Collectors' Ego: Art by South Indian Mastersat The Gallery of Gnani Arts |
| By Vidhya Gnana Gouresan | |||||
 Alphonso Doss Indian art here, Indian art there, Indian art everywhere! Well, it is high time! But at least for the South Indian contemporary art genre, this was not the scenario when Gnani Arts Pte Ltd presented Beyond The Horizon, a major art exhibition of South Indian contemporary masters in July 2003 at the Utterly Art Exhibition Space. The market for South Indian contemporary art (at least in Singapore and Southeast Asia) was still in its infancy, with an extremely niche concentration of art collectors who wanted to invest in South Indian art. Inspite of this, the exhibition turned out to be a lucrative eye-opener that attained excellent visitorship! This year, Gnani Arts Pte Ltd celebrates its third anniversary and the recent expansion in its gallery space, with another monumental exhibition, Collectors' Ego: Art by South Indian Masters. The exhibition will feature a recent acquisition of aesthetically-exceptional works by selected masters of South Indian contemporary art, namely Alphonso Doss, Anthony Doss, C. Dakshinamoorthy, P. Gopinath, T.R.P. Mookiah, P. Perumal, S.K. Rajavelu, G. Raman, V. Santhanam, M. Senathipathi and M. Suriyamoorthy. From the countless ancient temple artisans who remain anonymous to this date, South Indian art today has finally evolved to recognise the importance and inter-dependence between the artist, the creative process, the artwork, the artwork documentation, the art gallery, the art market, the price of the artwork and very importantly, the collector. It is indeed a circular chain that cannot be taken for granted. It is a chain that demands a specialised understanding and a restless watchful eye, as South Indian contemporary art has started to become a treasure house for accomplished art establishments and for dealers who spring up overnight! There are indeed many aspects and angles to the entire social, political and aesthetic progress of South Indian contemporary art. Madras (now Chennai) was the main centre of the arts during the period of early post-Independence in South India. In the middle of the 1800s, the Madras School of Arts was established, for the purpose of training native artisans to create handcrafted products (for manufacture). Devi Prosad Roy Chowdhury became the first Indian Principal of the School of Arts & Crafts in 1929. Chowdhury was heavily influenced by the European art pedagogy. In 1944, the Progressive Painters Association, led by Paniker, was set up in Madras as a movement on its own, with the aim of attaining freedom in creative and cultural practices (similar movements emerged in Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi). Many other artists from all over India provided their active support. This union turned out to be a struggle to discover personal and cross-cultural inspirations in art practice. The internationally-recognised Cholamandal Artists' Village was set up in Madras in 1967 by Paniker. As an artistic and domestic domain for artists, the Village still provides communal interaction as well as creative privacy. In the 1970s, artists such as K.M. Adimoolam, Alphonso Doss, C. Dakshinamoorthy, M. Senathipathi, brought about a fresh, individualistic and confident outlook in their art. The 1980s saw a successful and vigourous progression of this wave, with artists such as C. Douglas and Achutan Kudallur stretching limits towards experimentation and self-exploration. Vivid and thought-provoking folk, sensual and abstract concepts were effectively utilised to the fullest by P. Perumal, T.R.P. Mookiah, M. Suriyamoorthy, P. Gopinath, G. Raman and S.K. Rajavelu. The next generation of artists, such as V. Santhanam and A. Viswam, are now making waves through the embracement of the mythological concept, abstract expressionism, the modern medium and a sound sense of the international market. With Anthony Doss in Sotheby's and other masters of South Indian contemporary art in Osian's (India's first auction house based in New Delhi/Mumbai), I simply cannot wait to watch and indulge in this exciting new development in the Indian art market and in the wider Asian art context. Collectors' Ego: Art by South Indian Masters will be presented at The Gallery of Gnani Arts, 3 - 23 May 2006. A 64-page colour catalogue will be launched on 3 May 2006, during the official opening of the exhibition. Dr Alphonso Doss, one of the masters featured, will be gracing the event.
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by Dutch artist Ronald Wigman. Video from the opening at the coffee connoisseur.
