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Art Night Thursday – August 2023!
Art Night Thursday is a successful collaborative idea amongst the contemporary art galleries in Mumbai. Vineel Bhurke shares the lovely experience of exploring different art galleries, as he accompanied a group of art lovers on this month’s Art Night Thursday, on 10th August.
Art Night Thursday of this month was on 10th August. As the heavy rains were already over in the first week of the month, the relatively dry spell during the mid-week proved suitable for the walk-through. It was a lovely experience of gallery hopping this time too, accompanying a small group of art lovers and artists. Like last month, I happily joined the informal group of art lovers led by Mr Balachandran (Fondly known as Bala), who had invited me to join the informal group on Thursday evening. As always, Bala was ready with his plan, complete with a list of art galleries to visit and a list of art lover friends whom he invited to join.
I joined them on our way to Gallery Maskara at Colaba (https://gallerymaskara.com/), for the preview of the exhibition titled ‘Supernatural’ by artist Abraham George. Supernatural is a series of photochemical prints made from digitally produced negatives. The artist mentions that these works look at the historical entanglement of science with image-making since the early modern era. Referencing natural history illustration, early photography, and digital imaging technologies, these works consider how representations of nature order the world, with frequently monstrous consequences. Through them, the artist contemplates the inherent tensions and transcendental stakes involved in image-making.
Here, these jet black coloured works stand out against the white background walls. In all, 35 works are presented here in four series viz. ‘Wargods’, ‘Suits’, Revelations’ and ‘Song of Songs’ each telling a different visual story. Each of the images has a unique persona that is relatable to one’s life experiences. Some of the images seem familiar while some are exotic. The gallery space at Maskara is colossal due to its high ceiling. Such a space can comfortably accommodate large works of art such as those in the previous exhibition there, by T Venkanna. At the same time, the sheer feel of the vast vertical and horizontal space at the gallery provides a distinct dimension to the viewing experience, when the works are small sized, like in the present exhibition (See photo). The exhibition is open for visitors till 9th September. The preview was well attended by a mixed gathering of artists and art lovers. The exhibition is open for visitors till 9th September 2023.
Next, we moved to the gallery Chatterjee & Lal (http://www.chatterjeeandlal.com) for the preview of ‘Red Curtains Opening’ by Nihaal Faizal. This exhibition is about contemporary imagery and has three sections almost intertwined into each other yet unique in their statement. First is ‘The Photograph’ which is about popular digital images transformed into physical print form. It explores a unique approach of looking at certain landscape photographic images that have gained widespread familiarity and popularity as digital objects, especially as desktop computer screens of Windows operating system since the early 2000’s. The artist has attempted to transform their look into that of physical objects in the print form as opposed to their familiar digital form. It is interesting to note how a purely digital image gains a physical form hence renews its identity even though there is hardly any change in its imagery.
The second section is ‘The screen’ which has a compilation of computer-generated footage sourced from the stock image website shutterstock. In this, the red theatre curtains open, revealing a slightly different portrayal of blankness each time: black screens, green screens, and empty stages adorned with dancing lights. Amongst all these images of the emptiness, the logo of shutterstock prevails, which signifies that the images in the digital era are stripped off of their deeper and implied meaning and just remain notional, as dry and accurate as the keywords that are associated with them. The third section is ‘The curtain’ that presents a series of non-functional, dummy CCTV cameras laid on ground, which are meant to serve as deterrents against intruders, without investing into real surveillance. Through these three series, the artist considers how the identities of images have been evolving in our worlds like never before. The preview was well attended by a young generation crowd bustling with enthusiasm for art and new age imagery. The exhibition is open for visitors till 16th September 2023.
We then moved to our final destination for the evening, the art gallery Akara Contemporary (https://www.akaraart.com/) at Colaba for the preview of Nowness in Time by Trishla Jain. This exhibition presents paintings steeped in meditative tranquility that transcends the usual flow of time into a singular entity of nowness. Through her two distinct series ‘Yantra’ and ‘Tantra’, self-taught artist Trishla Jain explores the opposing dualities that are present inside each one of us. ‘Yantra’ deals with a systematic progression of the focused, logical, and structured mind that helps understand various layers which the artist passes through while entering a higher stage of meditation akin to ‘Samadhi’.
Whereas ‘Tantra’ takes on the same mind in its unleashed, challenged, boundless and free-flowing form. In that sense, these paintings are personal depictions of spiritual visions attained through mindfulness meditation that have a universal resonance. The repetitive motifs or patterns such as dots, lines, and splashes of colours in these paintings are meditative and represent a breath or a chant in meditation. They form a grid that subtly represents a structured and repetitive pattern of breaths that a life has, yet slowly transcends into formlessness that shows the freedom of the mind and inner space. The exhibition provided a serene mindful experience of time standing still in the moment of nowness. It is open for visitors till 18th September 2023.
As we all were engrossed in enjoying the Art Night Thursday, it was natural to lose track of time. At around 9:00 pm though, we realized that there are many more art galleries which we could not cover that evening. Unanimously agreeing to catch up once again soon, we started on our way back home, reminiscing the enjoyable experience of yet another Art Night Thursday.
With Chinha’s earlier articles on Art Night Thursday, we have been receiving reader feedback and inquiries about the event. To help art lovers plan their visits, we have decided to bring out an exhaustive fortnightly listing of all ongoing art exhibitions across Mumbai.
Please do check it out on the link given below and send us your feedback.
Current Exhibitions – August 2nd half
https://chinha.in/news-views-english/current-exhibitions-august-2nd-half/
Vineel Bhurke
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