India Art Fair 2023: A dash of drama from Hyderabad’s Kalakriti and Dhi Artspace galleries

A painting titled Making and Unmaking of Dreams and Destiny by Avijit Dutta, as part of Kalakriti’s showcase at India Art Fair 2023
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The 14th edition of the India Art Fair (IAF), which opens on February 9 in New Delhi, will witness the participation of 71 art galleries and 14 institutions. Among them, two galleries from Hyderabad will shine the spotlight on contemporary and modern artists. Kalakriti will present a solo showcase of artist Avijit Dutta’s new series while Dhi Artspace will exhibit the works of emerging artists Arjun Das, Leena Raj, Poorvesh Patel and Sumana Som. The themes explored range from a dramatic interpretation of people’s lifestyles to the migrant workforce, and history to urbanisation. The IAF 2023 will look to facilitate interactions between Indian and international artists through art talks and showcases.

All that drama

At the Kalakriti art gallery’s booth (E-13), artist Avijit Dutta will exhibit his series of paintings titled Masquerade – An Endless Drama. He imagines life as a theatrical stage, inhabited by people who are perceived through different societal lenses. He portrays ideas concerning dreams, destiny, power, love, lust, greed, anger and societal status and says, “The world is our stage and we are witnessing the constant interplay of roles, characters and scripts that metamorphose and merge according to contexts and situations. While we observe, we too, are pulled into this vortex of masquerade and become a character in this drama.” 

Using tempera on canvas, his paintings in vibrant hues create an illusion of light and shade as though recreating a theatrical stage on which the lives of men, women and animals play out. “As artists, we are always in motion, observing, reflecting, learning and unlearning the complex facets of life. In that journey, some of us evolve as individuals and that is reflected in our art,” he says, adding that Masquerade is an extension of his earlier series Intimate Theatres.

Avijit Dutta had displayed his earlier series Deck of Cards at IAF 2018, in collaboration with Kalakriti. The gallery has been participating in the IAF since 2014, beginning with group shows and moving on to solo shows since 2016.

People and displacement

Dhi Artspace marks its presence at IAF, at the E-6 booth, through its showcase of paintings and installations by four emerging contemporary artists — Arjun Das, Leena Raj, Poorvesh Patel and Sumana Som. The visual stories put forth by these artists highlight issues about urbanisation, migration, labour and environment.

(Clockwise) Dhi Artspace shwocase by Sumana Som, Poorvesh Patel, Leena Raj and Arjun Das
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Arjun Das’ work is inspired by the migrant workforce in Kolkata’s Bara Bazar. Rather than present portraits of the workers, he presents the products created by them using wood, terracotta roof tiles, metal, stone and coal that are sold in the bazaar to make viewers pause and think of the workers who have moved to Kolkata in search of ‘an imagined heaven’ and therefore, issues of displacement. 

Leena Raj draws from her roots in Mavelikara in Kerala and depicts surreal landscapes in earthy tones of dusty browns, inhabited by men, women, children, birds, animals and trees. The communion of beings is a running theme in her work that emerges from her observations of the lifestyle in Mavelikara.

Artist Poorvesh Patel who hails from Navsari, Gujarat, presents striking and dramatic images of tools such as sickles. He wants viewers to ponder on the effects of urbanisation on agriculture; the depletion in soil quality is further compounded by the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers. One of his paintings shows sprouting seeds made from copper wires, to symbolically draw attention to urbanisation and diminishing farmlands. However, his paintings also underline Nature’s quality to replenish itself and rise like a phoenix. 

Historical landmarks such as the Charminar, a stepwell and the moti bazaar get a new interpretation in the work of Sumana Som who hails from Burdwan, West Bengal. She uses her skills of map making and miniature paintings to layer her narratives and juxtaposes historical structures and everyday life in urban spaces to draw attention to the relationship people have with public spaces.

As curator Oorja Garg explains, the artists’ connection with land and their affinity to nature is the overarching, binding factor: “One of Poorvesh Patel’s artworks shows seeds sprouting in the most uncanny environment; his art comes from his childhood memories of working in the farm. He also uses sickles in multiple compositions. Arjun Das, who has migrated from a village to Kolkata, gives an artistic interpretation of the things one would find at Bara Bazaar and how migrants co-exist in the market space.”

Leena Raj’s work reflects her love for nature and the hours she spends painting in Kerala and Oorja points out how some of the human forms in her paintings almost appear gender-less (or androgynous). “And Sumana Som uses multiple media to focus on historical landmarks that exist today and convey a sense of time.”

(The exhibits will be on view from February 9 to 12 at India Art Fair 2023 in New Delhi)