Art Bengaluru 2019 – Festival of Contemporary Art

Art Bengaluru 2019 returns in its 9th edition and brings together 21 reputed artists from across the world including USA, Netherlands, France and Saudi Arabia with almost 200 works of art. Spread across various floors in the mall, the art has integrated beautifully with the interior design and architectural elements. The works encompass a range of styles, genres and media – paintings, hand-blown glass sculpture, installations, video projects, 3D printed sculpture, photography, mixed media and digital art are currently on display throughout The Collection, UB City.

The launch of the almost month long festival on 2nd November was a spectacular affair with a scintillating musical performance by the Bangalore City Chamber Orchestra.

Majestic Forest – Daan Oude Elferink (Netherlands) Art Bengaluru 2019

The curatorial premise extends its range from the previous year and focuses on storytelling and figuration primarily, at the same time it attempts to draw narratives from across the country as well as internationally. It plays with scale and space to enhance the viewing experience.

The ground floor comes alive with dramatic works by the well known Dutch photographer Daan Oude Elferink, which capture the glory of abandoned and long forgotten places. Buildings, relics and deserted industrial facilities narrate poignant stories of life gone by.

MANTODEA PRAYINGMANTIS by Haribabu Natesan

On another floor, Haribaabu Naatesan’s large format mixed media works made out of industrial waste and scrap are a comment on consumerism and urbanization. He elaborates, “I want my artworks to provoke people to think about the materials they consume; when they discard a cycle or computer, when they re-decorate their homes, they must be aware of how much junk they are creating.”

Masked_Reality  By Harshit Aggarwal

In the IT capital of the country, technology, artificial intelligence and data science and its application predominates and art created utilizing these concpets will intrigue the viewer. New media artist Harshit Agrawal explores the ‘human-machine creativity continuum’- the melding of human and machine creative agency. He uses machines and algorithms and often creates them as an essential part of his art process. He often juxtaposes traditional art media and tools along with machines and computation, creating a space to both direct, and be guided by the machine.

Between the Realities  R M Palaniappa

Do not miss senior artist R M Palaniappan’s exhibition at Sublime Galleria on the 8th floor, which features his collection of works that explore the line, its movement and spatial connotations. The notion of time and space, the experience of space and the materiality of the universe map imaginary trajectories of physical and psychological terrains. His interest in art, science and psychology meld effortlessly.
Watch out for art by the Bangalore based Pradeep Kumar D M, R Rekha Krishnamurthy and Venugopala H S. Also for works by Anil Ijeri, Anni Kumari, Chandrahas Y Jalihal, Hariram V Harsh Nowlakha, Sruthi S Kumar and Vijit Pillai. The other international artists include Afra Khan, Jordan Sitzer and Pierre Poulain.

Untitled – Pradeep Kumar D M

Speaking about the evolution of Art Bengaluru, Ms. Uzma Irfan – Founder -Sublime Galleria & Director – Prestige Group explains, “Nine years ago, we had conceptualised Art Bengaluru as a dedicated festival for the arts. Ever since, it has been a trailblazer event, a celebration of art, culture and luxury, on par with the finest art shows across the globe. Our constant effort has been to put Bengaluru on the map of the international art world, and give India’s rich and diverse culture the global platform it deserves.”

Abhishek Naidu, Curator of Art Bengaluru elaborates, “A new generation of collectors are on the rise who are looking at platforms like Art Bengaluru to engage with some of the best emerging and established artists from India and beyond. Over the last decade, Art Bengaluru has played a pivotal role in forging spirited bonds between artists, galleries, art collectors and art enthusiasts, not only across India, but also in New York, Beijing, Paris, Amsterdam and other international locations. With Art Bengaluru 2019, we wish to further strengthen these bonds and boost the outlook for the Indian art market.”

There is a BIT of you in some BIT of me byAnni Kumari

Incidentally, the festival will also feature over a dozen talks, workshops, curated walks and other art experiences, including a feature Film Bengaluru – an International Film Festival organized in partnership with the UNESCO MGIEP focusing on the theme, ‚Kindness Matters‘ from 14 – 17 November 2019.

Upcoming is also a workshop organized by OnePlus for smartphone users which will be conducted by the well known artist, Pallon Daruwala, who will show people how to take great photographs on their smartphones. The workshop will take place on Saturday – 23 November 2019 from 10am – 1pm.