Indian artists show different shade of rising urbanization

Indian artists display their works in a Beijing art show. Highlights include Unremitting Expansion by Pooja Iranna, Seventy Synonyms for Water in Sanskrit by Sheba Chhachhi, Vulnerable Guardians by Arunkumar H.G. and Untitled (Reflection) by Atul Bhalla.[Photo provided to China Daily]

As its title suggests, the exhibition asks viewers to feel the works with their hearts and to discover the underlying messages with their eyes, says Rajeev Lochan, the exhibition curator and director of New Delhi's National Gallery of Modern Art. Some of the exhibits are also from the museum's own collection.

"Indian contemporary art is in nature a kind of complicated language that is formed with many layers and by different elements," Lochan says. He chose artworks that not only refer to India's social issues but also represent universal themes.

Participating artists have been active since the 1980s and '90s, drawing on their personal experiences to voice their individual concerns.

The exhibition is being held through Dec 21 at the privately run Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, an institute that hopes to have further exchanges of art from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

"Both India and China encounter all kinds of social problems while transforming from agricultural to industrialized societies," says Zeng Xiaofeng, an academic researcher with the Minsheng museum.

"Since the 1980s, issues centering on the environment, identity, religion and race have been reflected in aspects of Indian society. This exhibition shows how Indian artists review and critique the country's large-scale urbanization," Zeng says.

Indian artists Atul Bhalla and Sheba Chhachhi both address water pollution in their works but with different approaches.