Indian Contemporary Art – Some Amazing Facts
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced by artists who are living in the twenty-first century and it’s an art that provides an opportunity to reflect on contemporary society and the issues relevant to ourselves, and the world around us.
Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and the technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that challenge traditional boundaries and defy easy definition. Diverse and eclectic, contemporary art ,as a whole, is distinguished by the lack of a uniform, organizing principle, ideology, or ‘ism.’ Contemporary art is part of a cultural dialogue that concerns larger contextual frameworks such as personal and cultural identity, family, community, and nationality.
So how is contemporary art different than modern art?
In the English language, ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’ are synonyms. However, in the art world, these two terms describe two different times of creation and two different approaches to art-making. The term Modern Art is usually associated with art made during the period extending roughly between the 1860s and 1970s. The art made during this period celebrated experimentation and placed traditions of the past aside
The origin and evolution of Indian Contemporary Art
The origin and evolution of Indian contemporary art were started with the establishment and emergence of Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, which was formed or founded by eminent Indian contemporary artists like M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, K.H. Ara, S.K. Bakre, H.A. Gade, and F. N. Souza in the year 1952. These artists instituted new methods and techniques of expressing thoughts in the post-colonial India.
Though the group got dissolved within four years in the year 1956, it played a pivotal role in changing the appearance and structure of Indian art fraternity. The group not only laid the foundation stone of Indian contemporary art but also influenced several emerging artists.
The new genre that came into existence after the dissolving of the group was the emergence of new contemporary artists who adopted quirky designs, earthy and bold colour palette and painted thought to provoke and mind stirring paintings. While some of these new-age painters created images of visionary India, others chose to portray the struggles and social stigmas of everyday life in Indian society. Young artists concentrated on the true representation of Indian people and situations that they face in day-to-day life.
Global Presence of Indian Contemporary Art
Over the past few years, Indian contemporary art has gained immense popularity and worldwide reach. It succeeded in acquiring the attention of art collectors, critics, curators, and auction houses across the globe.
Young contemporary artists like Shantala Palat, Hemali Bhuta, Tanya Goel, Atul Dodiya, Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat and others are some of the most sought-after Indian artists who are steering a host of competing buyers. Thanks to their unmatched techniques and selected themes, they are attracting the attention of the global western audience, while maintaining essential Indian quality. In addition to a demand for the paintings by some known Indian artists, there is also a demand for fresh works by emerging artists.
