Speakers in “Conversation on Contemporary Indian Art” will address questions raised by the work of India’s exciting new wave of critically acclaimed artists in this panel discussion on Saturday, March 5, 2-4 p.m. at the Surrey Art Gallery.
Panelists Ashok Mathur, Haema Sivanesan, and Kathleen Wyma will discuss such questions as: What makes this new wave of Indian art distinct from other late 20th century art from India? How does this new wave of recent artwork relate to Indian society at the turn-of-the-century? Why is it that this new art is widely celebrated around the world, yet barely recognized in its own country?
Surrey Art Gallery Curator Jordan Strom will moderate the discussion. This event is presented in conjunction with the exhibition In Transition: New Art from India – a co-presentation with the Vancouver Biennale – and is part of the Gallery’s Speaker Series on South Asian and East Asian Contemporary Art.
Admission is free. Refreshments will be available.
“India is a nation in transition whose accelerated changes in social, economic and political arenas,” says artist Jitish Kallat, have “become the catalyst for contemporary art practice.”
Indian art has undergone dramatic changes over the past decade-and-a-half as it responds to the rapidly changing Indian society. Artwork by a new wave of Indian artists has increasingly been made that responds to the vivid worlds of global cinema and television, music videos, the Internet, new media advertisements, and new video game technologies. At the same time, the new art responds to the dynamic cityscapes of metropolitan India – its official cultural narratives and rapidly expanding consumer society.
“Conversation on Contemporary Indian Art” will address some of the key related developments in contemporary Indian art.
Artists featured in the exhibition In Transition: New Art from India are Ranbir Kaleka, Reena Saini Kallat, TV Santhosh, Sudarshan Shetty, artist collective Thukral & Tagra and Hema Upadhyay. The exhibition, presented in recognition of the Year of India in Canada in 2011, continues at the Surrey Art Gallery to March 27.
The Surrey Art Gallery is located at 13750 88 Ave. Call 604-501-5566 or check www.surrey.ca/arts