Beautiful Dreamer

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest painter of them all?

Clearly it’s Dhruvi Acharya. We are in LOVE with bi-continental painter whose work takes us away to another world with her melancholy wistful watercolors.

The beautiful work of Dhruvi Acharya is both haunting and warm at the same time. The light faded colors bring a dreamy quality to the paintings, while the subject matter addresses everything from pregnancy to arranged marriage, to the position of Indian women in society.

The painter credits the style of Japanese superflat paintings and comic books as inspiration. But don’t let the simplicity fool you. Upon closer examination you might find a dismembered body parts or tears of blood.

As the painter says her work evokes “emotional and intellectual quarrels with oneself”.

If only our self quarrels were half as interesting.

www.dhruvi.com

For the Love of Art

Art-a-doodle-doo! Where would we be with out it?? Our lives would be gray, no beautifully carved temples in the south, no mogul paintings, David would still be encapsulated in stone, and tourists would have nothing to do on vacation.

So mark your calendars ladies and gents.

45 artists under one roof. For one week only. From August 29th to September 4th, the Henry Moore Gallery at the Royal College of Art in London, will present "Emerging India" a group show for up and coming artists. Focusing on new trends in the Indian art scene, the show will bring together artists from different parts of India, showcasing pieces in canvas, paper, photography, mixed media, and installations. For the fancier ones among us, you can even attend the private viewing and champagne reception on Friday August 31st, from 6-10pm.

Of course South Asian art has been around for thousands of years, but as India becomes more of a economic and political force, so does its art, music, and culture. And here's a chance to celebrate the best of the best new and fresh voices on the Indian contemporary art scene.

So work it out and get your butt over to the Royal College.

Henry Moore Gallery, The Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU, +44 (0)20 7590 4444

Happy Anniversary!

Israel and India together forever. How sweet.

To celebrate 15 years of India and Israel’s hot diplomatic love for each other the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, will play host to the “From India with Love” Festival.

Among the many highlights, Kavita Dwibedi, world renowned Odissi dancer, will perform several shows at the museum, from August 17^th- August 20^th. The dancing queen has toured all over the U.S. and Europe, performed at almost every major dance festival in India, and appeared on CNN and the Discovery Channel.

Purbayan Chaterjee, sitar player virtuoso, will also be on the bill performing during the festival. The talented Purbayan has been stringing away at the sitar since he was 4, winning the prestigious President of India award for best instrumentalist at age 14, and bringing his sweet sounds to various corners of the globe ever since.

Besides the requisite music and dance there will be art exhibitions, puppet shows and storytelling (for the kiddies) as well as guided tours.

Of course, no festival South Asian festival would be complete without a nod to Bollywood. To make sure that Bollywood is represented, several movie theaters in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will be showcasing a variety of crowd pleasers.

Here’s to fifteen more years of diplomacy and goodwill. In the words of the Beatles “All You Need is Love”.

The Israel Museum, www.imj.org.il

Cross Pollination

As most desis already know, India is not all monkeys and elephants, Bollywood and dancing girls. Here’s your chance to show all your non-desi friends everything India has to offer.

Starting today August 10^th, ICM (one of the top talent agencies in L.A.), MGLOBAL Trust, UCLA, and Artwallah, L.A.’s premier South Asian arts organization will present India Splendor, a distinctly unique festival focusing on the subcontinent’s contributions to arts, spirituality, technology, and business.

Some of the highlights include a screening of Shah Rukh’s new movie Chak De, a tribute to Raj Kapoor, a screening of Gandhi, followed by a Q & A with Sir Ben Kingsley, a Suneet Varma fashion show, and an interactive all day art workshop with various Indian artists where viewers will be able to watch the painters as they create. The resulting works will be sold by silent auction.

The 6-day festival, themed “Heritage, Holistic, and Hi-tech”, aims to show audiences a “vibrant new India” as well create collaborations between the L.A. and Mumbai film industries.

Hmmmm, does this mean Abishek might become the new Brad Pitt??

To buy tickets, visit www.indiasplendor.com

Oh So Dreamy

What happens if purdah confined women were allowed to escape the shackles that bind them and control the world?

This Saturday in Manhattan you may just find out. SAWCC (the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective) will celebrate their 10^th anniversary with the exhibition “Sultana’s Dream” at the Exit Art Gallery.

