Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Asia Society India Centre present a major international exhibition of contemporary Indian art, a decade long perspective on visual practices in India. Co-organized by Asia Society and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India includes 80 works of sculpture, painting, drawing, installation, video and interactive media from 1993 to the present. The exhibit will be on view from November 14 to December 8, 2006 at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. It will then travel to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai from January 8 to February 3, 2007.

Curated by Chaitanya Sambrani (Australian National University, Canberra), Edge of Desire “reflects contemporary Indian society’s constantly shifting experiences of caste alliances, class structures, and global trends in localised settings,” notes Asia Society President Vishakha N. Desai.

Professor Rajeev Lochan, Director, National Gallery of Modern Art says, “In recent years, Indian contemporary art has found its due recognition on the international stage. By bringing this highly acclaimed, cutting edge exhibition to India, the NGMA hopes to facilitate a meaningful engagement between artists and their works, to understand how the art resonates in its own environment.” 

The 34 artists and two collectives represented in this exhibition come from all around India, from the metropolises of Delhi and Mumbai to the rural regions of Kondagaon and Midnapur, embodying a wide range of generational and social contexts. The works of art include large installations and intimate drawings, and encompass a variety of visual cultures, traversing the conventional divides of urban and rural, fine and folk art, and high and popular culture.

“Edge of Desire is a signature art event that marks the opening of the Asia Society India Centre. The exhibition is first in a series of international art and cultural events that we will bring to audiences in South Asia’. says Bunty Chand, Executive Director, Asia Society India Centre.

In the past two years this exhibition has travelled to various locations in Australia, the United States, and Mexico. The show, culminating in its home country, is a continuing dialogue with the society, people and culture that have inspired the art and its makers.
Of the participating artists—who represent three generations—some are internationally recognized, some are well-established and some are among the country’s most innovative, emerging artists. They include: Ganga Devi Bhatt, Manu Chitrakar, Swarna Chitrakar, Santosh Kumar Das, Atul Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, Archana Hande, N.S. Harsha, Rummana Hussain, Tushar Joag, Ranbir Kaleka, Ravi Kashi, Mallikarjun Katakol, Sonia Khurana, Raj Kumar Koram, Umesh Maddanahalli, Nalini Malani, Kausik Mukhopadhyay, Pushpamala N. and Clare Arni, Open Circle, Cyrus Oshidar/MTV India, Raqs Media Collective, N.N. Rimzon, Sharmila Samant, Nataraj Sharma, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Nilima Sheikh, Dayanita Singh, K.G. Subramanyan, Vivan Sundaram, L.N. Tallur, Vasudha Thozhur, Sonadhar Vishwakarma, and Subhash Singh Vyam.

More at http://www.asiasociety.org/arts/edgedesire/

Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India and related programmes are made possible by the generous support from Warburg Pincus

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Date:   November 14, 2006 to December 8, 2006 / Time: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (except Mondays)

National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
Date: January 8, 2007 to February 3, 2007

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