"AFTER MIDNIGHT: INDIAN MODERNISM TO CONTEMPORARY INDIA 1947/1997"

ANW | New Delhi | March 02, 2015 First published at 11.00 IST

Queens Museum: New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368
Opening reception: Saturday, March 7, 2015, 5-7 pm

After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary India 1947/1997 presents a comparative study of art created in the wake of two defining moments in Indian history. The first, Indian independence in 1947 was notable for the emergence of the Progressives Artists Group. The second was 1997, which marked 50 years of India’s independence, a period that coincided with economic liberalization, political instability, the growth of a religious right wing, as well as a newly globalizing art market and international biennial circuit, in which Indian artists had begun to participate. The year 1997 also prompted a host of several important international exhibitions of Indian art around the world including the first Indian exhibitions in the United States: Out of India, at the Queens Museum and Traditions/Tensions at The Asia Society 1996-1997. Telling Tales: 5 Women artists from India, held at the Victoria Gallery, Bath, UK was followed by Private Mythology: Contemporary Art from India, curated by The Japan Foundation in Tokyo, 1998.

After Midnight will be the first exhibition large-scale examination of Indian art in the United States prominently featuring the Modern masters, core members of the Progressives including M.F. Husain, S. H. Raza, F.N. Souza, and their extended circle of friends such as Ram Kumar, Krishen Khanna, V.S. Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta, and Akbar Padamsee.

The contemporary section of the show brings to the fore pertinent issues that have taken place from 1997 to the present. These include a critique of globalization-at-large, affected by the changing economy that forever altered the nation. Not only did this prompt economic growth in India that created opportunities for growth and progress, but at the same time it brought several setbacks such as the exploitation of labor and rural migration to name a few. The contemporary artists in the exhibition are CAMP, Nikhil Chopra, Desire Machine Collective, Atul Dodiya, Anita Dube, Sheela Gowda, Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, Tushar Joag, Jitish Kallat, Tallur L.N., Prajakta Potnis, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Raqs Media Collective, Sharmila Samant, Mithu Sen, Dayanita Singh and Asim Waqif.

After Midnight, while a large-scale survey show itself, adopts a critical position against blockbuster exhibitions of Indian art that have undertaken tokenist representation of India, or have attempted to illustrate the nation through its art. Instead of capitulating to the market forces and the need of the West to “present” and “frame” Indian cultural practices, the intent of the exhibition is to dismantle the stereotypical nationalist presentations of India. The exhibition attempts to produce and present art practices, dialogues, and questions emerging from an Indian context to be embraced within the larger global framework of modernity. After Midnight resists being mapped or firmly placed with the boundaries of the nation. Instead, it looks to draw on a new critical body of knowledge that has arisen from a new globalism, in which everything seems to be in the process of being redefined, including individual freedom and rights and the idea of India itself. Most importantly the exhibition disbands positions that are no longer useful, to allow for an expanded, inclusive dialogue of art and culture to emerge. The exhibition includes work in a variety of media and consists of both existing works and new commissions.

After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary India is curated by Dr. Arshiya Lokhandwala, who currently lives and works in Mumbai.

Precursors to this exhibition include a two-day symposium (Fall 2012) and a forthcoming publication After Midnight: Indian Modern and Contemporary Art, 1947/1997. Contributors include: Rakhee Balaram, Rina Banerjee, Akeel Bilgrami, Rebecca Brown, Luis Camnitzer, Doryun Chong, Iftikhar Dadi, Salah M. Hassan, Geeta Kapur, Arshiya Lokhandwala, Saloni Mathur, Naeem Mohaiemen, Parul Dave-Mukherji, Vidya Shivadas, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, and Ajay J. Sinha

Image: Jitish Kallat, Public Notice,  2003. Burnt adhesive on acrylic mirror, wood and stainless steel. Shumita and Arani Bose Collection, NewYork

After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary India 1947/1997 is supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, UBS, Official Airline Sponsor Etihad and Jet Airways, Sotheby’s, Star Worldwide Group, India, Hauser & Wirth, and Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai. Additional funding is provided by Mrs. Marguerite and Mr. Kent Srikanth Charugundla, Mr. and Mrs. Rajiv J. Chaudhri, Ms. Radhika Chopra and Mr. Rajan Anandan, and Mrs. Mahinder and Mr. Sharad Tak. Support for this exhibition is also provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Special thanks to the Office of the Consulate General of India, New York and Malini Shah.

(Courtesy: Queens Museum's website, as displayed)