National Gallery of Modern Art

In May, Bengaluru was resting and roasting in the sun. Very few art events happened. Bengalureans art lovers took a break.

Bhaskar Vadla

Mahua organized the solo show of the young, talented and many time award winner Bhaskar Vadla from Baroda. Urban Threads is a series of 18 etchings where the artist is sharing with us the way he perceives machines, building equipments and technology. Bhaskar believes they are all bodies, living and communicating with human beings. They confront us, they help us, and sometimes they destroy us. They are a different breed all together. Bhaskar uses them as metaphors in order to convey ideas about his own experience of socio-political, cultural or environmental issues.


The Gallery Blue Spade had a group show aptly named Meeting Point, their main intention being to demonstrate that every image we see is a transaction between the viewer and the creator. Some of the artists have made a strong statement in their works about who they are, what they do and what they think.

Tasveer displayed the works of Sonia Jose, the latest winner of the Robert Bosch Art Grant. A Place Called Home is a series of photographs where the artist explores the changes in her neighbourhood, in Jaynagar. The show is a nice walk through a part of the city of Bengaluru that is struggling to retain its charm and adjust to the increasing needs of its inhabitants. New buildings are replacing old ones that have been landmarks for ever, empty spaces are filled up and parks are threatened. Sonia documents the changes through the lens of her camera.

The National Gallery of Modern Art show cased Signposts of the Times, a sample of their very rich and impressive collection. 500 works are on display to take you through 3 centuries of Indian Arts. Tagore, Amrita Sher Gill, Raza, Bawa and many others. This is a show not to be missed as this is an incredible chance to visit the palace of arts and that too in the heart of the city. This surely should be on the agenda of the people and visitors of Bengaluru.

1 Shanti Road hosted a talk by Professor Parul Dave-Mukherji where she proposed to talk on : What's contemporary about Asian Art ?

June seems to start a little slowly but I am sure the events will all pile up in a week or two. Art Chutney is organizing a solo show for Puja Bahri. The Alliance Française is getting ready for La Fête de la Musique on June 21st, the longest day in the year. The concept was launched in Paris by Francois Mitterrand Culture Minister, Jack Lang in 1981. For the last 29 years this concept of playing music throughout the day has spread in different cities of the world like Paris, London, Berlin, Sydney and Bengaluru. Different genres of music can be heard at the street sides ranging from classical music, rock, fusion to jazz, commercial etc.
 

Franck Berthelemy