"Feminine Divine" A group show that celebrates the grace & power in all women at Gallerie Ganesha, E-557, Greater Kailash-II > 11am-7pm on 1st to 11th December 2013

 Time : 11:00 am - 7:00 pm (Sundays Closed)

Entry : Free

Place : Gallerie Ganesha, E-557, Greater Kailash-II, New Delhi-110048
Venue Info : gallerieganesha.com | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Kailash Colony(Violet Line)'

Event Description : Gallerie Ganesha presents 'Feminine Divine' A group show that celebrates the grace & power in all women
The exhibition includes works in oil on canvas, charcoal, pastel, acrylic and watercolour by thirteen eminent artists from all over India including Arpana Caur, Dipak Banerjee, Ganesh Pyne, Jayasri Burman, K.S. Kulkarni, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Laxma Goud, Neekant Choudhary, Paresh Maity, Rini Dhumal, Satish Gujral, Shyamal Datta Ray and Suhas Roy.

Says Shobha Bhatia, Director, Gallerie Ganesha: “The declining respect for women in today’s world has inspired us to host this show that highlights the aspects of the ‘Devi’ in every woman. The paradox of being a woman in our country today is that, on one hand, she is worshipped as a Goddess because she is so benevolent and, at the same time, she also gets killed in the womb because she is so unwanted. It is a constant struggle for civilised society to find a middle ground between these two extremes.”

Hence, the show explores the various qualities of the feminine, namely, Jagat Janani- Universal Goddess, Shakti - Primordial Energy, Ardhangini - Rightful Companion,  Janani - Mother, Annapurna- Nurturer, Naayika- Prima Donna and numerous other roles a woman fulfils in her life, transforming into one or the other as the occasion demands.

Says Delhi-based artist Arpana Caur about her work titled Sohni, oil on canvas: “Sohni was a real woman born 500 years ago and her legend still lives on. For me, Sohni is symbolic of conviction, human courage and love. She gave up her life for these values and I believe there is a Sohni in all of us…I have done a solo on this theme about 14 years ago and this idea is as relevant today as it was then.”

Another work by Caur titled Harvest shows a woman painted in green and another in red. “The green feminine form is the creator and the red, the destructor. This work shows that every woman has the energy that is also present in nature itself – the restorer and the destructor. Women are supposed to be passive but that is not so, they can multi-task and efficiently so.”

Jayasri Burman, Delhi-based artist, has created a canvas that is breathtaking in its expanse and symbolism. Titled Annapurna, this watercolour, pen and ink on paper work portrays women as caregivers, and more importantly, as the person who feeds every stomach. “However rich or poor one may be, or wherever one may belong to, one cannot do without food. A woman is an Annapurna, someone who makes sure every stomach is fed and no one goes hungry in her family, and hence society at large. Through this work, I want to create an enduring image of a woman as a nourisher, an image which will remain relevant forever however advanced our civil societies may become.”

Paresh Maity’s circular, oil on canvas work titled Majestic Grace is about empowerment of a woman even while celebrating her eternal beauty and grace. “The work is about how every woman is beautiful in her own way, the motif of a horse’s face at the far left of the work is to draw a parallel between the majestic aura of both forms – human and animal.”

Woman as goddess is also a recurring theme in several artists’ works. For instance, Rini Dhumal and Ganesh Pyne portray Durga – the vanquisher, Laxma Goud and Neelkant Choudhary create different interpretations of Laxmi – the benefactor and Satish Gujral’s Shakti – the powerful are some of the other works in the show. The softer, feminine side of a woman is portrayed in works of Suhas Roy, Shyamal Datta Ray and Lalu Prasad Shaw.

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