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Art in Rain

‘Kis kiss par case’ and ‘Chini kum, makkhan jyada’ such captions on hoardings are now at the mercy of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. They have always been the cynosures in the eyes of the Kolkatans who resent the KMC’s decision to remove all such ad campaigns that are ‘demoralizing’ the city’s people. The KMC strongly reprimands the ‘obscene’ commercial campaigns of several international costume brands as they have been featured all over the city. But we detest such interventions. Moral policing has to know its limits.

However, the monsoon has chilled out such heated moments and a number of the city’s galleries have shifted their attention to curatorial projects. The history of curating art exhibitions in Kolkata is young indeed. There had been only a handful of them in the recent past, but only arbitrarily. The present climate seems ideal for the purpose as their numbers increase. After Shivaji Panikkar’s curatorial project ‘Beyond Credos’ (featuring works of the Baroda based artists at the Birla Academy) have had hit the city in February, followed by Bhavna Kakkar’s ‘Vanity Fair’, Gallery Mon has embarked upon its current show  - ‘Confronting Globalization’, where once again more if not most artists schooled in Baroda have been highlighted among others in the show.

What’s up with the city? A couple of months ago the CIMA art gallery, too, soon after Shivji’s curatorial project was over featured a trio again from Baroda! We are a bit taken a back. What oddity is this! Some of us are quite not approving of it at all. However, ‘Confronting Globalization’ showcased the works of Arun Bain, Barun Chowdhury, Debashis Manna, Debnath Basu, K Prasun Roy, Kazi nasir, Rabin Roy, Rajib Chowdhury and Rathin Kanji. Curated by Mrinal Ghosh the show aims at featuring how the nine artists all born in the decade of the 1970s confront globalization. Once again we can smell Shivji’s objective of his show that aimed at featuring how artists in Baroda after leaving the MS University has confronted their new learnings abroad. Arun Bain’s ‘Mid day Melody’ shows journeys of the human life, While Kazi Nasir’s impeccably rendered self –portraits create sensation. Rajib Chowdhury’s works in the bill-board style reflect the modern choice in vogue.

Artist Suman Roy, whose portraits of Christ will be shown at Jehangir Art gallery, Mumbai in July was previewed at the ITC Sonar Bangla Art Gallery on 5th June. But why Christ of all things? The subject itself had whetted much dispute only a month ago. Artist Wasim Kapoor, who was present at the show, perhaps had the answer: “Christ is hot!” stated he. Kolkata seems never to be in dearth of ideas. While Moulin Rouge was the heart of the Parisian nights, where art, food, drink and entertainment blended perfectly, Kolkata has embarked upon doing the same. The Chung Wah restaurant at Chandni Chowk has so far been the rendezvous of all elites including Satyajit Ray. The owners now to keep the legacy alive have planned to invite artists every week to paint at the bar. The inaugural painting was done by Jogen Chowdhury on 25th June evening. Needless to say, more restaurants have embarked upon promoting art for quite sometime now. Good news for artists, art lovers and buyers alike!

The Incoda TV , which had in the earlier years collaborated with the Kolkata Metro Railways to promote young artists by putting up their works on the walls  inside the metro compartments in panels maintained by the former, have now something for young and  upcoming film makers. Last month it had arranged for a short film contest and ones short listed is being televised in the Incoda TV installed in dozens at the Metro stations from this month. Till July, all of these can be seen at the city’s metro stations between 3 to 5 pm everyday.

Kitsch art has created a fetish for Kolkata artists. Swapan Ghosh’s solo show at the Academy of Fine Arts (30 May – 5 June) said it all once again. Swapan’s palette comprises of raw hues. Although his work ‘Destination’ seemed impressive, the rest of his canvases felt somewhat discordant contextually. His conception strays from his treatment leaving his art to dwell in ambiguity.

The Ideas Gallery has been showcasing ‘The Masters of Imagination’ - a group show of contemporary artist including Subrata Ganguly, Sanatan Dinda, Ramananda Banerjee, Debashis Das, Prakash Karmakar, Ashok Adhikary and others. The show will be on till 28 July.

 Here is a French touch before saying adieu. The French Association had hosted a screening of the French movie ‘La Belle Noiseuse’ by Jacques Rivette . Rivette is considered the most experimental among the French New Wave Directors. The film portrays the inner life the protagonist - the artist Edouard Frenhofer. The subtlety of both the treatment and the visuals stole the minds of the Kolkata movie buffs.