ATHENS, GA. — Modern Indian Works on Paper, an exhibition of unique and beautiful works produced by contemporary Indian artists since 1947, will be on display at the Georgia Museum of Art from August 12 through October 8, 2006.
Since its independence in 1947, India has been the site of a remarkable awakening of contemporary art. As artists in India have adapted traditional imagery and ideas to modern artistic practice, the nation has begun to contribute to the multiplicity of variations on modernism reflective of non-Western cultures.
Modern Indian Works on Paper includes more than 50 works in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, pencil and gouache produced by Indian artists since 1947. A broad range of Indian artists from the last six decades will be displayed, from the members of the groundbreaking Progressive Artists Group to other first- and second-generation Indian modernists who have excelled in the graphic media to younger artists who have emerged in the last two decades.
The exhibition also will feature a series of prints produced by Krishna Reddy, whose inventive color printmaking techniques have been influential and widely acclaimed. A printmaker and sculptor, Reddy’s works can be found in several private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, India, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
“Modern Indian art is as vibrant and complex as India itself, where the Taj Mahal is as revered as Bollywood, and tandoori rubs shoulders with tapas,” said Dr. Romita Ray, curator of prints and drawings at the Georgia Museum of Art. “This exhibition showcases the ways in which modern Indian art is a function of 5,000 years of artistic innovation, especially within the context of a post-independence India.”
One of the artists whose work will be on display — Shyamal Dutta Ray — is a leader in contemporary Indian painting. Apart from formal and societal aspects, he is primarily recognized for his important contribution as a master of watercolor, who transformed the medium into a vehicle for serious and social themes.
In The Broken Bowl II, Ray employs unique and personal idioms and symbols to engage the dingy realities of the downtrodden. He uses soft, mellow darkened hues mingled with rugged, sharp and angular lines to convey his message.
Modern Indian Works on Paper is organized by Dr. Jeffrey Wechsler, senior curator at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, with Dr. Romita Ray handling in-house curatorial duties.
This exhibition is generously sponsored by the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation and the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art.
Digital images from Modern Indian Works on Paper are available at our web site:
www.uga.edu/gamuseum
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