Post-Boom: Artists and Their Practices
L-R: Girish Shahane, Prajakta Potnis, Dhruvi Acharya, Abir Karmakar & Amshu Chukki
On November 16th, Asia Society India Centre hosted a panel discussion with four young contemporary artists, Dhruvi Acharya, Amshu Chukki, Abir Karmakar, and Prajakta Potnis, to discuss their lives and practices ‘Post-Boom’. During the Boom (early to late 2000s), the financial market experienced a sharp rise and an upsurge of national and global interest in Indian art. However, following 2008’s Great Recession, what has happened to the contemporary art world? What has changed after (post) the Boom? ‘Post-Boom’ was coined for the purpose of this programme to express India's art world dynamics after the mid 2000's. Although the boom's newfound interest in contemporary art in India was acknowledged, none of the artists felt it really defined or dictated their practice. Instead, the conversation geared towards the foundation and nature of each of the artists’ processes which vary in medium from installation and painting to video art.
The boom catalyzed the Indian art market owing to economic liberalization. Over the next decade or so, it created new opportunities for exhibiting, and established new galleries, arts organizations, art fairs, the biennial, and many other contemporary art initiatives. Girish Shahane, moderator for the evening, initiated the programme by describing one of the many progressions in the art world since the Boom, the rise of social media, which he voiced, “changed the way in which art was received - and therefore created.” As growing numbers of people have become interested in art through thriving online communication channels and technologies, how has India’s art world changed or adapted since the boom to accommodate the expanding interest? Following Shahane’s introduction, each artist gave a brief presentation on their work and major exhibitions, after which the discussion commenced. As the panelists were asked to consider their personal and professional journeys in the context of India’s current contemporary art world, what became evidently clear is that it is impossible to make sweeping generalizations of how artists are individually affected by the Boom and its aftermath. Potnis, who was in her 20s during the Boom, described it as "a wave or tide where [she] sat on the shore watching”. She believed the boom, and its attention on a select few artists, allowed her to focus in on her own practice. Karmarkar also felt unaffected by the boom since at the time he was making large-scale male nude portraits, a subject he felt inevitably challenged the mainstream financial market. However, he noted the boom may have "created space to accept certain things,” creating a more general openness to contemporary subjects and experimentations. Moreover, the artists conversed about their individual studio practices and daily routines. Acharya’s highly disciplined daily practice contrasted to Chukki’s need to occasionally distance himself from certain projects and switch mediums from time to time.
Naturally, enquiry arose surrounding the lack of change in India's art education system, the need for gallery representation, the significance of an online presence, and the effects of international exposure. Contextualizing the conversation with the boom, Shahane asked the panelists if they felt artists today have the same opportunities as boom-artists did during the major expansion of the gallery scene from 2006-2008. Although the opportunity to exhibit grew because of the number of new art spaces in India grew, Chukki, the youngest artist on the panel, was quick to point out that success, once measured by the number of local, national galleries one exhibited in wasn't the only measure of success today. Sharing his own experience in Canada, he suggested that now an artist’s success can depend on international engagement through artist residencies and exhibition. The social aspect and exposure of going abroad is important to one's artistic career. Overall, the discussion’s focus was on how each artist navigates their practice in today’s Post-Boom, post-liberalization context which evolves irrelevant to the market.
As reported by Lekha Jandhyala, Programme Assistant, Asia Society India Centre