India Art Fair 2017

India Art Fair is South Asia’s principal showcase of contemporary art and the gateway to the region’s cultural produce, taking place in New Delhi from 2-5 February. Since the global expansion of the province’s market, the festival has seen a huge growth of its own. Now in its ninth year, it has become the primary destination for art in the area, and in turn has become India’s largest cultural tourism event, attracting thousands of visitors each year.

This edition will see just under 100 exhibitors representing talent from 19 countries. Over the years, the fair has shown work from 500 galleries from India and across the globe. 2017 brings contributors such as visual artist Rathin Barman, whose work reflects on strong themes including an exploration of landscape in memory, as well as the experiences of the Bangladeshi migrants in Kolkota, the town in which he is based. Barman conveys his socio-economic study of human behaviour using mediums such as sculpture and drawing. His work One, and the other side’ will be showcased on site 1-4.

Aicon Gallery will be supporting Pakistani-American contemporary artist Anila Quayyum Agha by presenting her work All The Flowers Are For Me. This piece is intended to represent Quayyum Agha’s mother, her identity, beauty, and femininity through delicately cut and painted red stainless steel patterns. Her previous work Intersections was awarded the Public Vote Grand Prize and split the Juried Grand Prize at the 2014 Art Prize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As well as championing South Asian talent, the event sheds light on some of the methods used by regional practitioners in talks such as Global Contemporaries, taking place on 3 February. The panel consists of artists and photographers such as Bani Abidi, Pablo Bartholomew, Asim Waqif and Pors & Rao and will be chaired by Art India Editor Abhay Sardesai. The exchange hopes to bring together diverse views on the industry in a discussion about the contemporary creative climate.

India Art Fair, 2-5 February, New Delhi. www.indiaartfair.in

For contemporary art and culture, follow us @Aestheticamag

 

Credits
1. Anila Quayyum Agha, Sublime Light (2015). Courtesy of the artist and Aicon Gallery.