Sheela Gowda, Behold, 2009
Installation View Venice Biennale 2009
Photograph: Sheela Gowda
Courtesy of the artist
Wednesday, 16 September 2009 /19:00
Nedre gate 7, Oslo
The Office for Contemporary Art Norway, in collaboration with guest curators Suman Gopinath and Grant Watson, presents 'Material Traditions', a film screening and a panel discussion about the work of artist and ISP resident Sheela Gowda, both articulated in relation to a history of Modernism in India. 'Material Traditions' continues OCA's research initiatives and collaborations with Indian institutions and curators that was launched with the ISP residency of Suman Gopinath and the organisation of the travelling exhibition 'Nasreen Mohamedi: Notes Reflections on Indian Modernism'.
'Material Traditions' is the first event of OCA's Autumm/Winter 2009 Semesterplan. Throughout the season OCA will host a series of lectures, workshops and presentations that look at art writing, criticism and publishing, exploring diverse modes of operation and possibilities within historical and contemporary practices. OCA has invited writers, artists, critics, publishers and theorists to investigate different approaches to writing in general and specifically about art, concentrating on how the art context has historically explored new forms and strategies of writing and speaking – forms and strategies that have later migrated to and enriched other cultural and political contexts. Speakers include Peter Osborne, Ina Blom, Will Bradley and Stuart Bailey. Please keep visiting www.oca.no for more information on OCA's Autumm/Winter 2009 Semesterplan.
Gowda's work, which has featured prominently in key international exhibitions in recent years, often consists of large-scale installations investigating formal concerns alongside local and global socio-political issues. Gowda studied in Santiniketan – a crucible of Modernism in India – as well as in London at the Royal College of Art. Her exposure to different traditions has resulted in a practice that articulates in very complex and successful ways the relationship between diverse art historical genealogies as well as between avant-garde practices and the everyday. The panel will consider specific works by Gowda in close detail, looking at their processes of development and production. It will also look at the influence the time spent studying in Santiniketan had on her work, and more generally at her relationship to the history of Modernist art practice in India.
Sheela Gowda is currently an International Studio Programme resident at Office for Contemporary Art Norway. She was born in 1957 in Bhadravati, India and lives and works in Bangalore, India. Gowda's work has recently been included in 'Fare Mondi//Making Worlds…', the 53rd Venice Biennale, and 'Indian Highway' at the Serpentine Gallery, London and Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway, all in 2009. Her work was also part of documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany, 2007.
During her stay in Norway, Gowda will, among other activities, present tutorials to Master Students at KHiO, on 18 September. Please keep visiting www.oca.no for further information on Sheela Gowda's residency at OCA.
From the start of the twentieth century to the present day, the city of Santiketan, where Sheela Gowda studied, has been important cultural centre in India. The following films present a historical backdrop to Gowda's practice as an artist.
Santiniketan: A Flashback (dir. Arun Khopkar, 2004, 30min, sound, colour) explores the genesis and history of Rabindranath Tagore's university city, Santiniketan, starting at the beginning of the 20th century. The film traces the early history of Santiniketan, where Kala Bhavan, a centre for the arts, was set up in 1919, followed by the setting up of Vishwa Bharati university in 1925. The pivotal focus of the film are artists such as Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Binodebehari Mukherjee, Ramkinkar Baij.
The Inner Eye (dir. Satyajit Ray, 1972, 22min, sound, colour) documents the life and work of the painter Binode Bihari Mukherjee (1904-1980) after his loss of sight at the age of 53. The documentary follows Binode Bihari as his inner eye guides his hands in creating art. Satyajit Ray, a student of Binode Bihari Mukherjee in Santiniketan, hommages his former teacher with this film.
Ramkinkar Baij (dir. Ritwik Ghatak/Ritaban Ghatak 1975/2007, 15min, sound, colour) is a documentary about the artist Ramkinkar Baij, who lived and worked at Santiniketan. The film was begun by the Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak in 1975 and completed thirty years later by his son Ritaban Ghatak.
Suman Gopinath is a curator and the founder and director of CoLab Art & Architecture, Bangalore, India. Grant Watson is a curator at the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (MuHKA), Antwerp, Belgium. Gopinath and Watson recently curated 'Nasreen Mohamedi: Notes – Reflections on Indian Modernism (Part 1)', on view in OCA's public space from 6 March to 20 June 2009. The exhibition is currently traveling to Milton Keynes Gallery, Milton Keynes, UK (5 September-15 November) and Lunds konsthall, Lund, Sweden (27 November-24 January 2010).
'Material Traditions' and Sheela Gowda's residency are part of a long-term research and exhibition project, 'Reflections on Indian Modernism', curated by Suman Gopinath and Grant Watson for OCA and CoLab Art & Architecture. The project, supported by 03–funds from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to engage in an investigation of the history of Modernism in India, by means of panel discussions, residences, exhibitions, publications and other type of exchanges between Norway, India and the international art context. The collaboration includes a residency programme for Norwegian artists and art professionals at CoLab, of which Lene Berg, Unni Gjertsen and Camilla Løw are the participants. This event and seminar follow the exhibition 'Nasreen Mohamedi: Notes – Reflections on Indian Modernism (Part 1)', which was shown at OCA's public space in Oslo from 6 March to 20 June 2009, and during this autumn travels to Milton Keynes Gallery, Milton Keynes, UK (5 September-15 November 2009) and Lunds konsthall, Lund, Sweden (27 November 2009-24 January 2010).
For more information on the event or the overall project, please contact Marthe Tveitan at marthe@oca.no.