Fresh content about South Asian art with Aicon Gallery
M. F. Husain, Untitled (After "Gandhi"), c. 1983. Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 32 in. x 6 Nos. Image courtesy of Aicon Contemporary.
Like so many galleries and art platforms around the world, creativity abounds with different ways of presenting content. Given the current need to stay home and social distance, this gallery has gone the extra mile in recent weeks to make art, stories and artists accessible online.
Recently, they made a short film about M.F. Husain’s Untitled (After "Gandhi"), which is more commonly known as The Attenborough Panels, a historic and spectacular painting by the Indian master, which is an homage to Richard Attenborough’s 1982 bio-pic Gandhi and unfolds over several panels. The film introduces Husain and gives a brief overview of the film and its enormous success but most importantly, it explains the significance of the painting, which also offers a glimpse into important moments of Gandhi’s life and the fight for India’s independence. Viewing the painting in detail such as this with a concise yet informative commentary from the gallery, gives a great insight into the work as well as to Husain, undoubtedly one of the world’s treasured master painters.
Aicon Contemporary also released a short film about G.R. Iranna, whose work was on show in the 2019 VEnice Biennale. Image courtesy of Aicon Contemporary.
Aicon Contemporary also released a short film about G.R. Iranna, whose works were included in the Indian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2019. Again, with an insightful commentary, the video serves as an introduction to Iranna’s multifaceted practice as well as an understanding about his site specific commission that used wooden sandals as representations for human beings.
Rasheed Araeen, From the Opus Series (2018) Image courtesy of Aicon Contemporary.
Finally, Aicon, which is a prominent New York gallery, revitalized their digital presence with a fully interactive and virtual online exhibition: Rasheed Araeen - In the Midst of Darkness, which is the artist’s fourth solo with the gallery. Araeen is described as the gallery as “a voice for alternative and Non-Western interpretations of Minimalist and Conceptual art in the 1960s and 70s, outside of the typically referenced canon. The artist introduced a lattice structure into the oeuvre of Minimalism, a visual language that had come independently to Araeen at the same time as it was taking root in New York; although, in Araeen's case, it was linked back to his background in structural engineering. This approach of creating stable but open structures by finding inspiration in nature and the classical elements - earth, fire, air and water -is at the centre of Araeen's innovative practice.”
His work is known the world over for its bright and colourful minimalism but steeped in the contemporary tradition. The exhibition is accessible here and you can also follow them on Instagram @aiconart.
Aicon Gallery, 35 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10012. Normal hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm