art focus – the passionate quest – amrita sher-gil

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Rama Arya

Self Portrait – the many faces of Amrita Sher-Gil, demure Indian, bohemian European (1930)

“It seems to me that I have never began painting, that I have always painted. And I have always had, with a strange certitude, the conviction that I was meant to be a painter and nothing else. Although I studied, I have never been taught painting in the actual sense of the word, because I possess in my psychological makeup a peculiarity that resents any outside interference. I have always, in everything, wanted to find out things for myself.”
~ Amrita Sher-Gil

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art focus – a terrible beauty – meera devidayal

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Rama Arya

Where is the lake?

I was first introduced to video art in Cape Town, South Africa, at the National Art Gallery.

The video art of South Africa, as most of the country’s other modern art, finds itself emanating from the turmoil of its apartheid era, leaving the viewer ripped apart and then brought together into some semblance of wholeness. Video art, I learnt, was not meant as a once off viewing. Every time one watches it, a layer gets peeled, both in the narrative and in oneself, and the journey of exploration thus continues. Continue reading →

art focus – metal and brush – swagata bose

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Rama Arya

“‘Nude’ is to me the most glorious subject for the artist’s brush and, hence, the most challenging. The tension between the prestigious position of the nude, and the anxieties caused by sexual overtones implicit in the portrayal and observation of the nude female body, is at the core of the challenge.” ~ Swagata Bose Continue reading →