Organics - An Art Exhibition at Twelve Arts Gallery, Philadelphia

Melanie Dion

Work by Nitin Mukul; Photo by Stephen Tucker

‘Organics,’ a group exhibition of works inspired by organic ideas that are distinctive of each artist, focuses not just on the tangible qualities of art but on the the interaction and response between artist, art, and viewer. This interaction grants a unique, ever changing, organic quality to this exhibition. Artists showing in 'Organics' include Amina Ahmed, Delna Dastur, Ina Kaur, Nitin Mukul, Antonio Puri, and Gurpran Rau.

The work of New York based Amina Ahmed concentrates on the pattern of fiveness found in nature.  Among the first things one sees upon entering the gallery is a small pedestal with halved apples on it. The seeds of the apples are a starting point for Ahmed’s exploration of five-ness. Every day the apples change in color and shape as they breakdown, yet their five-ness remains intact. From the apples one’s eyes are directed by a large spool of string towards a larger geometric sculpture made of recycled photographs by another artist. The string leads the viewer on a journey through out the gallery to other, smaller, geometric sculptures made from paper pins and string that investigate further into the nature of fiveness. Ahmed explores the way her work “organically unfolds and re-folds tracing the steps of an underlying path.” Geometry, repetition, and rhythm are the recurring basic elements in her work –"rhythm is the pulse, the breath that permeates all living things” and “manifests itself in the music of the universe”.  She has shown her work at India Art Summit and Slick Paris Art Fairs and most recently at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in NYC.

In the center of the gallery sit two large canvases side-by-side that stretch nearly ten feet in height and at the center of each is a hollow structure built into the canvas with a mirror resting in each. When people look at Antonio Puri’s work they cannot help but to be pulled in, their visage becomes part of the artwork at that moment. In this way, Puri provides an intimate experience for viewers as the work will not be the same for any two people. The force behind his work is the deconstruction of identifying social labels that allows him to evaluate the idea of one's existence in the universe. Puri’s artwork is as complex as the idea behind them, using layers of veneers, glazes, and varnishes which reflect the "emotions, transgressions, singularity, obsession, and enigma" of his art.  Antonio completed and “put his signature” on this work in the gallery where he painted a model to be a part of this artwork. As he was working he discussed what was being created in this process, “the memory and reaction to touch,” the photographer framing an angle and the camera’s own interpretation of his process.

Work by Nitin Mukul; Photo by Stephen Tucker

Throughout the gallery, the impressive, colorful paintings of Nitin Mukul can be viewed as well as a video installation. Juxtaposition is a major theme in Mukul's artwork. He contrasts "elements of both the urban and terrestrial" and uses forms that "refer to the worlds constituted by both the social and the biological." This can be seen in his video installation included in the show. The video is of a painting he executed on ice contained in a to-go dinner box and then recorded as the ice was melting to create its elemental ambience. His paintings are done in oil, acrylic, and tea stain, which emphasizes the balance between synthetic and natural.

Delna Dastur is also featured in ‘Organics.’ Dastur has two paintings included in the exhibition. Dastur’s work is inspired by the rich colors found in nature while the geometric shapes blur the lines between the works abstract form and her organic inspiration. At first glance her paintings look mechanical, with the hard edges of the overlaying geometric shapes. As one explores further, they are drawn into the painting and a softer, more colorful image becomes the focus of the viewer’s experience.

Gurpran Rau has three works included in ‘Organics.’ Her works are organic mixed-media, made from encaustic wax, and metal. Rau is inspired by nature’s effect on what is man made over the passing of time.  The wax gives her work a radiant softness as the light hits its surface giving it a human quality unlike any other. Underneath the wax lay patterns and color, symbolic of the patterns and coding within the human body and found elsewhere in nature.

Ina Kaur has a set of sixteen prints included in ‘Organics’ as well as an installation print which was designed specifically for its location. The design painted on a concrete wall is based on the designs featured in her set of sixteen prints and incorporates the irregularities of the wall quite organically. There is also an element of connecting the viewer with a distant past through the fusion of old and contemporary patterns done in the style of architectural fresco work from the alcoves in Mughal tombs of Agra and Delhi.

The idea behind the exhibition “Organics” is to highlight the multifariousness of the organic art genre by bringing together organic works that have different inspirations and origins - all within the realm of the social and personal identity of the South Asian American art.

