PRESS RELEASE*
Pampa Panwar, Prasanta Sahu and Sanchayan Ghosh
VIS(V)A: A CHRONICLE OF DIFFERENCE
Aicon Gallery, NY
June 7 – July 8, 2007
Opening reception, June 7, 6-9pm
Artists will be in attendance
Santiniketan's foundational presence is not unknown; it has become an inevitable model 'world concept' for artists. Pampa Panwar, Prasanta Sahu and Sanchayan Ghosh work amidst this rich history. The exhibition is of course titled "Vis(V)a: A Chronicle of Difference" precisely because they have each carved out a world of their own.
All three artists may come together under the same location but, together they are also a testament to the diversity of the local art scene. While Pampa Panwar's work emanates an almost child-like simplicity, it is concerned with a number of complex layers. She deals with the juxtaposition of temporal cycles: the natural time cycle is majestic and unhurried, indifferent to human bustle and passions, but the dramatic denouement of the everyday unfolds at god speed. Ultimately, Pampa produces a kind of poetic diary – both a personal and informal account with a clear address to the passing of time.
Prasanta Sahu also marries two opposing ideas: the reproduced image and the unique brushstroke. He commences with blown up reproductions of his body and painstakingly paints over the grainy ensemble on canvas. The mechanical subverts the manual and vice versa. Afterall, the human skin as a fabricated object bears interesting undercurrents. One could argue that Prasanta tries to get under the skin of the viewer to perhaps communicate a concept of collective identity.
Finally, Sanchayan Ghosh's installation places an interesting spin on the importance of location. The work is situated in transpires in New York, a city built on the idea of takeaway and takeover, multiples times over. Takeover is at once a provocative and utopian project. Sanchayan re-conceives Edward Hopper's "Nighthawk" as Dr. Ghosh's – Sanchayan's alter ego – Art Dhaba, ergo the only site for information of authentic contemporary Indian art in the city. The site is however vandalized and filled with posters announcing the Great Indian Takeover/away. This project is of course a romantic mission, for absolute takeover is impossible. With every merge, something new inevitably emerges.
For more information and visuals please contact:
Aicon Gallery, 206 5th Avenue, Fifth Floor, between 25th & 26th St.
T: (212) 725-6092; F: (212) 725-6096, newyork@aicongallery.com
www.aicongallery.com