Instilling Life

Being Still

Jasmine Shah Varma

There is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh called ‘The Chair’. It is a self-portrait. In it, of course, the chair is much more than furniture.

Objects are ordinary things. But when imbued with suggestive meaning by artists, they become extraordinary. Indeed, it is not unlikely that the very first artist, whoever and whenever, began to explore the universe and the human condition through stationary objects, filled with life by the force of art.

As a genre in art, though, the term ‘Still Life’ began to evolve around the mid-17th century. It is hardly used today. In earlier centuries, genres tended to be clearly demarcated, while today they tend to blend into one another. As a result, Still Life is only mentioned in a historical context and in academic courses these days.

The premise of this exhibition is to contend that Still Life is a potent force in contemporary art, and that its definition has evolved over the centuries. Instilling Life presents some of the ways in which inanimate objects are being used to bring contemporary art to life.

Still Life is actually less a genre and more a motif that runs through different art movements. The Dutch painters of 17th century, the Impressionists, the Cubists, the Pop Artists and Conceptual Artists have all used Still Life in their works. There were paintings that were no more than skillful imitations of luxurious, beautiful objects or exotic flowers in vases; there were those which combined technically sophisticated skills with allegory and symbolism; paintings that specialised in creating an illusion of reality; compositions with things such as snuffed out candle, time piece or skull that were reminders of frivolity of material desires and inevitable death; painting of factory-made identical objects like the Campbell soup cans; and revolutionary use of readymades by Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’.

Inanimate objects made an appearance in India art when Western academic training was introduced. Objects were not independently rendered in miniature painting, ancient Buddhist cave art, temple carvings or regional traditional art. Objects held in hands of deities held symbolic meaning, but were never the central subject. That changed around the middle of the last century. Still Life has been used by Indian artists since in a variety of contexts. But Instilling Life is not a historical tour. It is a series of snapshots of how some of our artists who have made inanimate object the central image in their work.

- an excerpt from the catalogue

Click on the images below to enlarge them

Indrapramit Roy
Untitled, 2006, Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches shaped (Sold)

Indrapramit Roy
Untitled, 2006, Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches shaped

Deepak Kannal
Shishiragam, 2006, bronze, 72 x 36 inches

Gayatri Gamuz
Manjal Pye (Yellow bag), 2007, Oil on canvas, 54 x 54 inches

Sold

Gayatri Gamuz
Homage to a Grain of Rice, 2007, Oil on linen, 40 x 40 inches

Gayatri Gamuz
Intensive Care, 2007, Oil on canvas, 54 x 54 inches

Kim Kyoungae
Nostalgia 2, 2006-2007, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches each (2 panels)
sold
Kim Kyoungae
Nostalgia, 2006-2007, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches each (2 panels)
(sold)

Debraj Goswami
Still Life, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches (sold)

Debraj Goswami

Steel Life, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches (sold)

Nehal Rachh
Comfort Zone (set of 3) 2007, 12 x 12 inches, ceramic

Nehal Rachh
Security Blanket, 2007, 55 x 29 inches, ceramic and fabric

Nehal Rachh
Comfort Zone, 2006, Ceramic, 12 x 12 inches (sold)

Dilip Chobisa
The Surface, 2007, Drawing on paper, 31.5 x 23.5 inches (sold)

Dilip Chobisa
Untitled, 2007, drawing on paper and fluorescent light, 41 x 29.5 inches each (Sold)

Abhay Gaekwad
Untitled, 2007, 48 x 60 inches, Acrylic on canvas

Abhay Gaekwad
Untitled, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

Chinmoy Pramanik
Multi Vitamin Capsules, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 76 x 40 inches
Sold

Abir Patwardhan
Such A Long Journey, 2006, beaten copper, 48 x 10 x 7

Abir Patwardhan
Emotional Landscape, 2007, beaten copper, 18 x 4 x 4 inches

Abhimanue VG
Unclaimed Objects 2, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches

Abhimanue VG
Unclaimed Objects 3, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches

Abhimanue VG
Unclaimed Objects 1, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches

M Sashidharan
A Rose Without A Name, 2007, 53 x 20 (flower) x 4 (stem) inches and 4 meter fabric
Beaten metal, rust, colour and fabric (Sold)

M Sashidharan
Study for A Rose Without A Name, 2007

M Pravat
Untitled, 2007, Oil on canvas, 1.5 x 1.5 each (4 panels) (sold)

Nikhileswar Baruah
Still It's Life, 2007, Installation with Broken crockery, satin cloth, table

Shruti Nelson
Untitled, 2007, Acrylic on canvas and bag;
30 x 22 inches (canvas) + 18 x 13.5 inches (bag painted on both sides)

Shruti Nelson
A Gesture, 2007, mixed media on Waterford paper, 12 x 12 inches
Sold

Shruti Nelson
Untitled, 2007, mixed media on Waterford paper, 30 x 22 inches

Yashwant Deshmukh
Against Light, 2007, Acrylic on paper, 30 x 22 inches (sold)

Yashwant Deshmukh
Somebody is Listening, 2007, Acrylic on paper, 30 x 22 inches (sold)

Pradeep Mishra
Untitled, 2007, 30 x 22 inches, Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper
(sold)

Pradeep Mishra

Untitled, 2007, 30 x 22 inches, Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper
(sold)