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Oasis of Activity in the Monsoon Drought of Delhi's Artscape

by Sophia Powers

Connaught Place : The WhyNot Place (CPTWNP)

Religare Arts Initiative

7 Atmaram Mansion, Level 1, Scindia House, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, 110001 New Delhi, India

June 1, 2009 - August 6, 2009

If the National Gallery of Modern Art's stunning, though conventional, fare leaves you hungry for experimentation, head over to the newly outfitted Religare gallery. For the last few weeks they have played host to an interesting open-studio-cum exhibition conceived as a way of stimulating artistic energy during the normally quite enervated summer art-scene in New Delhi. Each day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., viewers are invited to wonder through the space and watch artists at work. The environment is relaxed, inviting, and lends the air of performance to a collection of work that, upon completion, will probably leave regrettably little to be remembered.

This is not to say that all of the work is bad. Rather, the show is very hit or miss, and indeed the curator has made an effort to select young artists who have not yet had much commercial exposure. The show/residency is united by the theme of Cannaught Place, the sprawling colonial era shopping and dining arcade where the newish gallery is located. This directive is interpreted liberally as may be expected.

One piece in particular, however, seemed to resonate especially with the day-to-day tribulations of Delhi denizens. Artist Sanjay Sundram assembled a line of gold-painted toy cars ascending in a row off the ground. As they take flight, they sprout flowers rather than spew smog in exuberant expression of their sudden freedom from one of the area's characteristic traffic jams. While the piece was a little reminiscent of a kiddy version (both literally and conceptually) of Cai Guo Qiang's famous falling car series, it typifies the charming whimsy of "Why Not Place" and recommends it as a nice destination for a cup of tea.

--Sophia Powers

(*Images: One of the artworks in the making at the Religare Arts.i gallery residency programme. Mukesh Sharma, Untitled, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48". An artist at work at the Religare Arts.i gallery residency programme. All photos courtesy of Religare Arts Initiative.)

Posted by Sophia Powers on 7/25 | tags: landscape installation mixed-media