A crossover between art and books
Often at art shows, you just pass by the exhibits, look at them for a few minutes at best, and that’s all. But an exhibition in town promises real interaction with art, the kind that you can hold in your hand, browse through and truly experience.
The Art Book Exhibition, organised by Art Heritage, lets the audience engage in a more tactile and intimate experience with the exhibits, something that art hung on walls can simply not offer. Seven young artists (artist writers, as they are better known) have come together to create art books one can flip through, touch, and read. Despite what one would think when they hear ‘art book’, these works aren’t artists’ sketchbooks, but unique narratives combining the tactile experience of reading a book and appreciating the beauty of art.
“I’ve always been enamoured by the fact that quite a few of our Indian artists used to make lithographs and make books out of them, with their original works as part of the book. Art held in the hand, art looked at in close quarters and appreciated in detail is something that I thought is a different way of engaging the audience with art. I thought of the creation of art books and decided to rope in some younger artists to make books especially for the show instead of just paintings, and surprisingly they accepted that thought,” says Amal Allana, curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition showcases the works of Jai Zharotia, Rajesh Deb, Gouri Vemula, Kanchan Chander, Kavita Jaiswal, Sunanda Khajuria and Ravinder Dutt. And that is not all — one can also find books made by veteran artists Gulam Mohammed Sheikh and Rini Dhumal, along with two installation works by contemporary artist Sweety Joshi using books that show the sheer range of this genre.
Among the works that caught our eye, are Sunanda Khajuria’s accordion format books. “In these books I pay attention to different perspectives and dimensions of the cherry blossom, using it as a symbol for life and death. The brief life span of these small flowers reflects the everlasting cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The blooming season is powerful, glorious and exciting, but unfortunately short-lived — a visual reminder that our lives, too, are fleeting,” she muses, explaining her works.
On Till: Timings: Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House on the Violet Line and Blue Line