Apr 01 2024 to Apr 01 2024 6:30 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

English | 55 minutes | Suitable for All Ages The Open Frame tracks the artistic and personal journey of S G Vasudev – his early years, the establishment of Cholamandal Artists’ Village, his creative process, his collaborations with craftsmen and his sustained efforts to nourish and foster the art world. Art historians, colleagues and friends provide insights into the life and times of Vasudev. The Open Frame is a visually rich celebration of colour and texture. The screening will be followed by an informal discussion on 60 years of a Life in Art with Ravikumar Kashi, Nalini Malaviya and Suman Gopinath, followed by a Q&A with the audience. The artist will be present. About the Artist: Born in Mysore, Karnataka in 1941, S G Vasudev received recognition as a painter early in his career. While he was a student of the Government College of Art, Madras, he won the National Award from the All India Lalit Kala Akademi in 1967. Awards from State Academies of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides prestigious Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, Venkatappa Award and Paniker Puraskaram. Vasudev is a founder-member of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village on the outskirts of Madras (now Chennai) where he lived and worked till 1988. He now lives and works in Bangalore. Vasudev works in various mediums (drawings, paintings, reliefs in copper and tapestries in silk). He became well-known for his “Vriksha” (Tree of Life) series, which evolved over nearly a decade, turning into the Tree of Life and Death in the latter half of the 1980s. He also explored the theme of “Maithuna” (Act of Love) through a series of drawings, paintings and copper reliefs. Eventually his tree grew into faces titled “Humanscapes” and “Earthscapes.” The tree is still sometimes visible in his series titled “Theatre of Life,” and “Rhapsody” Vasudev has participated in several important group exhibitions in India and abroad. In addition, he has held solo exhibitions in different parts of India and the world(including the USA, Canada, England and Germany). Exhibitions of his drawings based on the late A.K. Ramanujan’s poetry and translations, titled “Tribute to Ramanujan,” have been held in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, London and Chicago. Vasudev is founder and managing trustee of Arnawaz Vasudev Charities, a non-profit organisation providing financial assistance to young artists and art-related initiatives since 1989. He has helped in establishing Visual Art Department at the Bangalore University, National Gallery of Modern Art Bangalore, Ananya Drishya and Art Park, both, artists’ initiatives. Vasudev conducted his Retrospective Exhibition titled “Inner Resonance- Return to Sama” at National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore and Mumbai, and also at Lalit Kala Akademi galleries, Chennai, during 2018-2019. In collaboration with International Music & Arts Society Speakers & Filmmakers Ravikumar Kashi Artist Ravikumar Kashi is a Bangalore based multidisciplinary artist, educator and writer. His work spans painting and drawing to photography, installation and artist books among other mediums, articulating individual and collective experience of contemporary socio-political and cultural identities. Kashi has a Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts. He has learnt handmade paper making in Glasgow School of Art, U.K and ‘Hanji’, traditional Korean paper making, from Jang Ji Bang, Korea. His works have been shown internationally in various Museum shows, Biennials, Art Fairs and galleries. He has won many international, national and state awards for his artworks and for his writing. He is working as an associate professor at NITTE School of Architecture, Planning and Design (NSAPD). Nalini Malaviya Writer & Curator Nalini Malaviya is a Bangalore based curator and writer. In addition to curating contemporary art exhibitions, she offers curatorial and advisory services to individuals and corporate, facilitating art acquisition. She has been writing for the media since 2003, and has been an art columnist for leading newspapers. She has contributed to Financial Times, Times of India, Bangalore Mirror, Deccan Herald, several art magazines and artist books, among other publications. Nalini is the Founder/Publisher of Art Scene India, www.artsceneindia.com, which was established in 2006 as a blog, and which has evolved into a significant resource site and a digital archive, with extensive documentation of the Indian art scene over the last 17+ years. Suman Gopinath Curator Suman Gopinath is a curator based in Bangalore. She studied Curating and Arts Administration at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK. Her curatorial practice includes research projects and exhibitions that focus on modern and contemporary art from India. Select exhibitions and projects: K P Reji: The Good Earth (2022-23), Kerala Museum, Kochi; Spectres of Bandung: A Political Imagination of Asia-Africa (2022- ); An Atlas of Mirrors (2016) Singapore Biennale, Singapore; Nasreen Mohamedi (2014), Tate Liverpool, UK ; Biennale Jogja XI Shadow Lines: Indonesia meets India (2011), Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Suman was Senior Programme Officer of the Archives and Museum Fellowships at India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) Bangalore (2013 – 2022). She managed Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore (1991-1999). She also co-founded CoLab Art & Architecture (2005-2011), an alternate, experimental space for art and architecture, one of the first of its kind in Bangalore. Chetan Shah Director Chetan Shah graduated in Philosophy from Cambridge UK where he worked part time at the local Arts Cinema and was a member and later President of the Cambridge Film Unit – a student group making experimental films. Chetan worked on David Lean’s A Passage to India and an Indo US production Bloodstone before he established himself as an independent filmmaker of international documentaries, ads, corporate videos, and TV serials. His Malay TV serial for Singapore TV Cinta Bollywood achieved the highest ratings for a drama serial in the history of the channel; as well as winning six awards. Chetan has written and successfully staged three plays in English. He has also written and directed a feature film in English titled Framed. Navroze Contractor Cinematography Navroze Contractor, who tragically passed away in June 2023 at age 80, was a widely acclaimed, world-renowned photographer, cinematographer and film-maker. Having earned a BA (Fine Arts) in painting and photography from MS University, Baroda, he graduated in film direction and cinematography from FTTI Pune. He later studied cinematography under Laszlo Kovacs in the US, and video production at Sony Corporation, Tokyo. Navroze worked in both documentary and feature films, including several award-winning films. His longtime collaboration with his partner, director Deepa Dhanraj, produced a number of ground-breaking documentaries. He also worked with other well-known film-makers like Mani Kaul, Ketan Mehta, Pervez Merwanji, Nachiket Patwardhan, Pattabhi Rama Reddy, Sanjiv Shah and Chetan Shah. As the invitation to a forthcoming “Tribute to Navroze Contractor” at the Lincoln Centre in New York puts it, he “wielded the camera as a weapon and a paintbrush, capturing both the thrills and the throes of popular uprisings in films that defined political documentary in India, and giving stunning form to the bold adventures in fiction undertaken by India’s Parallel Cinema filmmakers.” Lata Mani Research & Interviews Dr. Lata Mani is a historian and cultural critic. She is the author of SacredSecular: Contemplative Cultural Critique; The Tantra Chronicles; Interleaves: Ruminations on Illness and Spiritual Life; and Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India. She has published articles in Modern Indian History, Cultural Studies, Feminist and Post-Colonial Theory. She has also written books for children, The Tamarind Tree; The Spider’s Web and Laxman’s Questions. She is currently working on collection of essays, The Nature of Things: Object Lessons from an Interdependent Universe. Prasanna Music Director Prasanna is a graduate of lndian Institute of Technology who discovered that his future lay in music – the guitar in particular from which he wrests a unique sound combining rock and Carnatic raag. He lives in the US and visits Chennai often. He has released three albums: Peaceful, Be the Change and Electric Ganeshaland. He composed the music for Chetan’s feature film Framed and for Oscar winning documentary Smile Pinki.