From vibrant new shows by leading artists to a tempting line-up of exhibitions and projects on the city, Mumbai’s art aficionados have a vibrant canvas to pick from in 2017
Mahishasuramardini (Durga slaying the buffalo demon). Pic/Saffronart
Rewind shows
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July 2017
Mid-year, the first ever retrospective of figurative artist and former Marxist and activist, Altaf Mohammedi will be shown at DAG Modern, Kala Ghoda. Mohammedi was known for his intense explorations of the themes of power, struggle, death and decay.
October 2017
Art Musings brings a retrospective of Sakti Burman, curated by Ranjit Hoskote, at the NGMA, Mumbai. In the Presence of Another Sky: Sakti Burman Retrospective will situate the artist’s practice in its historical contexts, both in the Indian and European traditions of the modern.
Sakti Burman, ‘Ark of Hope’, oil on canvas, 2014. Pic/Art Musings
Forgery talks
January 8, 2017
Piramal Art Foundation will focus on indigenous crafts this year with two shows on this genre lined up. However, the year begins with an exhibition that looks at one of the art world’s most problematic ethical, economic and artistic issues. Titled Likeness Without Reference: the cultures of forgery, the exhibition, it is curated by Vaishnavi Ramanathan at the Foundation’s Lower Parel space.
Pic/Suresh Karkera
Make way for housing
February 3-4, 2017
Building on the success of the ambitious exhibition, The State of Architecture: Practices and Processes in India, its curators are gearing up for round two. While the exhibition, State of Housing, is slated for 2018, a lead-up begins this year. Curators Ranjit Hoskote, Rahul Mehrotra and Kaiwan Mehta (below, in pic) have planned a seminar on February 3 and 4, followed by a series of events through the year.
Installation view of Sudarshan Shetty’s Shoonya Ghar at NGMA, New Delhi. Pic/Sudarshan Shetty/NGMA
An eye on Mumbai’s museums
April 2017
Artist Sudarshan Shetty brings Shoonya Ghar (right) to the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, offering Mumbai folk to view this stunning solo. It was shown last year at New Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art. Also watch out for a survey of Maharashtrian artists curated by Prof Shukla Sawant in March.
November 11, 2017
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (CSMVS) will present its landmark exhibition, India and the World: Nine Stories, in collaboration with the British Museum, London and the National Museum, New Delhi. Iconic and defining objects from across civilisations will be shown.
February 10, 2017
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) will present a mega-show of works, some dating back to the early 1900s, awarded by The Bombay Art Society in February. A retrospective of Ganesh Haloi’s landscapes and innerscapes is also planned for mid-year.
Artsy weekend
January 20-22, 2017
Head to Mumbai Gallery Weekend (MGW), from January 20 to 22, in which eight galleries from Colaba come together for three days of exhibition-hopping, talks and walkthroughs. With galleries taking turns to helm MGW, it’s Lakereen’s chance this year. Its gallerist Dr Arshiya Lokhandwala (in pic), is putting together a show on the “gallerist as interventionist”. MGW’s galleries have been invited by Lokhandwala to showcase an artist each from their stable at Lakereen.
Bidding time
March 9, 2017
Saffronart’s antiquities sale is lined up for March. The live auction of classical Indian art will have an 11th century sandstone sculpture of Mahishasuramardini as a highlight lot, among others. On February 16, the auction house will host its Evening Sale of modern and contemporary art, with works by VS Gaitonde and Akbar Padamsee on offer, among others.
Focus on photography
March 9-23, 2017
Focus Photography Festival, modelled on the democratic nature of the medium, hits venues in March. This year, the highlight exhibition of this biennial festival is Call for Entries 2017: Memory as autobiography, features 20 finalists selected by an international jury and curated by Prajna Desai. Among other exhibitions, watch out for Reimagine, featuring works by fine art photographer Bharat Sikka and Magnum member, Olivia Arthur.
Small Indian Girl (The Copy of an Unknown Artist), pretending to be a female artist, by Michael Mueller, 2016. Pic/Jhaveri Contemporary
Gallery view
January 3, 2017
Jhaveri Contemporary opens this year with ‘For All Those Who Trust in Form and Not in Content’, featuring works by Michael Mueller. This is Mueller’s second show at the gallery and follows on from two ambitious institutional solos in Germany.
January 20, 2017
At Chemould Prescott Road, Sonia Khurana’s solo exhibition Fold/Unfold, explores tensions between our impossible need for flight and the existential truths of our groundedness through video, text and performative works.
March 2017
Sakshi Gallery brings works by Nandan Ghiya in Studio Photography for the 22nd Century. Ghiya’s work gazes at old objects and photographs, revisiting their associated memories and imbuing them with new meaning through his digital interventions.
Nandan Ghiya’s An old widow, seated & connecting. Pic/Sakshi Gallery
December 2017
Chatterjee and Lal will present works by Nikhil Chopra, who returns with an exhibition in Mumbai after a hiatus of seven years. Chopra will incorporate live performance, drawing and other media in this show.
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