National Exhibition of Art in city after 16 years

A visual treat returns to Bengaluru after 16 years. Art aficionados will be able to relish 111 select works of artists at the National Gallery of Modern Art.

The 58th National Exhibition of Art, organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, opens on Friday and will be on till March 19. The exhibition will comprise painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, installations, collage works, and printmaking in mixed media. The Akademi had earlier said it would shift the carnival out of Bengaluru because of NGMA’s reluctance to host it in the absence of approval from the Union Ministry of Culture. But the efforts of many artists, especially of Chi. Su. Krishna Setty, Administrator, Lalit Kala Akademi, who vociferously pitched to have the exhibition here, have finally paid off. “We will get to see the cream of talent. We had a special jury of 10 members who chose 111 works out of 6,000 applicants. Among them, 15 were further filtered for the prestigious National Academy Award that would be given away by Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala on Friday. The awardees would be conferred ₹1 lakh cash and a citation,” Mr. Setty said.

“The award is a much-coveted one among artists as it earmarks the future potential of individual artists. We can trace the path of pioneers such as M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza, who were amongst the earlier Akademi awardees, who became icons of Indian art,” said Mr. Setty. While the Lalit Kala Akademi is spending nearly ₹1 crore for holding the event, the 111 artists would also take part in a special Art Conclave at the Chitrakala Parishath for nine days from February 25 to March 5.

“We have earmarked ₹80 lakh for the conclave where artists would create a new body of works where public is allowed to see and interact,” said Mr. Setty.

The art works selected for the exhibition reflect innovative use of mediums, diversity and relevance to subject matter in contemporary art, according to Mr. Setty. “Emerging trends and their influences are seen as paramount in the selected art works. Their style of rendition, creativity and new mode of expression in mixed media are a treat that people can get to see,” he said.

The awardees

Amongst the 111 chosen works, five are from Karnataka. “V.G. Venugopal’s painting in mixed media, painting of Suresh K. from Mysuru and the drawing work of Satish Multhalli from Haveri are a few ,” said Mr. Setty.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – February 24th, 2017

Leave a Reply