of Embassy of India The Netherlands Tesselsestr. 65-67, 2583 JH DEN HAAG Tel: 070-3229576 Exhibition period: Monday 18th till 25 May 2015 Open: Monday To friday 10 Am to 5 pm
Exhibition of Indian Contemporary Prints
Participant Artists
Chhering Negi Chandrashekhar Waghmare Dattatreya Apate W Anamika Prakash Sogra Khurasani Pravin Hatwar lithography
etching
oodcut
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Curator: Bhaskar Hande
Gandhi Centre
The Hague Cultural Wing of Embassy of India The Netherlands
Indian printmaking: bringing fire from heaven to earth
About a century after the Gutenberg Bible was printed in Mainz in Germany, contemporary printmaking came to India in 1556. Originally printmaking was used merely as a device to duplicate and for reproduction. The introduction of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 was one of the most revolutionary inventions for many ages to come. The Western reproduced book became a stunning entrance for common people who were taught to read, which means that reading and writing could take innumerous steps forward in education and social awareness for the masses. Obviously Western missionaries in the wake of colonizing powers could take advantage of that. But later on these reproduction techniques as a mass medium made it possible that India, like other countries could gain its independance. An eminent article, “The history of printmaking in India”, published by “Safronart”, states “that there is also evidence that mass duplication dates even further back in India to the time of the Indus Valley Civilization. For instance, grants of land were originally recorded by engraving the information on copper plates and etchings on different surfaces like wood, bone, ivory and shells have been documented as an important craft of that time”. “Intaglio printing was introduced in India by the Danish missionary, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg. He published a book titled The Evangelists and the Acts of The Apostles, printed
in Tranqueber (a district in Tamil Nadu, which was then a colony of Denmark). The opening page of this book had an etching printed in a shade of brown. This became one of the first recorded instances of colour printing in India. “However the first example of an illustration printed by an Indian artist was part of the Bengali book, Onoodah Mongal (a compilation of tales of Biddha and Soonder). The book was published by Ganga Kishore Bhattacheryee and printed at the Ferris & Company Press, Calcutta, in 1816. There are two engraved illustrations in this book, which are accompanied by the inscription ‘Engraved by Ramachand Roy”. (Quote: Safronart article). The British in India wanted to introduce their education system and encourage the talent of craft and design-oriented artists. This in turn provided them with a means to fulfill the demand for Indian crafts in the foreign market they supplied. In the midst of 19th century the British established the Art School of Madras, School of Industrial Arts in Calcutta, in 1854; the Sir J.J. School of Arts in Bombay, in 1866; the Jeypore School of Industrial Art in Jaipur, in 1866; and the Mayo School of Art in Lahore, in 1875. Raja Ravi Varma was the first artist in India who used printmaking, as a means for his art to reach the masses. He started his own lithographic press: the Ravi Varma press in Ghatkopar, Bombay. He copied several of his religious and secular paintings and printed them as glossy oleographs. (chromolithography). There is a long impressive list of prominent Indian artists using printmaking techniques, such as: woodblock/lino printing, intaglio, lithography, seriography, computer printing more recently,
and mixed printing media over more than 160 years. The three Tagore brothers around 1919, Abanindranath, Gagendranath and Samarendranath (nephews of Rabindranath Tagore, founders of the Bichitra Club, Chandra Dey, Nadalal Bose and Kanwal Krishna. Baroda based Somnath Hore and K.G. Subramanyan. Another artist who has made an outstanding contribution to early Indian printmaking is K. Laxma Goud. PrintmakerJyoti Bhatt, who also received his training in Baroda, went on to study at the Pratt Graphic Centre in New York, where he mastered the various techniques of intaglio printing. In 1990, the Indian Printmakers Guild was established. Over the years, it has been successful in building awareness about the medium and creating appreciation for it. The members of the group include Ananda Moy Banerji, Dattatraya Apte, Jayant Gajera, K.R. Subbanna, Bula Bhattacharya, Jayant Gajera, Kavita Nayar, Kanchan Chander, Moti Zharotia, Sushanta Guha, Sukhvinder Singh, Subba Ghosh, and Shukla Sawant. They are all devoted printmakers, and apart from being practicing artists, they run several programs and workshops for aspiring printmakers. Nowadays, as we all must admit how time flies; we fortunately discover many established and young Indian artists who follow the stream of their early masters in Indian printmaking. Since 19th- century artists were free to make their own choices in life, they are free to travel and they can discover the physical and technological resources of the society they want to focus on. This affects the medium in which they work, in this case: printmaking.
