Our Time for a Future Caring
Exhibition: 11 May to 24 November 2019
Preview: 8-10 May 2019
Organisers: Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India and Confederation of Indian Industry
Commissioner: Director General National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi
Principal Partner & Curator: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
The India Pavilion is delighted to announce the artist line-up for its forthcoming presentation at the 58th International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia, opening to the public on 11 May 2019. Seven eminent modern and contemporary artists have been selected to represent India who are: Nandalal Bose, Atul Dodiya, GR Iranna, Rummana Hussain, Jitish Kallat,Shakuntala Kulkarni and Ashim Purkayastha.
The India Pavilion will form part of India’s ongoing programme celebrating ‘150 years of Gandhi’. The group presentation 'Our Time for a Future Caring' will critically engage with the many facets of Mahatma Gandhi, considering his philosophical ideas and their place in today’s complex world, in which violence and intolerance are still prevalent.
A significant new partnership between the public and private sectors in India has enabled the India Pavilion in 2019. It has been spearheaded by the India Ministry of Culture and co-organised with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It is curated by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, the Pavilion’s Principal Partner; the Director General of the National Gallery of Modern Art is the Commissioner of the project.
Our Time for a Future Caring will feature works by an intergenerational group of artists spanning from twentieth century to present day. Assembling gestures, metaphors, memorials, exchanges and object symbols that together coalesce, coincide and morph together, the exhibition will feature artworks that either reflect directly on Gandhi and his place in history, focusing on specific moments and their resonances for contemporary audiences, or offer conceptual investigations into his philosophical ideas and broader notions of agency, action and freedom.
The exhibition will begin with the ‘Haripura Panels’ by Nandalal Bose, an Indian ‘National Treasure artist’ whose works will be shown in Europe for the first time, on loan from the National Gallery of Art. Jittish Kallat’s poignant video installation, ‘Covering Letter’ will also be on display in Europe for the first time, featuring a letter from Gandhi to Hitler, projected onto fog. Further featured artists whose work engages with specific moments in Gandhi’s history will includeAshim Purkayastha and Atul Dodiya, the latter of whom refers to Gandhi as ‘an artist of non-violence’ and whose legacy he continues to reinvent and probe in his work. Artists whose works relate to themes focused on by Gandhi such as nonviolence, truth and tolerance include GR Iranna, Rummana Hussain and Shakuntala Kulkarni and further details about all of the artworks in the show will be unveiled soon. The Pavilion will feature work in a range of artistic mediums including painting, sculpture, mixed media video installations and photography.
Ms. Nirupama Kotru, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, said ‘Mahatma Gandhi's life was his message. He was the embodiment of compassion. He stood for non-violence and truth all his life. He asked us to have faith in humanity, no matter what the provocation. Gandhian values have always been an intrinsic part of the Indian ethos. Art is nothing but an expression of a nation's culture. It is therefore befitting that in the year we celebrate 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi, we express his moral principles through art. The installations and art works at the India Pavilion in the Venice Biennale are an expression of the universal Gandhian values of truth, non-violence, compassion towards fellow beings and nature, self -reliance, simplicity and sustainability.’
Shri Adwaita Chavan Gadanayak, Director General, National Gallery of Modern Art, said ‘It is an honour to present these important contemporary artists, alongside the work of National Treasure artist Nandalal Bose, on loan from the National Gallery of Modern Art, to celebrate 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi at the India Pavilion. Bose and Gandhi had a close relationship and it is pertinent that Bose’s seminal ‘Haripura Panels’ will form the starting point for this exhibition, a work that acutely demonstrated the artist’s belief that art informs all creative activity and is related to social need. The show will bring together a rich variety of works to explore the ‘Father of the Nation’ from different cultural perspectives.’
Mrs. Kiran Nadar, Founder and Chairperson, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, said ‘These seven significant Indian modern and contemporary artists come from across India and their work reflects strikingly different responses to the figure and philosophies of Gandhi. The India Pavilion will present a discursive, timely exhibition, which explores Gandhi’s enduring presence and considers history, memory and identity. KNMA is dedicated to promoting South Asian contemporary art and is honoured as Principal Partner and Curator to present Atul Dodiya, Ashim Purkayastha, GR Iranna, Jitish Kallat, Nandalal Bose, Rummana Hussain and Shakuntala Kulkarni at the Venice Biennale.’
Ms. Tarana Sawhney, Chairperson, CII Taskforce on Art and Culture, said ‘CII is delighted to be working with the Ministry of Culture, KNMA and NGMA to present these seven artists at what is undoubtedly the world’s largest and most prestigious contemporary art event, the Venice Biennale. Through this new collaboration, the first public-private partnership of its kind, our mission is to challenge and inspire international audiences, showcasing the strength of art from India on a global platform.’
20 March 2019
Dubai