India Art Fair 2025
EMAMI ART
Booth No: F03
Ali Akbar P N, Anjan Modak, Arindam Chatterjee, Arpita Akhanda, Arunima Choudhury, Bholanath Rudra, Lalit Mohan Sen, Prasanta Sahu, Santanu Debnath, Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri, Soma Das, Suma Dey, Tapas Biswas, Ujjal Dey
Polyphonic Confluences
The exhibition ‘Polyphonic Confluences’ brings together a dynamic array of artistic expressions, each contributing a unique voice to a collective chorus. Jacques Rancière, in his work ‘The Politics of Aesthetics’, argues that art has the power to disrupt conventional hierarchies and challenge dominant narratives, opening up space for alternative voices and perspectives to be heard. Inspired by Rancière, this exhibition celebrates the plurality of aesthetic experiences, illustrating how diverse forms of art engage with and transform our social and political realities. The works on display operate within their unique historical and cultural contexts, challenging conventional norms and reshaping our perceptions of beauty, creativity, power, and knowledge. By presenting a confluence of voices, this exhibition serves as a catalyst for dialogue and change, highlighting the transformative power of art.
Central to ‘Polyphonic Confluences’ is the belief that art democratizes society by amplifying the voices of those from the margins. Through the creation of new modes of perception and understanding, the artworks challenge existing power dynamics and offer alternative visions of reality, inspiring collective action and solidarity. Thus, Emami Art invites you to explore and appreciate the multitude of aesthetic experiences. By rejecting any singular, universal definition of art, we celebrate the diversity of artistic practices and interpretations. Each encounter with these artworks is shaped by the unique perspectives and lived experiences of both the artists and the viewers.
Ali Akbar P N skilfully blends archival investigation, on-site exploration, and research with a keen awareness of contemporary socio-political dynamics within his practice. He aims to unravel the complex dimensions of public spaces and their evolution through a trans-temporal, non-linear approach. The relentless confrontation of the repercussions of the dehumanizing acts on the marginal sections is the thematic preoccupation of Anjan Modak’s work. With an unflinching gaze, he portrays the harsh psychological conditions of his subjects, challenging the viewers to grapple with the profound distress they have undergone. Often placed in the backdrop of urban spaces, Arindam Chatterjee's work invokes the sense of a dystopian world of morbid and mutilated beings. They are heavily burdened by the sense of anxiety for a vanishing world, the horror of death, and the loss of humaneness. The intergenerational memory of the partition experience occupies the central theme in Arpita Akhanda’s artistic practice. Her engagement with the complexities of the event and its psycho-sociological effects opens up different perspectives on a horrific event that deeply affected the subcontinent. Arunima Choudhury, with her unique approach, uses natural colors made by herself, creating a world of nature and femininity, subtly placing her subjective positions and worldview. The feminist tropes that run through her work are sparingly yet profoundly spread across many areas of thoughts beyond the conscience of the heteronormative patriarchal world. Bholanath Rudra’s expansive watercolour works with their celestial tones and subjects on the cusp of temporal transitions, evoke a sense of prophetic summon to look at the cosmic challenges with concern and conscience. Often reminding of dreamscapes, his work beckons for a broadened engagement with global issues. Lalit Mohan Sen initiates a dialogue critiquing aesthetic experiences across temporal and stylistic shifts, underscoring their seminal contributions to Indian Modernism and its global articulation and outreach. As one of the pioneers of modernism and an academic, his mastery over various mediums and styles requires detailed study. Prasanta Sahu’s artistic methodology, characterised by archival rigour, survey methodology, and meticulous and museological precision, serves to reposition his thematic focal point—the agrarian milieu—in a distinct scholarly light. His work underscores a dedicated examination of the portrayal of marginalised subjects and their attendant conflicts, entities often absent in the contemporary discourse. In his works, Santanu Debnath depicts scenes from the village, which are often ordinary and of the utmost lyrical quality. While having a serene and lyrical quality, the significant elements that would determine the characteristics of his work are the entangled web of deep-rooted cultural ethos and the economic and social dynamics of the village and the communities. The idea of geography and geometry and their inexplicable connection with landscapes has played a major role in articulating Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri’s visual language. His practice is majorly influenced by the spaces he lived and engaged in; they eventually drove him to explore the idea of form and its fundamental ties with the primordial forms. Through the adoption of a miniaturist approach, Soma Das challenges the established conventions of this style by depicting mundane subjects and seemingly inconsequential occurrences from everyday middle-class life, especially of women. This departure from traditional representation prompts a re-evaluation of the significance attributed to the familiar and seemingly ‘trivial’ aspects of domesticity. Suman Dey's artistic style is devised by engaging with the realms of memory and personal experiences. His deliberate departure from representational forms underscores his profound commitment to abstraction as the most effective means of expressing his thoughts that grapple with the inherent complexities within his artistic explorations. Tapas Biswas’s sculptures have the quality to express complex ideas with intricacies, allowing the viewer to experience the form with a gentle surprise. Despite the technical efforts involved in the creation process, including electrical power and intricate casting techniques, Biswas's approach pays homage to the materials' simplicity. Ujjal Dey’s works largely explore the traditional relationship with nature, engaging with ideas of tradition, rituals, ecology and landscape. His semi-abstract works are mostly inspired by traditional and ritualistic practices and their repetitive iterations.
