In an attempt to bring contemporary masters across art disciplines along with the launch of four new ones, the Modern Art Gallery is showcasing a group exhibition titled Live Unbound. Curated by Sugandha Chagti, the exhibition is the gallery’s first contemporary show. “It’s an amalgamation of senior contemporary artists and the aspiring ones on the same platform. Also, we have artists from cities, including Mumbai, Chennai and Bhopal, each with their distinct style of work. Take, for example, Riaz Samadhan who uses monotones to depict the modern society while Baiju Parthan who works around cosmology,” says Chagti, who wants to bring together different art forms under one roof.
Chagti has been working on the show for the past six months and says that the process of selecting the artists requires extensive travelling. “We regularly visited different artists in various cities to study their work. We even had the artist come visit our gallery to take the discussion forward.” The lineup of artists includes TV Santosh, Puja Mondal, Sahaya Sharma, Baiju Parthan, Shampa Sircar, Nayanaa Kanodia, Arzan Kambatta, Ravi Mandlik, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Somnath Singh, Sanju Jain and others.
An interactive platform such as this is always welcomed by artists. Chagti adds, “There are times when one is struggling with ideas or concepts and such platforms offer them the much-needed perspective. We have Suchit Sahni who has for the first time worked on a round canvas while another artist has engaged textiles into her work. So, it is a continuous interaction.”
As a curator, Chagti believes that for a gallery it is quintessential to be in touch with different art schools and institutes to meet budding talents. “This time we have three new artists from Baroda who have just completed their MSA and have worked on really interesting mediums. One has worked on various cupboards with a memory attached to each one of them, thus, creating a memory box. Another has worked on terracotta tiles. So, it’s important for galleries to continuously reach out and find new talents. Also, we want to keep refreshing what we showcase to the society as art is all about cultural development,” she adds.
Till: November 30
AT: Modern Art Gallery, Santushti Shopping Complex, Chanakyapuri