Anubhav Nath, Curatorial Director at Ojas Art Gallery presents 5th edition of Satrangi: An Exhibition of Warli Art by OJAS ART Awardees 2019

EE News Desk Aug 30, 2019

Much like every year, this year too, September will light up with pictorial narratives at Satrangi, an annual exhibition at Ojas Art Gallery that begins on September 4th, 2019. The exhibition curated by Anubhav Nath, Curatorial Director at Ojas Art Gallery. The exhibition will feature the Ojas Art Awardees - Rajesh Chaitya Vangad (Master Artist) and Tushar and Mayur Vayeda (Protege Artist) along with Amit Mahadev Dombhare, Kishore Mahase, Sadashiv Mashe and Shantaram Gorkhana.

Illuminating parallels between traditional warli works and contemporary take on the same, the show will reveal how the artists have embraced this art of the past in order to leap forward and contribute to the language of this 21st century.

Featuring a selection of imposing, thought provoking artworks, the exhibit will continue till the 25th September, 2019. Following the legacy of traditional WARLI style, the artists' works are reflective of human engagement with the environment.

The Warli tribals or indigenous people speak of ancient times and evoke their ancestral cultures, dating back to 2500 BC, through their ritualistic paintings made as murals on walls. Mainly created by women to mark and observe weddings, ceremonies and joyous occasions, these murals were made using soil, cow dung and rice paste.

The participating artists are experts of their field having participated in the fifth edition of the prestigious Ojas Art Award and exhibited their art works at ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2019. Also, selected artworks will be on display at ZEE JLF Colorado, USA to be held in September 2019.

The award is co-organised between Teamwork Arts, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, and Delhi-based art organization OJAS Art. In 2019 the award focused on excellence in Warli Art. For Jaipur Literature Festival 2020 the award will focus on Pattachitra Art of Orissa.

Only in the 1970's this art form was transferred from walls to canvases, which also helped in taking the art form to the world. Jivya Soma Mashe (1934-2018) popularized this art form and is considered as the Father of Contemporary Warli Art.

“I believe that art has a language. It makes the spectators feel and with this edition of Satrangi we once again explore this connection that the human mind and soul has with art! "shares Anubhav Nath.

"The present exhibition presents some of the finest Warli paintings in contemporary times, covering almost all the variegated aspects of the thousand year old tradition. It is an attempt to give art connoisseurs an opportunity to peep into this most ancient art tradition which is still alive in its original pristine form," said Prof Neeru Misra, Project Advisor, Satrangi.

Satrangi is an annual exhibition and explores one genre of tribal arts annually. Previously there have been several shows in the genres of Gond, Madhubani-Mithila and Bheel and this year we celebrate Warli. The aim is to bring forth these traditional art techniques and keep the skill alive and appreciated.