Shruti Mahajan, Ritesh Meshram, Sarita Chouhan, Rakesh Kumar, Vijay Bondar, Rupali Sontakke Angre and Sharad Sonkusale
Studio Practices is a two-part exhibition showcasing works of 15 emerging artists.
It will be on view from May 15 - June 13 and June 19 - July 18, 2009 at the Chemould Prescott Road Space in Mumbai.
Each artist will each present a small body of work and on the whole the exhibit is to be perceived as several solo shows, rather than a large curated one. Although, parallels have been drawn from each artist's work and the process of abstract thought and narrative form have been considered, when placing artists in the respective exhibitions. Another interesting part of this endeavour - obvious from the title - the unseen and at most times the ignored bond between the artist's studio, the artist himself in relation to his studio space and the gallery space and last but not the least the viewer.
Form, Line, color and thought (abstract or constructional) have been intensely lived by these artists, where some construct the narration of thought the others the narration of form. The dimensions in their work with respect to the other and self are stretched to its extent. By viewing a suite of works by each artist the viewer is forced to question, be informed and be restless to gain more than just 'viewing or discussing works'.
The viewer would be the curious intruder and the invited at the same moment in time.
The overall display as a studio-gallery will bear the undercurrent of constant questioning, which is continuously built by the artist, which in turn builds his works. This will now be channelled toward the viewer too.
Works in Mixed media on canvas and paper, sculptures, video, installation and films will be showcased in this 60 day period.
Shruti Mahajan
Having passed out from the M S University in 2000 and completing her Masters in textile design from the National Institute of Design, Ahemdabad, 2004, Shruti will be showing a body of her work for the first time in Mumbai. They (Installation and mixed media works on paper) are layered, with, thought, memory and its reconstruction (aided by letters and photographs) of her ancestral home in Dhar, its inhabitants and her journey back to it by re-building lanes into lost spaces, sounds and stories. Her works in the show include an installation and drawings.
Shruti has participated in several group shows. She lives and works in Mumbai.
Ritesh Meshram
He has closely followed the narration of form - the uniqueness in the shapes of seeds and other vegetation. Hailing from the agricultural town of Khairagarh, Ritesh has seeped himself in defining through drawings the imagery and composition of simplified linear and volume of such forms. The recurrence of them in his earlier charcoal works, grew towards the narration of a landscape. His current body has emerged as one that has not only a narrative approach (he has been a integral part of the drama group from Khairagarh and is also a playwright) with an involvement of characters but also a one with a story but with an abstraction in thought. He has smoothly built in text - as words or sentences, mapping his own way through the canvas. Ritesh presents mixed media on canvas and an equally moving video at Chemould.
Ritesh Meshram first showed solo at the Qualcomm artist's support space in Mumbai in 2007 after which he was presented by the Birla gallery in 2008. He has shown solo at the Lalit Kala (New Delhi) and has participated in several group shows. He lives and works in Mumbai.
Sarita Chouhan
Sarita's current body of work that will be on display at Chemould hold the idea of form and formlessness. The linear quality of flora and the basic essence of a 'seed' and 'living form' is the core of many of her works. The rhythmic chanting with which each form is laid out and multiplied and allowed to run amock on large canvasses under her watchful eye. The intensity of the minimal-maximum visual is optimum in these works. Her compositions on paper are silent and explore sensitively her curiosity of space and the consciousness of its volume in relation to the form it envelopes.
Sarita is a self-taught artist and has focussed in presenting her works in solos and group shows for a decade now. She has shown solo in Mumbai (Museum gallery, Artist Centre, Jehangir Art Gallery), Chandigarh (Art Folio) and Delhi (Alliance Francise). She lives and works in Mumbai.
Sharad Sonkusale
The cave paintings, minimal, sensitive, vibrating in line and form, have intrigued him. Fossilized leaves, crevices between stones, the mystery of shape and form in the silent still life of nature - Sharad is moved by these lyrical anthems. They are a narration of the abstract, the un-deciphered, the mysterious awaiting to be spelt out.
Sharad graduated from the Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalay, Nagpur in 2002 and completed his Masters from the Sir J J School of Art in 2004. He showed solo at Hacienda gallery, Mumbai in 2007. He lives and works in Bhopal.
Vijay Bondar
Bondar's mixed media on paper are fields of solid color, holding low, derived and 'mother' (main) form. Working with the 'triangle' for nearly 5 years now, Vijay's drawings have evolved as an extensive trek into the world of forms, from where artists rarely return. His works on paper appear as ariel views of architectural ruins, an ancient un-deciphered map, collage of pieces of paper and water. The sturdyness of the opaque background and the sensitive drawing in answer to it is what makes them visually intriguing. His incessant partitioning of forms in his canvas reminds one of story-boards where the narration gets thicker and the drawing more tangled! His obsession with space, color and form and the fine balance between these three is unending, and his mixed media works on paper and oils on canvas are proof enough to that.
Vijay was presented by the Birla Gallery in 2007 and went to show solo in several solos in the city since then. He graduated in Drawing and painting from the Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai in 2004 and completed his Masters in 2006. He lives and works in Mumbai.
Rupali Sontakke Angre
A line of beds float along an undetermined watery course upheld by petals. This strange imagery, the horizontal panelling, layering and construction of a visual brings us to meet a very sensitive mind. Rupali has been following the form of the bed for a while now. Tracing sleep, insomnia and the act of resting, rupali meditates on visuals formed and developed then. Her experiences bring her to a quiet corner in her mind. Forms that metaphorically build around her thoughts are delicately drawn onto the prepared surface of the paper. A heavily laden brush with the most minimal hues, fill niches and strokes, build volumes and space. Her compositions are mystery and reality at the same time.
Rupali graduated in Drawing and Painting from the Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai in 2002 and completed her Masters in 2004. The Birla gallery presented her first solo in 2006. She lives and works in Mumbai.
Rakesh Kumar
Rakesh has shown in recurring intervals in Delhi and Mumbai. Having graduated from Jammu, Rakesh completed his MFA at the Sir J J School of Art in 2004. His works have always perceived form in landscape and nature. The linear quality of running hills or a cluster of trees, open plains or grassy ledges, have always found their way through and to Rakesh. The absence of self and also the very presence of it at the same time bring on a third dimension to the construction of line. The extremes at which rakesh's palette and plurality of line hold visually, the scales of his work, from the smallest of 7 inches in pastel to the largest at nearly 90 inches in acrylic gives a clear picture of his pursuit of line, layering and minimal but multiple facades into the volume of color space and time.
Having graduated from the art school in Srinagar, Rakesh went on to complete his masters from the Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai, 2004. He showed solo at the Birla gallery in 2008. He has participated in several group shows and has shown solo in Jammu, Delhi and Mumbai. He lives and works in Srinagar.