The artists’ choice for printmaking nowaday as an artistic medium, deserves consistent admiration from art critics, gallery owners and the consumers of art. “Arts and crafts belong to each other”, said the famous German artist and etcher Albrecht Dürer (14711528) once. Pablo Picasso, who closely worked together with his masterprinter in the famous printing atelier “Lacourière et Frélaut”, on the “Butte Monmartre” in Paris, once mentioned: “the image should be satisfying …the printing: perfect …” The status of the artists in the West and East has changed over the centuries. Cultures meet, artistic concepts in image and technique merge as well as friendly and professional contacts between East and West. Contemporary and innovative printmaking is still alive. I dearly wish the artists who are representing their works in this exhibition, which has been expertly curated with great affection and commitment by mr. Bhaskar Hande, all the best. That they will always stand upright like great magicians, who like Prometheus, bringing fire from heaven to earth … Rits de Koningh Former director Council Of Dutch Artists Printers (CODA)
Chhering Negi
Born in 1985,the artist lives and works in New Delhi Nature in its trivialities makes curious appearances in most of the works I create. The prime focus in the narrations I depict is the organic form which also, becomes characteristic to the works. It is the mundane which fascinates me; rather the mundane which is taken for granted and is infused in with fantasy of the realm of the imagined. The attempt perhaps is to recognise the mundane which is made to transcend into the heavenly pronouncing its ethereal quality. True to its perceived nature, landscapes remain ambiguous concealing in its many layers the meaning of life. Inspired by this, I allow myself to mull over layers drawing a parallel to the many journeys one undertakes in the course of one’s existence. Nature is my muse. It celebrates love where lovebirds chirp, where rivers flow to their traceless destinations, and above them stands the proud high mountains with endless blue skies. The landscapes lead one to an unknown land, where celestial creatures loiter around. These landscapes are ever changing and defining part of nature. The varied moods of nature captivate several emotions which are expressed through the textures. They are a witness to several histories as well as mythologies. The reading and understanding of the many mythologies belonging to the Buddhist tradition also find expression in the incorporation of cultural symbols in my works as there is a patterned depiction of motifs and symbols of the Thangka art. My figures constantly unite with the wild. I strive to give a new meaning, a new interpretation to the religious allusions; contemporarising what is perceived to be strictly traditional. One’s identity keeps evolving and progressing as per one’s experience, but what is of utmost important is to take along one’s roots by building on
Ecthing on Paper, 2013, 28 x 20 inches
them with an attempt very genuine. It is this confluence of roots and everevolving identity that projects itself as a common thread across all the seemingly varied work. As real as landscapes are, what is also real is the presence of humankind. The relationship of many layers that define a landscape is also similar to the relationship defined by the interactions between different beings. Humans often appear to be a reflection of their surrounding landscapes; and so they are depicted in their respective environs. And here lies the holistic approach. This approach expands to involve all mysteries around me, striving to capture the essence of existence.
Lithograph on Paper, 2013, 28 x 20 inches
Lithograph on Paper, 2013, 28 x 20 inches
Ecthing on Paper, 2013, 28 x 20 inches
Lithograph on Paper, 2013, 28 x 20 inches
Etching 2013, 10 x 10 inches
My work basically is the outcome of my instinctive response to my immediate environment. The imagery I use reflects how I perceive social issues and situations around me. My work therefore is a comment on society at large based on my personal experiences. Since the nature of human interaction and responses is vast and varied,I don’t stick to a just one subject. This allows me to experiment with diverse thoughts and themes. To give a few examples, I represent social problems and issues through animal forms like dog, pig and the like. The depiction of focus lights and camera is the sign of people’s gaze on others and their activities. I use these form and eIements as a metaphor to communicate a certain mindset and social biases. Since some of my subjects are based on “self” and its perceptions, I use a frame or a special designated area which is an individual’s space to create my own stories.
