Art Exhibition at Art*ry Dubai: featuring exciting artworks by sixteen contemporary artists

NH7+47: Southern Sojourn

Featuring exciting artworks by sixteen contemporary artists

Dubai 29th April: Singapore-based curator Mukta Ahluwalia Bedi and Art*ry Dubai, jointly present an exhibition that will showcase sixteen artists and forty-six artworks from South India: Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The exhibition introduces to the Middle East, exciting contemporary artists who are breaking new ground in art-practices. It aims to showcase the breadth of artistic practices beyond the metropolitan cities. This will be held at Art*ry, Al Quoz from the 13th May to 13th June 2015 from 11am to 7 pm.

Curated by Mukta Ahluwalia Bedi, this is the first edition of an ongoing research into contemporary Indian art practices. This exhibition is a survey of variety of art practices found in South India. There will be four such editions during the course of two years; each edition will focus on a distinct geographical area.

“Many artists today find themselves struggling with lack of opportunity to connect with wider audiences. In NH7+47: Southern Sojourn, we introduce new talent, new works that are fun, fresh and exciting; art from India that has not been presented before in the middle-east. The idea is to create a platform for alternate art practices to emerge and grow,” commented Mukta Ahluwalia Bedi, Curator.

 “UAE and India have a long economic and historical relationship, especially with Southern Indian trading ports. As UAE progresses form initial years of nation building to a dynamic modern country, it is important to promote intellectual, social cultural aspects of life. Art*ry through the vehicle of art, aims to enrich the cultural landscape in Dubai by showcasing quality arts from across the globe and organizing invigorating talks and sessions for the divers audiences”, said Hassena Suresh, founding member at Art*ry.

The artists presented are among the rising stars of the Indian art. They choose unusual mediums to execute large-scale works to celebrate the vernacular culture through their art, hence creating persuasive artworks, which entice the viewer with their unique visual language. The audience relate directly to the artworks as they represent the social-cultural ethos of our time; conveying the everyday lived experience. The imagery has a unique flavor and aesthetic that indicates towards new possibilities in art-making.

The artists in the exhibition include:

1.     Anamika Vijayveeraraghvan
2.     Ramachandran Nagasamy
3.     Yuvan Bothisathuvar
4.     Sarvana Parasuraman
5.     Kumaresan Selvaraj
6.     Vijay Pichumani
7.     Janarthana Rudhramoorthy
8.     Masuram RaviKant
9.     Sayam Bharath
10.  Laxman Aelay
11.  Rohini Reddy
12.  Gouri Vemula
13.  Priti Samyukta
14.  Srinivas Reddy
15.  Madhu Venugopalb
16.  Shridhar Iyer
17.  Sebastian Varghese

Masuram Ravi Kant, Anamika V and Ramachandran N, are young artists who consciously celebrate the local visual culture whereas Yuvan Bothisathuvar and Sarvana Parasuraman use the line but in a rather objective abstract manner.

As these artists continue their experimentation and artistic growth, it is possible that with them will emerge a distinct language and artistic practice that is authentic to them and reflective of their cultural milieu.