The India Art Fair has made a mark for itself as one of the most definitive cultural events of the year in the national capital.
Over the years, the India Art Fair (IAF) has grown from being a trade fair for the sale and purchase of art to a living, breathing exposition of everything creative, served on a platter to art connoisseurs and collectors. And its 2023 edition is its most ambitious one to date. Spread across the main venue of NSIC Exhibition Grounds in Okhla, and a number of parallel programming partner locations, over 9-12 February, the IAF made a mark for itself as one of the most definitive cultural events of the year in the Capital city.
Led in partnership with BMW India, the fair presented 85 exhibitors, of which 71 were galleries and 14 were other institutions. There was expanded floorspace to showcase South Asia’s greatest talent ranging from contemporary art and modern masters, as well as an extended Studio to present the fair’s Digital Artist in Residence programme. Jaya Asokan, Fair Director of India Art Fair explains the intent behind this expansion, “This year, the India Art Fair raises the bar, boldly presenting its most ambitious edition to date. With an expanded programme of galleries, talks, performances, workshops, a new all-womxn artist posterzine, and the first-ever Young Collectors Hub in the city, the fair sets the stage for powerful artists’ voices to be heard loud and clear. As the market for Indian and South Asian art continues to expand, we invite visitors to immerse themselves in a world of creativity, and to embrace and proudly own their culture.”
Sunday Guardian rounds up the highlights of the IAF 2023 for you:
GALLERIES THAT MADE A MARK
One was spoilt for choice with the best-known Indian contemporary galleries displaying beautiful art across the board. This included the likes of Vadehra Art Gallery, Gallery Espace, Nature Morte, Blueprint12, Chatterjee & Lal, Jhaveri Contemporary, Chemould Prescott Road, EMAMI ART, Apparao Galleries, Gallery Veda (both from Chennai), among many others. There were also modern master galleries like DAG and Dhoomimal Gallery showing iconic masterpieces.
There was also a plethora of international galleries participating which included Galleria Continua who presented a large-scale newly commissioned site-specific project by Cuban artist Osvaldo González alongside works by Anish Kapoor, Kiki Smith and JR; Bruno Art Group which presented Andy Warhol; among others.
As part of the Focus section, there were solo presentations of distinguished names like Jayashree Chakravarty (Akar Prakar, Kolkata / New Delhi), Avijit Dutta (Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hyderabad) and Waswo X. Waswo (Gallery Espace, New Delhi).
New galleries like 079 | STORIES ART GALLERY (Ahmedabad), Treasure Art Gallery (New Delhi) and Iram Art (Ahmedabad); as well as a vibrant Platform section to showcase the rich folk and tribal art traditions of India from Warli (Vayeda brothers), Gond (Dhavat Singh), Madhubani (Padma Shri Baua Devi), Pattachitra (Prakash Chandra), Kalamkari art (S. Srinivas Rao), Bhil traditions (Padma Shri awardee Bhuri Bai) and Chamba Rumal (Charu Centre run by DCC), were other noteworthy elements.
DIGITAL ART:
‘The Studio’, a separate space for tech-related art housed a selection of projects and installations, including the work of the three India Art Fair Digital Artists in Residence, all made on iPad Pro, in response to the theme ‘Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary’.
INSTITUTIONS THAT PLAYED A BIG ROLE
The work of institutions and foundations, explored the wide range of creative arts. One could browse through soft sculptures and book projects by Britto Arts Trust (Dhaka); a series of textile panels by Lakshmi Madhavan for Devi Art Foundation (New Delhi); a never-before-seen painting by Raqib Shaw for Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (New Delhi / NOIDA); among others. The curated selections of Museo Camera (Gurugram), Kochi Biennale Foundation (Kochi), Purushottam Public Trust (Vadodara) and a collaborative presentation by Space Studio (Vadodara) and Prameya Art Foundation (New Delhi), also stood out.
‘ALIGN AND DISRUPT’ TALKS PROGRAMME TO SPREAD AWARENESS OF ART-RELATED SUBJECTS:
Supported by Shiv Nadar University Institution of Eminence and curated by Shaleen Wadhwana, the IAF talks programme aimed to spread knowledge of the arts by engaging in conversation on critical subjects that would collectively shape the future of an inclusive art scene. The topics ranged from ecological concerns to making art history approachable, from language barriers in the promotion of art to the intersection of technology, art and law, to name a few.
YOUNG COLLECTORS HUB
For the first time, a separate area was demarcated for young collectors to congregate and enjoy art in an approachable environment. The Young Collectors Hub at Bikaner House was supported by Ruby’s Signature, and featured a range of engaging and thought-provoking exhibitions, including Gallery XXL with Who Are These Outsiders showcasing pioneering new urban artists like Japanese artist Lady AIKO’s iconic bunnies, anonymous street artist Daku’s infamous Stop Signs and new works by Anpu Varkey, Aravani Art Project, Fintan Magee, GuessWho, Ishaan Bharat, Osheen and Hansraj Dochaniya, Khatra, Papi Navela, Sameer Kulavoor and the Trespassers. The hub also hosted an exhibition of contemporary photographers curated by Chennai Photo Biennale, and offered an immersive Video Creators Room to promote the medium as a collectible art form. A performance art piece supported by BODICE by Indian artist Sajan Mani tackled important issues related to Dalit rights. The Young Collectors Programme also organised tours of the art neighbourhoods of Delhi which culminated in a showcase at Stir Gallery in Chhatarpur.
PARALLEL PROGRAMMING
The parallel programming of India Art Fair began in January and will continue until March, in an attempt to keep the art frenzy going strong. A series of women-led exhibitions were the most prominent feature of this program. They included the showcase of works by renowned names such as Arpita Singh and Nasreen Mohamedi at Vadehra Art Gallery, Chitra Ganesh at Gallery Espace, Sumakshi Singh at Exhibit 320 and a group show of over 20 women artists from the Baroda School presented by Anant Art at Bikaner House, along with exciting showcases by Thukral & Tagra at Nature Morte, Debasish Mukherjee at Akar Prakar and Karan Shrestha at Shrine Empire.
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art showed Pop South Asia, one of the first major exhibitions of modern and contemporary South Asia engaging with popular culture, The Gujral Foundation exhibited new paintings and digital artworks by Raghava K.K., and Devi Art Foundation presented Vayan – Art of Indian Brocades, an exhibition of silk brocades from prominent Indian handloom centres at the National Crafts Museum. Other cultural programming on offer was a two-day celebration of World Kathak Day organised by Shivani Varma to mark the occasion of her Guru Pt. Birju Maharaj’s birth anniversary. Titled ‘Daastaan-e-Kathak: The Story of a Storyteller’, the first day had a number of performances at Sunder Nursery by renowned artists, including Varma herself who performed a piece titled ‘Tat Tvamasi’, and the second day of celebration was marked with a performance by Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia accompanied by Pt. Ram Kumar Mishra on the Tabla. It was indeed an extended period of revelry and beauty for art lovers and enthusiasts alike. On that note, we bid farewell to IAF 2023 in anticipation of what next year will bring.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.