For more images from this exhibition, see this link.

Work by Nitin Mukul; Photo by Stephen Tucker

Email contact - info@twelvegatesgallery.com 

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A Bastion of South Asian Art and Culture in Philadelphia

Zoe Papademetriou, Gallery Associate, Twelve Gates Art Gallery, Philadelphia

 

Burning World II, Image: Maureen Drdak (Exhibition: Maureen Drdak, Fareen Butt and Reeta Karmarkar

Nov 5th - Nov 27th)

Upward Bound, Image: Simeen Farhat, (Simeen Farhat Solo, Dec 3rd - Dec 25th)

In a city dominated by American history and culture, one gallery has emerged as a leader in the promotion of South Asian arts and culture. Twelve Gates Art Gallery, founded in June 2009, has quickly established itself as a cultural center for South Asian and Diaspora artists, students and patrons through exhibitions of contemporary art as well as film screenings, musical performances, poetry readings and lectures on topics directly related to current issues surrounding the Indian subcontinent. The gallery’s vision upholds the belief that globalization, and with it issues of Diaspora, has not destroyed the artist’s connection to their origins, but their new found situations have instead evolved it into a charismatic and vibrant relationship that is then translated into their work in a variety of themes that transcend simple categorization. Within its first year, Twelve Gates Gallery has brought a diverse range of art to residents of Philadelphia right as South Asian arts and culture is gaining global recognition as a premier source of artistic evolution and inspiration.

Located in the Old City neighborhood and surrounded by renowned galleries such as Snyderman-Works Gallery, Twelve Gates Gallery has produced a dynamic artistic environment due in large part to their commitment to educating the public on South Asian culture and history. This past June 2010, author and professor Dr. Zia Mian was invited to speak and answer questions about his latest book entitled “Bridging Partition: People’s Initiatives for Peace Between India and Pakistan,” a compilation of essays by leading scholars, activists and writers from both India and Pakistan as they reflect on the political and personal impact of partition, and explore the possibilities and limitations of a new citizens movement that seeks peace between the two countries.

In addition to their notable exhibits featuring works influenced by spiritual identity, gender and sexuality, and political ideas, Twelve Gates Gallery has hosted a number of traveling exhibitions, and participated in fundraisers to benefit South Asian related organizations. “Postcards in the Time of War” brought together the collaborative work of six artists and art professors at the National College of Art in Pakistan. In response to the environment of fear and destruction they currently found themselves in, they each created a suite of postcard artwork, visual messages based upon their connections to one another and to their world and born out of their anxiety, fear and will to keep living their lives. Proceeds from postcard sales went directly to benefit The Swat Relief Initiative. From June 2010 through the end of July, Twelve Gates was host to “Erasing Borders: Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora,” the Indo-American Arts Council’s 7^th Annual exhibit featuring 24 Indian Diaspora artists whose work, which interprets diverse subject matter in a variety of media from the figurative to the abstract and conceptual, represents the powerful and unexpected results of cultural dislocation, and the importance of identity.

Twelve Gates Art Gallery continues into its second year with another compelling exhibit. “Off the Wall: De-Framing Contemporary Miniature Painting” from curator Atteqa Ali brings together the art of eight distinct artists trained in traditional miniature painting technique who have all re-interpreted the original media in their personal artistic exploration. The artists have all taken painting off the wall and either returned it to the manuscript, or positioned it in such a manner that it cannot be framed, thereby challenging traditional meanings and expectations for how miniature painting should be exhibited. The exhibit layout itself reflects these artistic desires, and very little of the art is displayed on walls. Instead, tables and pedestals are scattered throughout and visitors are invited to look closely and view the art as objects. 

On the steps of this show, Twelve Gates Gallery will also be traveling abroad with their South Asian art. As one of 30 international galleries, and one of three US-based galleries, Twelve Gates Gallery will be participating in SLICK 2010 Paris, a contemporary art fair in its 5^th year that will be held in the heart of contemporary art in Paris by the Palais de Tokyo and the Musee de Art Moderne. Twelve Gates Art Gallery will be part of the SLICK-Orient project, which focuses on the artistic creations of the Middle-Eastern and Far East world and proposes a dialogue between Eastern and Western art. SLICK 2010 runs from October 19^th through 24^th.

(Zoe may be contacted at zpapadem@gmail.com)

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