Indian viewing in Venice

BUSINESS CLASS

A group of art dealers bear the cost to enter the Biennale in Italy

After a gap of nearly a quarter century, Indian art will once again find an audience at the Venice Biennale, undoubtedly, one of the world's most prestigious exhibitions of contemporary art.

The Venice Biennale started in 1895 and in 2003 it had over 60 countries participating in it by staging exhibitions throughout the city of Venice. That was two years ago, the last time the event was held there.

However, unlike other countries, India's entry into the Biennale is not an official one. The effort to showcase contemporary Indian art at the Venice Biennale has been undertaken by a group of dealers and donors.

The cost of participating in the show has also been borne by this group. Efforts by private individuals had to be made as the government was dragging its feet in making India's entry into this show official.

This is the first sign, however, that private individuals who care enough about art can make things happen for their country. It is quite difficult to represent the diversity of India through six artists or viewpoints, but curators Julie Evans, Gordon Knox and Peter Nagy have accomplished the task.

They have chosen Baroda artists such as Ranbir Kaleka and Nalini Malani. Then there painters like Atul Dodiya, Natraj Sharma and sculptor Anita Dube. Raqs Media collective will be showing video installations.

The exhibition, titled "i Con: Indian Contemporary", is an attempt to provide the necessary diversity of imagery, subjects and techniques that reflect the concerns of both the artists as well as the society they live in, Peter Nagy points out.

Hopefully, the works will provide the bridge between the local and the global. Dodiya has made a suite of oil paintings supported by crutches coming off the wall which hide yet another smaller painting behind it. Dodiya has once again chosen to respond to the country by using imagery from Italian artist Enzo Cucci's work. Simply put, Dodiya's work deals with the viewer's consciousness in looking at and understanding art.

Anita Dube has made a wall piece using small enamel eyes. Natraj Sharma shows a large soft, musty landscape painting titled "Departure" as well as a sculpture based on a painting from his last solo show titled "Air Show". Nalini Malani, who has been showing video art alongside paintings since the early 90's, has made a video installation titled, "Mother India: Transactions in the Construction of Pain" which deals with the paradox of the social status of women in India.

Ranbir Kaleka and Raqs media collective have also made video installations. It will be interesting to note how the mainstream art world in the West responds to Indian art. Hopefully, India's presence at the Venice Biennale will remain uninterrupted in the years to come. It's really comforting to know that projects of this scale and importance can be nurtured and funded without any help whatsoever from the government.