Etching 2013, 6 x 6 inches
Chandrashekar Waghmare
Etching 2013, 10 x 10 inches
Born in , the artist lives and works in Baroda, Gujarat
Etching 2013, 7 x 8 inches
Etching 2013, 10 x 10 inches
Etching 2013, 10 x 10 inches
Dattatreya Apte Apte’s commitment to paper and paper pulp as a medium of expression is clearly visible in his artistic practice. He says ‘I have chosen, adopted and moulded paper pulp as the mother tongue for my creative visual expression. My works have physical textures and dimensions. Surfaces which invite me to look at, smell and feel by moving hands over, intrigue my sensibilities and draw my interest and attention. To understand the structure, character of the material, colour, arrangement of various elements, natural or altered with human intervention become a starting point for my work. The environment in which you have lived or living, witnessed the changes brought in by various factors, for years together, through all seasons, leave various abstract impressions. These impressions linger on in my mind. They oscillate like a pendulum of the eternal clock of the life cycle. These impressions prompt to concentrating my thoughts and energies for creativity. My work is like impressions of the surfaces, of the field left by a moving plough or of cracks created by the scorching heat on the mud or of foot prints on the wet sand left on the sea shore or of the wounds created by the savage axe on the tree trunk or of the dry leaves of ‘neem’ in the summer afternoon or of traversing aimlessly on the roads of an unknown city or ripples created in the water. The paper pulp casts lifted from the moulds either found, arranged or created, leave the mark or echo in these. The paper pulp also gives me enough time to deal with various changes I intend in the process of dyeing the pulp, casting and giving final touches to the pulp casts.’ Apte lives with his family in Delhi and works out of his studio.
Wood Engraving 2013, 21 x 26.5 inches
Wood Engraving 2013, 21 x 26.5 inches
Anamika Prakash
Born In 1986, Anamika lives and works in Baroda, Gujarat I am a silent observant of life around and its reflection on my own, my past and present and my immediate surroundings. I draw parallels with my experiences by reflecting on this through the eyes of an animated character. Perhaps this is the split character I myself want to adapt to give a rosy outlook to things in a mocking way. The sensitivity, innocence and the secret humour present in the role of a child is a great delight for me to render in the execution of my practice.
In some of my works, I have expressed the hidden pain, insecurity, fear, crisis etc. in an indirect manner. Deep down my emotions are somewhere related to those shown in my works. I tend to express or execute these in a mocking cute, humorous way because as per my belief deep and painful thoughts can also be said in a very simple way. I use elements such as different types of toys, cartoon characters, doll-like elements in my works. To talk about my emotions, I fantasy about these elements a lot and I also want to create such kind of dreamy pleasure in my works. Humour in my works reflects both the “dark” and “joyful” sides of human nature.
Etching 2013, 6 x 12 inches
Etching 2013, 6 x 10 inches
Etching 2013, 10 x 10 inches
Soghra Khurasani
Born in 1983, the artist lives and works in Baroda, Gujarat
Etching 2013, 8 x 13 inches
Etching 2013, 8 x 13 inches
I work in several forms of printmaking through which I explore and express the ideas of beauty and violence, using an incredible attention to detail. My print works include the use of the woodcut, etching and digital technique. The subject matter and political nature of the work is influenced by my own personal experiences around gender, aesthetics, and the role of women. Frequently painted flowers has a wealth of meanings but generally evokes a metaphorical sense of bound and boundless insight into spaces. Erupting volcano, tornado, crater and thunders are fairly melancholic expression of geographic entities. It brings with it the urgent need for sustenance and care; and in their absence , the risk of extinction. The melancholy lies in the fact of human exploitation and violence which has set this earth on its way to an inevitable decline, and this course is irreversible in nature.
Etching 2013, 8 x 13 inches
Etching 2013, 8 x 13 inches
Praveen Hatwar
Born in 1988 in Maharashtra, the artist lives in works in Baroda, Gujarat The popular culture and propagandists insist on focussing on the conflicts between the haves and the have-nots, making the public question their own inadequacies and also their adequacies. The pressure to appear superhuman,in society, actually ends up hollowing out the individual’s true identity. Also making them question their self worth. Then we are faced with a society full of individuals who are all alike, hollow, seemingly helpless and in need of constant gratification. We live and even thrive in this parasitic mess of ‘need, demand and supply’ However, the animal kingdom and nature functions on a much more evolved and symbiotic ecology. I am affected by these and many such deeper issues and these form the foundation of my work. I merge and juxtapose, mockingly and humourously, complex contrast co-existing in the world. I use popular consumer products, and place them along with insects and animals, in a satirical, some times paradoxical expression of my observations.
Etching 2013, 9 x 10 inches
Etching 2013, 6 x 12 inches
Etching 2013, 9 x 10 inches
Etching 2013, 9 x 12 inches
Mixed Media Print on paper, 2012, 13 x 20 inches
Etching 2013, 10 x 12 inches