Weekly planner: The art season is raring to go

A conversation between masters

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art takes a deep dive into the sensibilities of the first generation of teachers at two leading art institutions—Kala Bhavana in Santiniketan and Faculty of Fine Arts in Vadodara. The ongoing exhibition, titled Purvaee, looks at the conversations between the practices of the masters with those of the subsequent generations of artists, who studied under them. On view are nearly 200 works from the museum collection, including some rarely seen ones, spanning a time frame of the 1940s to the 2000s. Especially fascinating is the Japanese woodblock print, Sati, by artist-pedagogue Nandalal Bose. “Bose's belief in empathetic observation that enlivens the inner nature of objects on pictorial surface, a prevision sustained by his protégé, Benode Behari Mukherjee (1904 - 1980) and Ramkinkar Baij (1906- 1980),” states the curatorial note. “Such teachings through creative evolution were later found in succeeding generations of artists, including Sankho Chaudhuri (1916 – 2006), KG Subramanyan (1924- 2016), Krishna Reddy (1925 – 2018), Sarbari Roy Choudhury (1933- 2012) and A Ramachandran (1935- 2024) who traversed the country and beyond as educators and practitioners.” These enter into a dialogue with works by their students such as Mrinalini Mukherjee, Pushpamala N., KP Krishnakumar, Vasudevan Akkitham , Bhagat Singhand Manisha Gera Baswani. ‘Purvaee’ can be viewed at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida, till 4 December, 10.30 am to 6.30 pm (closed on Mondays and national holidays).

Showcasing artistic journeys

Tao Art Gallery and The House of Creativity are presenting a mixed set of established and emerging Indian artists as part of the exhibition, Meander: Seven Artists, One Journey Through Infinite Art. The idea is to showcase a wide variety of practices, themes and mediums. The works by artists like Ali Akbar Mehta, Urvi Sethna, Kedar Dhondu, Awdhesh Bajpai, and more, will feature important themes such as land ownership, environmental concerns and spiritual quests. For instance, Sethna, delves into her experiences of growing up in Mumbai to juxtapose urban architecture with abstract forms in her three-dimensional works. Akbar Mehta, a transmedia artist-researcher, explores narratives of history, memory and identity through the lens of conflict and trauma. The exhibition can be viewed at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, till 30 September, 11 am to 7 pm.

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Painting contemporary Bengal

An ongoing exhibition at Emami Art is showcasing the changing directions of art in Bengal through the works of ten artists like Aditya Basak, Goutam Chowdhury, Jayashree Chakravarty, Partha Dasgupta, and more. Instead of focusing on a particular theme, the show, Ekkhan: Situating the Present, looks at how these contemporary artists are responding to the contexts of place and history, while placing themselves within the global conversation around art. According to Richa Agarwal, CEO, Emami Art, in the last few decades, the art practices from Bengal have entered a new phase. “What is significant is how the artists, despite their differences in medium use, style and approaches, create a language—[which] while establishing continuity with the past—also departs from regional modernism to embrace contemporary global discourses,” she adds. The exhibition can be viewed at Emami Art: Gallery 1, Kolkata, till 26 October, 11 am to 7 pm (closed on Sunday)

An overlooked chapter of art heritage

Art Magnum Gallery, in collaboration with the India International Centre, is hosting a unique exhibition, The Tradition of Bat-tala and Other Practices by the Printmakers. Co-curated by Ina Puri, the show revives and reimagines the traditional woodcut prints from 19th century Calcutta. “The Bat-tala tradition, originating under the banyan trees of Calcutta, once thrived as a hub for woodcut printmaking, featuring religious, mythological, and everyday life themes. This exhibition seeks not only to bring this near-forgotten art form into contemporary discourse but also to challenge current artists to explore new technical dimensions in printmaking,” states the exhibition note. On view across the Kamala Devi Complex and Annexe Building, IIC, New Delhi, till 27 September.

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