India Art Summit 09 - Artworks by Balaji Ponna, Remen Chopra & others August 18, 2009

India Art Summit 09 - Artworks by Balaji Ponna, Remen Chopra, Riyas Komu, T.V. Santhosh, Prajakta Potnis, Sathyanand Mohan & Pooja Iranna. Balaji Ponna: Born 1980 - Ponna obtained his Masters in Graphics from Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan. His first solo titled 'Black Smoke' was held at Bose Pacia, Kolkata in collaboration with The Guild. He has exhibited in Art Basel 09 and has also participated in "Contemporary Exoticism" curated by Marco Meneguzzo at Studio La Citta, Verona. His works have been currently selected for the France print Biennale 2009. Balaji's new sculpture is another take on the contemporary issues that remain apparent but sometimes neglected. With an overt formal reference to Gilbert & George's 'Singing Sculpture', Balaji addresses the issue of class and brings in the question of popular into the discourse of elite Indian art practices. Prajakta Potnis: Born 1980 - Prajakta Potnis received her graduate and postgraduate degree from Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai and is a recipient of several awards and scholarships. In 2008, Potnis had two major solo shows including 'membranes and margins' in Seoul, Korea and then 'Porous Walls' at The Guild, Mumbai. She is a growing name in the Indian and International art scene. Remen Chopra : Born 1980 - Remen Chopra completed her B.F.A and M.F.A in Fine Art from the College of Art, New Delhi and she continued her education program and residency at the School of Visual Arts New York. She was a participant in the Rotterdam Art fair 09 presented by Willem Baars Foundation. The centrality of her work deals with freeing oneself from the contradictions and holds of the post modern society, where, virtues start to lose meaning, and the dark valleys of self hood grip man, where violence, anxiety and antagonism take over and the virtues of self correction, become linked to the fanaticism of religion, and the words peace, family and security become strangers in one's own world. Sathyanand Mohan : Born 1975 - Born in Kerala, Sathyanand Mohan has obtained his BFA in Painting from College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum and MFA from Faculty of Fine Arts, Ms University Baroda. His recent solo show 'Reliquary' was held at The Guild, Mumbai. Sathyanand's works may perhaps be called private metaphors wherein he tries to evoke various aspects of the self. Play and irony are generally employed in his paintings to draw attention to the language and its materiality. His current work 'Mumbai- Shots' explores various aspects of the city and how it has a magnetic field attracting people from across the country in lure of opportunity. Here Sathyanand employs a cinematic visual language stirred with adventure and inspiration from the pervasive influence of cinema in Mumbai. Riyas Komu : Born 1971 - Riyas Komu was a participant in the 52nd Venice Biennale 2007 curated by Robert Storr. Other prominent museum shows include Milan Museum show, curated by Daniella Polizolli and 'India Contemporary', GEM, Museum of Contemporary Art, Hague. Komu graduated with Painting as his specialization and has since than extended himself to sculpture, photography and video installations. Komu says that his work draws from the public domain. His subjects are charged with significance bringing about a disturbance depicting an element of political disquiet. For Riyas, art is a medium for social comment on the situations the world is facing today. T.V.Santhosh : Born 1968 - Born in Kerala, T.V.Santhosh obtained a B.F.A in painting from Shantiniketan and Masters in Sculpture from MS University, Baroda. Santhosh has had several successful shows with many international art galleries and museums. His recent sculptural installation from 'Passage to India' is in the Frank Cohen collection at Initial Access. Some of his prominent museum shows are 'Aftershock' at Contemporary Art Norwich at Sainsbury Centre, England in 2007 and 'Continuity and Transformation' Museum show promoted by Provincia di Milano, Italy. G.R. Ir

Official Website: http://www.buzzintown.com/?128120&ref=yupg&refcity=6