Art... What do you know?

To those who know me well, it will come as no surprise that one of the first places I visited upon arriving in Mumbai was the National Gallery of Modern Art Mumbai. Having visited the magnificent Gateway of India, I was walking to visit the main museum here in Mumbai (think mini-British Museum and you’ll be on the right track. More anon) but saw the name of this Gallery in the distance, floating above the tops of the trees.

Housed in what looks like a mini-Albert Hall (you’ll soon get the theme of my first 48 hours in Mumbai!) the gallery is over 5 floors, imaginatively leading from one to the other – making wonderful use of the space in a non-linear kind of way. Hard to explain, but really lovely to experience. All the floors were open plan, so you could catch glimpses of what was on the floors above as you made your way around each one. (Visit the website and you’ll see what I mean.)

Unlike many Galleries of Modern Art I have encountered (and there have been a few over the years), this one was filled at this time with items rather more representational in content. Most works were themed to the Hindu Faith and its associated stories, many of them completely recognisable as such. However, the period the museum covers (from the late 19^th Century, means that a range of styles is present – influences such as Gaugin, Picasso, Cubism – and more – were present.

It was the Exhibition on the upper three floors which really caught my attention. Shakti – Fair and Fierce, in which all the works are by female artists. A whole range of styles and artistic media is shown in this Exhibition – painting, sculpture, glass-work, computer-image creations. It was so inspiring.

This was one of my favourite; kundalini. Created by Charuvi Agrawal, it took four days to install - and takes this amount of time each and every time it is moved! Made of thread and glass beads, it is a representation linked to the awakening of Chakras in the body. My photograph here simply does not do it justice.

What made this visit even more special for my first activity in India, was being met by Piyush, a member of the staff at the Gallery. He spent a lot of time with me, explaining the art works, and especially the stories of the Hindu Gods. This was so helpful - and so inspiring - as we were able to talk about the history, artists and meanings of many of the pieces. We were also able to share the reality that none of us knows what an artist might really have intended, and we each bring our own history, interpretation, feelings to a piece. 

The second piece I loved was this one. Created by Arpana Caur, the way in which it depicts (to me) the different aspects of personality/personae, is beautiful.

You can read more about the Exhibition here. I am so glad I 'bumped into' this Gallery as it was a beautiful and inspiring introduction to Indian art in its various forms.