The theme comes from the short story of the same name by writer

Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain, in which Muslim gender roles are reversed and the men are locked away and the women run everything. All of the pieces are collaborations between at least 2 South Asian women artists. The artists cut across various disciplines, including dancers, writers, and musicians. With artists like Sharmila Desai, Ela Shah, and Mona Kamal it’s bound to be good night.

Besides producing fabulous exhibits, SAWCC also conducts monthly meetings as a forum where South Asian women can come together to discuss their experiences, network with other artists, and provide artistic feedback. You don’t have to be an artist, just interested in art.

Sounds like a dream.

For more information on SAWCC and "Sultana's Dream" check www.sawcc.org

Sultana’s Dream, Saturday August 4, The Exit Gallery, 475 10^th Avenue, New York, NY

Banging Bangalore

India’s “silcon valley” is more than just IT, engineers, and computer programmers. The subcontinent’s 5^th largest city is also home to emerging art scene, which includes the likes homegrown and returning artists pushing the boundaries of what we consider “desi”. Here’s a guide to Bangalore’s burgeoning art scene….

At the forefront is one of Bangalore’s most well known galleries, Gallery Sumukha. The gallery, which exhibits Indian contemporary art, shows emerging and established artists in a beautifully minimalist 5000 sq foot space. Look for upcoming exhibits featuring Lalitha Shankar, M.Shanthamani, and Vidya Kamat.

Another venue leading the pack is Gallery Ske, featuring upcoming exhibits by Susanta Mandal and Chinmoy Pramanick.

Support local artists and get yourself a copy of artist and graphic designer Avinash Veeraraghavan’s book I Love My India, a visual journey though India. Combining photography with digital art, Avinash blurs the lines between fantasy and reality while successfully avoiding the clichés of snake charmers and 4-armed gods.

After all the gallery hopping, you’re bound to be thirsty. Treat to yourself to a cocktail at Spinn. Designed by one of the hottest architects in town, Sandeep Khosla, Spinn still remains one of the most beautifully designed bars in Bangalore. With a 1940’s colonial house as a backdrop and an open air courtyard, Spinn combines retro and modern for a perfect Bangalore night.

Gallery Sumekha 24/10 BTS Depot Road, Wilson Garden, +91 80 2229 2230, www.sumekha.com

Gallery Ske, The Presidency 82, St. Marks Road. +91 80 4112 0873. www.galleryske.com

Spinn, 80, 3rd Cross, Residency Road. +91 80 2558 1555. www.spinnblr.com

Past Present Future

In this crazy quickly changing world of ours, it’s easy to lose track. Back in high school you called friends from your old-school landline to meet them after school at the Dairy Queen. Now you IM/email/call your friends on your latest Blackberry/Treo/Iphone to meet them for a glass of rose. Funny how the future catches up with you so quick.

In her upcoming installation at P.S. 1 Art Center MOMA, Fuzzy Logic, Prema Murthy explores the possibilities of what happens with technology merges with convention. Prema weaves the past and future, with various media including yarn and digital drawings, exploring the “idea of putting lines in space”.

Prema has also exhibited her work around the world from The Whitney in New York to the Jindhal Art Center in Mumbai to the Reina Sofia in Madrid, and co-founded Fakeshop an artist collective based in Brooklyn. But this talented artist is hardly stopping there. Look for upcoming exhibits and installations using various media, including video, performance art, drawings, prints, and computer generation.

Catch Fuzzy Logic this weekend at the PS 1 MOMA. www.ps1.org, 22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101. 718.784.2084.

Play It Safe

“Now beta, if you decide to get intimate with Raj don’t forget to protect yourself.”

Huh? OK, so in our conservative culture, safe sex isn’t often the first topic of conversation. Well, times are a changing. At the Bose Pascia Gallery in New York, the Delhi based Thukral & Tagra show off their new exhibit, entitled “Put It On.”

Using a wide variety of media, including everything from underwear to footwear, the exhibition promotes safe sex practices while exploring possible solutions for the AIDS epidemic. But it’s not all gloom and doom. Pieces such as a pair of lime green flip flops picturing proper condom usage, make the exhibit is a supremely entertaining visual treat as well.

Look for more from this talented duo, including an upcoming installation at Art Basel in Switzerland. In the meantime, run, don't walk to Bose Pacia and get it while its hot.

Put it On. Bose Pacia, 508 West 26th Street, New York. Tel: 212.989.7074. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 6 pm. Exhibit runs until June 9^th.