Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Kalaa Dhaaraa: Visual extravaganza of contemporary works

'Kalaa Dhaaraa', the largest exhibition of contemporary art will be held in Mysore from February 16 to May 4 at Ramsons Kala Pratishtana in Nazarbad between 10.30 am to 8.30 pm.  
 
More than 90 artists from across Karnataka will feature about 150 works. Landscapes, traditional art, Mysore style, Surpur miniatures, line drawings, pen-and-ink, abstracts, contemporary art and collages will be displayed, which are created using water colours, acrylics, oils, papers and mixed media.  

The exhibition features three generations of artists, the youngest being 27 years and the oldest is 75. On display are works by husband -wife team, a father-son duo, brothers, and teacher along with his students. In all, the  aim of the expo is to bring back the hoary tradition of art connoisseurship in Mysore.

The exhibition will be divided into five slots. In the beginning artworks of 15 artists will be displayed. After 15 days works of 15 more artists will be added to the existing repertoire. Similarly with each fortnight 15 artists will be added.

A series of five lectures will punctuate in this 78 days exhibition. Lecture on 'Chitra Setu- Tale of epic bridge by Raghupathi Bhat' on March 2 at 4pm; 'Miniatures of Vijay Hagargundgi', titled 'Surapura Vijaya' on March 16; 'Kalaantara Talaantara - The legacy of Tirupallaya Raju', on March 30; 'Artistic Incantations of GLN Simha' under the title, 'Mantra Mukura' on April 13 and lecture on 'Kuncha Bhramari: The Floral world of Mukta Venkatesh' on April 27.

Pratishtana Curator Raghu Dharmendra has stated in a release that the artistes have used various mediums to reflect their inner visions and most of the artists have exhibited their works exhibited in prestigious galleries across the country and abroad.

'The role played by some of the great Wadiyar rulers of the erstwhile Mysore State, in nurturing and fostering all forms of art is very high. But, over a period with lack of patronage the art is being left orphaned,' he opined.

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Contemporary art works exhibition attract people in large


The 78 days contemporary art exhibition 'Kalaa Dhaaraa' organised by Ramsons Kala Pratishtana has become a perfect platform for artiste to showcase their talent and exchange their views.
The specialty in the paintings are retaining the traditional form of artwork, the artists have given modern touch for the works.
With city hosting such a mega event for first time, soon after the inauguration on Sunday, people from all walks of life were seen heading towards gallery in large number, to take a look at the rare paintings which had adorned the walls of gallery.
The city-based artists after glimpsing the paintings, shared their experiences with Express, thus:
City's senior artist L Shivalingappa said that with no encouragement from the government to artist, the expo being organised by private organisations will provide market for artists, apart from providing platform to showcase their talent.

Artist Dr Jamunarani V Nirle said that the when the artists work enters commercial market, the artists gets encouragement and motivation to experiment on new work.
“The expo has brought artists from across state under one roof. With this, we get an opportunity to share the experiences of senior artists and specialise more in various forms of artworks,” said Artist Mohan,

'The exhibition is very good and new techniques can be adopted in our works. In all, the expo is fabulous and the quality of work are awesome,' opined another artist Chandrika, daughter of palace artist late M Ramanarasiah.
Hotelier Rajendra after inaugurating the expo, suggested artists to narrate the history, culture, tradition of Mysore through paintings and exhibit the same. “With Mysore having special identify in art field, depicting the history of Mysore through art is need of the hour. This will even attract tourists in large,” he opined, asking artists to sale the painting at the concession price for tourist.
 The expo will be held between 10.30 am to 8.30 pm till May 4.
Meet the artists
The exhibition has been divided into five slots, of which for every 15 days, works of artists will be added to the existing repertoire. Out of 90 artistes, about 20 artistes from Belagavi, Bangalore, Mangaor, Mysore, Sandur, Raichur, Bijapur, Udupi, Gadag have displayed their work at first slot. A series of five lectures will be held during the exhibition.

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'He has successfully revived the century-old dying art' 

Artist Vijay Hagargundgi has dedicated his life in collecting and preserving rare art form Surapura, a unique style of miniature painting that has its provenance in Surapur, located near Gulbarga.

Surapura School of painting which flourished for about 200 years, was a victim of the vicissitudes of time. The art dead for almost century ago, was revived successfully by this artist 35 year ago.
Finding no teachers of the style liming Surapura he went to learn the painting from Dwarka Prasad of Rajasthan.

Speaking to Express, he said: “For almost a century there was no artist who painted Surpur miniatures. So no one could teach this art form. Every art will have a unique process in which it is created. When this knowledge is extinct, one should try to replicate the artwork using the latest methods and techniques,” said Vijay.

“I went to Jaipur and further to Udaipur and learnt the nuances of miniature paintings after which I started to copy Surpur miniatures and mastered the visual language of this style. Thus I revived a long forgotten art of Karnataka and have taught the same to few students as well,” he said with proud.

“It was the murals that captured my imagination. Thenceforth set on a mission to reinvigorate this art form which was once popular because of the patronage of chieftains of Supura, the businessmen and monasteries,” he added.

Surpura tradition is a subtle mix of the Deccan style and the Vijayanagar Style from which both Tanjore and Mysore Styles orginated. These Surpura Art was first manifested as murals and Portraits. These murals were discovered by Vijaya on the walls of mutts, temple and ruined mansions, he added.

“Surpur miniatures are characterised by static figures. After decades of pratice, Vijay has added dynamism to this art form and evolved his own signature style which are lyrical poems of solid colours, flowing lines and delicate gesso. His line drawings are divine visions to behold. Vijay Hagargundgi is a living legend of Karnataka,” said Ramsons Kala Pratishtana Secretary RG Singh delivered talk on 'Surapura Vijaya - Miniatures of Vijay Hagargundgi' in city on Sunday. He showcased some of the rare collections of Vijay Hagargundgi, highlighting his struggle to revive the rare form of art.

Vijay Hagargundgi has exhibited his works at the second series of Kalaa Dhaaraa, an exhibition of Contemporary Art at Pratima Gallery. The first series of expo was inaugurated on 16 February will conclude on May 4.

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