The second exhibition by The Devi Art Foundation examines the impact of globalisation on Indian art

If the inaugural exhibition at Devi Art Foundation highlighted how artists grapple with artwork within the context of society, with the second exhibition, the Lekha and Anupam Poddar collection moves several steps further. Another selection of artwork from their humungous private collection is made public, this time, to examine the impact of globalisation and economic liberalisation on contemporary art in India, in an exhibition titled ‘Where in the World’. The display includes artwork by some internationally renowned Indian artists, while the faculty and students from the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, play curator.

“We visited the Poddar farm innumerable times in the last year in order to see the entire collection and decide on a theme. Several factors, ranging from the display area to the safety, fragility and sheer size of artwork had to be kept in mind,” says Naman Ahuja, associate professor at the department, as he points to Sheba Chhachhi and Sonia Jabbar’s installation titled When the gun is raised, dialogue stops. Placed in the basement of Sirpur House, the Devi Art Foundation’s red brick structure in Gurgaon, this features testimonies on terrorism and conflict from Kashmiris. “The work is 60-foot long and can’t be displayed in most galleries,” adds Ahuja. The observation applies to several other works on display. Though as a composite, the exhibition aims at providing answers to a range of important questions in a historical context, like, what does new Indian art look like? Whom does it address? How will this era be remembered in the future?

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