www.aakritiartgallery.com
Different hues of Aakriti

February 2010 brings about our News n Views in a magazine format which we do hope is read and appreciated by one & all. And through our website-www.aakritiartgallery.com we have come up with two new sections, one is 'Be a Critic' & the other named 'Submit Work'. In the section named 'Be a Critic' any artist can upload their works for public criticism & comments. In 'Submit Work' any artist who aspires to exhibit his/her works can submit their work for reviewing by Aakriti Art Gallery.

Krishna born 1980, has done MFA in graphics from Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan in 2005. She is also a recipient of National Scholarship to Young Artist from the Department of Culture, from Govt. of India. She participated in quite a few international exhibitions including India- Japan Exchange Exhibition of print, Saga Art College, Japan in 2001-2004, India -Australia Exchange Exhibition of Print, Sydney College of Fine Arts, Australia in 2002, India - London Exchange Exhibition of Print, Camber Well, London College of Arts, London, 2002.

Her participation in the national exhibition were in 'Painted Delights' at Birla Academy, Kolkata in 2007 and in the All India 77th Annual Art Exhibition, AIFACS, New Delhi in 2005, Group shows have been at Birla Academy, Kolkata in 2005, and other places. She has also participated in a number of group shows like Prints, Brownson Art Gallery, Purchase, New York in 2009, Gen Next II, organized by Aakriti Art Gallery, Kolkata in 2007and others. She has attended workshops on at Regional Editing Making Camp, organized by Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, Kolkata in 2008, National Workshop organized by Art Border Line Foundation India, Kolkata in 2008, and Painting Workshop at Uttarpara in 2008. 

Atanu Bhattacharya, born  1964, has a first class both in BVA and MVA (print making) from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. His only solo exhibition was held at the Society of Contemporary Artists Gallery, Kolkata in 2008.His group exhibitions include the Exchange-Brownson Art Gallery, New York, U.S.A (2009), Exhibition of sculptures by Society of Contemporary Artists at Aakriti Art Gallery, Kolkata, (2009), 50th Annual Exhibition of Society of Contemporary Artists at Birla Academy, Kolkata, (2009), All India print show (2000), Cymroza Art Gallery, Kolkata, New Delhi,Chennai & Mumbai, Art of Bengal ( 1850  1999 )  PRABHA Phase III, Biswa Banga Sammelan Millennium Festival. Kolkata (2000 ).

Atanu was awarded the Junior Fellowship in Visual art from Human Resource & development, department of Culture, Govt. of India (1998  2000 ). He also received the Rabindra Bharati Visual Art Faculty Graphics Award 1993.

His works are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Modem Art, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, USA, Germany and Poland Atanu is a member of the Society of Contemporary Artists since 2008.  

The Aakriti Art Shop is a departure from galleries that restrict themselves to only holding exhibitions and serious discourses on art. The Art Shop, housed at the Aakriti premises on Hungerford Street, in Kolkata, is a place that makes art available for the masses.

One of the best attractions of the Art Shop is its attempt to document contemporary and modern Indian artists through its series of monographscollectors copies in their own rights. The monographs, tastefully designed, and marking a high order of publishing, not only documents the growth of individual artists, but also traces the development of the the asrtistic psyche, as well as the various influences that have affected the them.

Written by eminent art critics and connoisseurs, the whole range of monographs includes publications on each member of the Society of Contemporary Artists (SCA), Kolkata. Beside these, it also has monographs on Jogen Chowdhury, Sunil De, Sekhar Roy, Amitava Dhar, Tapas Konar, Ashoke Mullick, P R Narvekar, Satish Gujral and Samindranath Majumdar to name a few. In a word, it is Aakriti's way of bridging the gap between the artist and the patron, letting the patron on to an exclusive peek into the life of the creator whose work he/she has always appreciated.

However, that is just not all that the art shop offers. It also stocks mouse pads, coasters, coffee mugs, note books, diaries etc, all of them reproduced from a signature painting of the artist. It also stocks prints of artists like Amitava Dhar, Ashoke Mullick, Chhatrapati Dutta, Jogen Chowdhury, Kartick Chandra Pyne, P R Narvekar, Partha Pratim Deb, Samindranath Majumdar, Satish Gujral, Sekhar Roy, Sunil De & Tapas Konar among others, besides small paintings and sculptures, which are affordable.

Of late, the Art Shop has also come up with the idea of making a few Indian masters affordable. And as an effort towards this, prints of original Bikash Bhattacharjee and Satish Gujral masterpieces are now available in various categories. There are digital prints, mouse pads, notebooks, sketchbooks, coasters and coffee mugs. Works of all members of the Society of Contemporary Artists are also available on plates and mugs.

The other attraction is the collector's edition catalogues. The Illustrated Catalogue, published on the occasion of the recently held Bikash Bhattacharjee Retrospective at Emami Chisel Arts, as well as the catalogue published on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations exhibition of the SCA at Aakriti lead the lot. The latter not only lists the individual sculptures at the SCA exhibition, but also has a detailed account of the evolution of the Society, along with a list of its current members.

The latest addition to the Art Shop, and a major attraction at that, has been the magic mugs. These mugs, plain black in colour, come alive with a full-colour signature painting on their outer surface, as soon as a hot drink is poured in them. According to the Aakriti authorities, these mugs, priced reasonable, can be made to order, with the painting of the artist of choice. 

All art shop articles can be bought online – www.aakritiartgallery.com
 

A virtual meeting ground for artists, art collectors, art  enthusiasts, critics and connoisseurs.	Post your views on www.aakrititalkart.com

Question on Conceptual Art

Does conceptual art questions the nature of what is understood as art ?Posted by artseek on August 25, 2009 at 12:38am
 
"In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work . . . all planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art."
 
Sol LeWitt (American, 1928-2007), in "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art," in Artforum, summer issue, 1967.
 
This quotation highlights a key difference between a traditional work of art and a conceptualist installation: in one instance the hands-on skills of the artist are paramount; in the other they are not. Tony Godfrey, author of "Conceptual Art," asserts that conceptual art questions the nature of what is understood as art. What are your views? Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/conceptual_art
 
 Reaponses
 

Reply by Steve Gray on August 31, 2009 at 10:59am

These days I see it as a free for all where the product and the concept can readily be one and the same. Often the works are so open to interpretation few know the real meaning of the work from the Artists perspective, and may Artists will tell you they don't want to have to stand next to a work and explain it.
 
Art is a visual "language" and therefore it's concepts, comments, notions etc are open for business in almost any way you want, therefore your question is both right and wrong all at once! Arrgh a paradox... hmm nice.
 

Reply by Berta Paulino on August 31, 2009 at 11:55pm

I agree with Steve about visual art being open "for business in almost any way you want..." But when you become to specify it as a concept ...it implies that the understanding of that particular work have to be channelled through a specific way of thinking (the artist idea!). Many ideas can be represented but, others aren't easy understood; and still, many more very bad represented...With the work "so open to interpretation" Who is to guess! My point here is, that the artist not wanting to talk, put himself or herself in a pedestal of intelectualized arrogance. This says only one thing: I am saved. I am protected by my intelectualized work...even if my ideas do not work...Don't get me wrong here, I have enjoyed some conceptual art ...But, this arrogant minimalist aspect of it, is just not working anymore...
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"As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward".
 Vincent van Gogh