New Delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) The Madhavendra Palace atNahargarh Fort in Jaipur will soon be transformed into asculpture park with art works by leading Indian andinternational artists on display at heritage property.
The project which is being initiated by the government ofRajasthan in collaboration with a non-profit organisationSaath Saath Arts, will showcase art works by 14 Indian and sixinternational artists, selected by renowned artist and gallerydirector Peter Nagy.
Nagy says he wants to indulge in his passion for art,architecture and decor into a marvellous synthesis of the pastand the present with this project.
"For most of my career as a gallerist and curator, I havebeen trying to break away from the white-box exhibition space.
"Jaipur is one of the first places where tourists go.
People travel for contemporary as well as traditional cultureand this initiative will help to promote that further," Nagysaid.
The partnership is being seen as a first of its kindinitiative where the government has collaborated with a rangeof corporate sponsors and private individuals to bring acontemporary edge to India's heritage properties.
"There will be several outreach and education programmeswith fashion shows and music that will unfold in later part ofthe project. It will help the local as well as young artiststo learn about contemporary arts.
"Artists from across the world want to come to India anddisplay their works. For me, culture is an engine of economyfor any country and India must tap on it," the curator said.
The project which started around seven months agoinvolved in-depth research of the palace to ensure that nodamage is done to the heritage property during theinstallation of the sculptures.
"The palace is more like a maze with several spots hereand there. Although we wanted to bring the palace to lifethrough art but a lot of decisions to display artworks weretaken according to the availability of the space," he said.
The exhibition which will be open to public from December10, includes artist Jitish Kallat's famous sculpture"Annexation (2009)" along with Karnataka-based sculptor L NTallur's "Chromatophobia" (2012) - a granite sculpture withwooden logs and coins, among others.
A collection of seven sculptures - all in Hydrocalplaster, acrylic paint skins by American artist ArleneSchechet and a popular piece of art created by French-bornAmerican artist Arman, "Fried Chicken (1984)" will also bedisplayed at the gallery.
"I believe art in many forms embraces and connects peoplefrom across continents and am therefore delighted that thesculpture park at the Nahargarh fort will be the firstpermanent international art space in Rajasthan drawing peoplefrom far flung parts of our state and the Indian sub-continentas well as from across the world, bringing them together toshare and celebrate diverse international creativeexpressions," Vasundhara Raje, chief minister of Rajasthansaid. PTI RJSTRS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.