Regional explorations change one's perspective: Suresh Jayaram
Over 130 artists going back more than a 100 years and 250 works of art have been put together in Jayaram's mammoth curatorial project.
Bengaluru: What is the essence of Karnataka? Tolerance, said artist Suresh Jayaram, quoting writer U.R. Ananthamurthy as he made his opening remarks at the launch of Perspectives of Karnataka Modern Art.
Over 130 artists going back more than a 100 years and 250 works of art have been put together in Jayaram's mammoth curatorial project. The National Gallery of Modern Art saw an exemplary turnout on Saturday evening, with Artists, students and art lovers thronged the National Gallery of Modern Art, stragglers gathering outside the already packed auditorium. The exhibition was launched by former Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao, a long time supporter of the NGMA, theatre personality Arundhati Nag and the exhibition's curator, Suresh Jayaram.
"Regional explorations change one's perspective," said Jayaram. "It leads me to look at the ground I stand on and the people I have met. It led me to search for maps and new connections in which I could explore my subject. And artists have opened their doors to us, sharing stories, giving us links to lesser known bits of history, leading us to others they know who have been forgotten and unarchived." Sure enough, some of the paintings at the exhibition bear no name or details - a silent tribute to the many artists who have lived and died unseen.
Karnataka is an amalgamation, said Jayaram, of styles, schools of thought and beliefs, said Jayaram, adding, "It's been a wonderful journey."
Theatre personality Arundhati Nag remarked, at the outset, in Kannada, that Karnataka is not her home state, saying, "It has embraced me. Over the years, I have been Karnataka's daughter, daughter-in-law and her baby. I'm very grateful to be here to mark this historic day for NGMA and for the state." Nag had her audiences thoroughly tickled with her anecdotes, as she said, "I wanted to be a painter, but my mother told me to do something useful. So I studied commerce and then found my way to the performing arts. I have served theatre for 45 years."
