KOCHI: Until August 20, the Durbar Hall art gallery is transforming itself into a unique space for exchange of versatile art and culture. The 11th edition of Cochin Art Fair brings together artists, curators, and the audience to discuss and visualise works of eminent creators across the country.
Commenced in 2016 as an initiative under Cochin Art Cube, the fair features 62 prominent artists this year and a total of 120 works under the theme ‘Take Root Beyond Any Sight’.
Curated by artist O Sunder, ‘Take Root, Beyond Any Sight’ explores invisible processes of growth, memory, and survival that exist beneath the common perception. “Using silence, absence, and fragmented visual forms, the exhibition reflects on hidden emotional and psychological landscapes that continue to shape human experience,” says Sunder in his curatorial note.
Root here becomes a metaphor for resilience, growing quietly in darkness, beyond recognition or visibility, he notes, while adding that this year is special as the annual art fair completes a decade since its inception.
The art fair also aims at providing a space for young artists to exhibit and commercialise their works.
This year, Cochin Art Fair features artists Abhimanue, Anupama Alias, Bose Krishnamachari, Bara Baskaran, Chandra Battacharjee, Shekhar, Prof Rajan Sreepath Boolari, Binoy Choudhari, Sooraja K S, Manoj Vayaloor, K S Dileepkumar, Deepthi Vasu, Rishikesh Sharma, Surendran Nair, Catherine De Villiers, Jyothilal T G and others.
Abstract and contemporary strokes, surrealist, subaltern themes and methods all blend together in one single spot here.