Opening : 29 October 2010, 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Exhibition opens to the public November 01 - December 04, 2010.
Sponsored by Tamarind Art Council
The latest video by Pratul Dash, "The Story of a Landscape" (2010), in the gallery's main hall is an experimental fusion of live action and animation with digitally stitched landscape depicting two of the artist's oil paintings named, "Conch Blower" and "Man with a Camera". The work will extend and amplify the conscientious nature of Dash's recent work, demonstrating an evolution in Dash's practice, with elements not often seen in his past work such as the use of CG animation. The film opens with picturesque landscape, alluding crisscross sections of time and space. When idyllic representations are subverted by the artist's perception, the landscape becomes a site of haunted desolation.
As an artist who was born in a small town in India and migrated to bustling metropolis in his adult life, Dash's art is very sensitive to his environment, reflecting the socio-cultural ethos he inhabits and works from. "Life of a Double", a disturbing dual projection is a product of artist's endless quest to locate the urban and the existence of the human beings in the urban locale.
In "Reflection", the viewer can sense the pain caused by displacement of the self and the physical body, and the struggle of trying to exist in as familiar land as a rightful citizen rather than a refugee.
Pratul Dash is an artist on the rise both at home and internationally. Dash, (b. 1974, Orissa, India) has exhibited extensively in major international institutions and has received numerous awards including, the prestigious Industrial literature society, Biella, Italy in 2005 and a scholarship from the Inlaks Foundation in 2004; the M.F. Husain award from the College of Art, New Delhi, in 1998; and three annual awards from the B.K. College of Arts and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, in 1991, '92 and '93.
Select solo exhibitions by Dash include 'Human Spaces', Sarah Khan Contemporary Art, Schaan, Switzerland, 2010, 'Proxy Origin', Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2008, showcased at both the Indian Art Fair: India Art Summit:2008 and Art Expo India: 2008, 2009 by Ashok Art Gallery, 'Neo-Istoria' at Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2007; 'UNIDEE in Residency' at Cittadelarte, Italy, in 2004; and those at Krishna Collections Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2003; Triveni Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2001; and Rashtriya Lalit Kala Academy, Bhubaneswar, in 1995. Dash currently lives and works in New Delhi, India.
About Tamarind Art Gallery
Established in 2003, Tamarind Art is an innovative forum for Indian contemporary art that inspires and challenges global audiences to embrace an understanding and dialogue about art in today's day and age. Tamarind Art encourages broad-based practices, encompassing a myriad of realms such as painting, sculpture, photography, installations, and video art projects. In addition to showcasing high caliber art, our mission is to become the premiere resource center for gaining an understanding of Indian art and artists who engage themselves into a challenging spectrum of work. In dealing with global issues that reflect contemporary society's concerns while documenting today's reality, rendered in a veritable and expressive light, these artists yield artistic versatility to Tamarind Art.
