When it comes to Indian art globally, the patrons and audiences are aware of the works of the modern masters like M F Husain, S H Raza, V S Gaitonde and Akbar Padamsee. But the 2017 report by KPMG-FICCI said that the country’s presence in international art market was 0.5 per cent.
To remedy this dismal situation and to promote the art by Indian artists within the country and globally, Kalanirvana International Arts Centre has tied up with more than 40 countries. It is also bringing the second edition of Emerging Indian Artists (EIA) to the city. The three day exhibition, which starts from January 26, will be showcasing works of 72 artists.
Promoting art
The EIA has released its mission statement for 2019-20. Ashis Pahi, director and founder, Kalanirvana tells us more about the mission and exhibition. Pahi, who has extensively travelled, observes that American, European, Korean, Japanese and Chinese art is present on the global level, but contemporary Indian art and artists are far behind.
The reason, he says, is because Indian society doesn’t give importance to art. “Most Indian parents believe that art as a career has no potential. The sharp brains interested in art are compelled to join some other field only to return to it at a later stage in life,” says Pahi, adding, “We need to upgrade the art syllabus that is taught in our universities. “We are still following almost a century-old syllabus introduced during the British rule,” says he.
What or who can be considered as artist? Pahi replies, “An artist is born with the talent to create something of his/her own. Those who copy artworks of the masters are not artists. If you know the basic sketching and painting tools and techniques it doesn’t make you an artist. Someone who creates something new and original is a real artist. There is a difference between doing art and being an artist.”
Mentoring artists
Pahi, through the Kalanirvana, has been conducting a few international events and is also facilitating the representation of Indian arts at different art destinations.
“We have sent four Indian artists to Turkey and last year, we sent six artists to Egypt. These exposures groom the artists before they represent Indian art on the global level. EIA is for both emerging and established artists. But we are mostly focusing on emerging artists,” he adds.
In order to give platform to the right candidates, a panel of five professionals selects the artists. “The selection is based on an intense analysis of the artworks that the artists share with us. The short-listed artists are interviewed. Thereafter, the selected artists get two years of mentorship from the experts as per the global standards. We judge them on their will to grow,” Pahi informs.
Abstract painter Monali Pawaskar, who was one of the artists who went to Turkey, says, “I work on textures and the houses, mud, and woods of the villages in Turkey have great texture. We absorbed every information and cultural aspect that we could.”
Pawaskar got a chance to create and showcase her artwork in Turkey. She also got to see the works of a few artists from the Middle East. Says she, “The sculptures that this artist made had a few parts missing from the torso – his head or hand, for instance. The piece of art shows how vulnerable the people from the Middle East are. They have a brain but they can’t use it, they have hands but they can’t use them to work for what they want, they just have functional legs which take them from one place to another.”
The exhibition
The EIA exhibition has a two-fold approach, one is to encourage the artists and secondly, holding a dialogue with the art lovers. “We make sure that the artist explains his/her work to the visitors and we also encourage visitors to ask questions so that they understand the art in a better way. We are also going to hold a workshop for the participants and other interested artists,” adds Pahi.
