Aura Art strives to collect and promote choicest works of artists of caliber and to give such chosen works widest possible exposure, so that people at large become sensitive to qualities that distinguish the extraordinary from the ordinary. Towards this endeavour, Aura Art eConnect Pvt Ltd has recently launched www.auraart.in, India's First online marketplace exclusively for curated Fine art as well as Aura Art App.

In line with its aspiration to migrate to a fully Integrated Art House, Aura Art Development Pvt Ltd is stepping up its focus on Art Infrastructure Solutions to Collectors, Corporates, Galleries etc, including assistance with Documenting and Tagging Collections, Valuation, Insurance, Restoration, Logistics, Trusteeship and art initiatives for Branding/CSR. Its recent exclusive tie-up with Tag8 is a significant step to assist collectors to database and secure their collections, periodically assess inventory and also track their movement.

Also Commissioned Sculptures for Homes, Offices, Hotels, Hospitals and Public spaces

Modernism in India has taken various routes to manifest in the works of art created by the artists living in different parts of our country, a vast geographical entity with varying cultural practices and life perspectives. Majoritarian views on modernism in Indian art have always insisted that it has taken shape in the urban centres which had both art academies and adequate patronage for art. However an egalitarian as well as more democratic view on modern Indian art world proves that modernism in Indian art is not just urban- centric but it has its own development and existence in different regions, often working on and experimenting with the dominant modernist language seen in the urban centres. Regional modernism is an art historical and theoretical proposition forwarded a couple of decades ago and has been accepted as a norm since then.*

The present show conceptualised by Aura Art eConnect Pvt Ltd, is a comprehensive effort to showcase the regional modernism in Indian art vis-a-vis the dominant modernist languages prevalent elsewhere. The fifty two artists featured in this exhibition present the variety of modern visual languages that could seep through various layers of our culture and appear fresh and illustrative even within the contemporary art historical discourse. A considered view on the present exhibits would make a viewer aware of the historical and stylistic linkages that each work of art has with the traditional that had set the rules of the global modernism in general and the Indian modernism in particular.

Though each artist in this show deserves a separate description, due to the numbers any attempt to do so would end up in exceeding the scope of an introductory note. However, it is very pertinent to underline that there exists a possibility of categorising their works of art into three major compartments, specified by their stylistic features. These categories are, one: Academic and Figurative, two: Impressionistic and Post Cubist, three: Contemporary Figurative.

Academically Figurative language has helped many artists in the group to bring out their graphic virtuosity into full play. They could allure the viewers with their precision in figurative language. Two major examples that we could cite for Academic Figurative are the works of Vrindavan Solanki and Ratilal Kansodaria.

Impressionist language has always enthralled the artists because of its emphasis on the changing light on objects and scenes. For the Indian artists who are familiar with the riot of colours, an integral part of Indian festivals, Impressionistic paintings become a celebratory occasion when they could play their maximum with colours in order to create a world that is too colourful to be familiar. These serene dreamscapes are an inseparable part of Indian Modernism. The works of Tejinder Kanda and Sidharth provide the best possible example of Impressionist Figurative.

Post-Cubist visual language has been dominating the creation of visual art for almost a century now. This domination has happened for good, leaving more scope for artists to experiment with the forms of objects and their mutuality in creating object-relationships intended to generate meanings. One could see different artists working from different directions experimenting almost naturally with the post-cubist language to eke out a visual meaning. Post-Cubist language is shared by a majority of artists and in this exhibition one could see Haku Shah, Krishen Khanna, Umesh Varma, S Yousuf Ali and Dhruva Mistry using this language.

Contemporary Figurative language often stands for the ‘thingness’ than a thing’s formal values. This kind of figuration is a vehicle for the artists to drive in the associative meanings of the contemporary world. In their figurative fullness and maturity, the contemporary works of art that one comes across in this exhibition reveal the starkness of the objective world where emotions get only a secondary role to play. In this sense, contemporary works of art overstep sentimentalism in order to capture the essence of the world in a documentary form. Yusuf and Veguri Ravindra Babu use the contemporary language of abstraction and figuration respectively. Aura Art exhibition therefore brings in all the varied modernisms in Indian art for the perusal of the considering and discerning eyes.

Johny ML
Art Critic

* Regional Modernism is a formulation by R Sivakumar.

I doubt if there is any other country in the world like India with such a multi-geographic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious backdrop. This has not only determined the way people live their lives but has also influenced art forms in distinctively different ways. We at Aura Art have spared no efforts to ensure that we bring to you some of the finest work India has produced in the art scene.

Intensive search for artworks for this Show has been an enriching experience and yielded some precious collections. Two museum quality artworks by Krishen Khanna, a rare Still life work on paper by NS Bendre, a Paritosh Sen painting depicting two boys flying kites, two exquisite landscapes by Paramjit Singh in his typical style. There are other invaluable discoveries too of both paintings and sculptures including works by the master S Yousuf Ali, a large canvas by Sidharth from the Baramaha series, a stunning portrayal of a Horse in charcoal by Ajay De, new works in stark and strong colours by Vrindavan Solanki, a 1997 Flower series painting by Manu Parekh, a wonderful painting by Vasudeo Kamath titled The Lotus Feet, two magnificent bronze sculptures by Ratilal Kansodaria and an imposing bull in a seated position, by Dhruva Mistry.

Judicious application of the principles of wealth management clearly spells out the need to diversify into alternate assets, including art. The wealth creation momentum as well as the interest in art is only going to pick up in the coming years. The relatively low values of Indian Art, as compared to global values and the recent run up in values of Chinese art adds to the compelling case. The consolidation in the Indian Art Market over the last 7-8 years has made many of the Masters, especially those who did not witness significant promotion in the past, very attractively valued. Besides, there is always an interesting opportunity to collect quality works of promising artists, who are developing on the lines of the Masters. Focussed promotion of these artists, where quality and potential is established beyond doubt, will only result in significant price discovery, as the market is eager to latch onto new leaders.

Harmeet Singh Sethi
CEO, Aura Art

Core Team

Daljit S Sethi
    Director, Aura Art eConnect Pvt Ltd
    Director, Aura Art Development Pvt Ltd
    Chairman, Aura Art
    Member, ICCR - Advisory Committee, Mumbai
    (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India)
    Governor's Special Aide R.I. Dist. 3141
    Chairman - Art and Culture R.I. Dist. 3141
    Deputy Governor RI Dist 3140 (1998-99)
    Founder & Chairman – Noble Heart Foundation
    Founder & Ex V. President - Badhit Bal Vikas Kendra

Harmeet S Sethi
    Director, Aura Art eConnect Pvt Ltd
    Director, Aura Art Development Pvt Ltd
    CEO, Aura Art

Rishiraj S Sethi
    Director, Aura Art eConnect Pvt Ltd
    Director, Aura Art Development Pvt Ltd
    Chief Strategist, Aura Art

Management Advisors

    Shri Nilesh Ganjwala
    CEO, Innergize Solutions Pvt Ltd

    Shri Vinit Ganjwala
    Director, Pinnacle & Mystique Promotions

    Shri Premal Mehta
    MD, Wealth First Advisors Pvt Ltd

    Shri Navroz Mahudawala
    Founder, Candle Partners

Technical Advisors

    Shri Sidharth, New Delhi

    Dr Shailendra K Kushwaha
    Former Dean and HoD of Art History & Aesthetics,
    Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda

    Shri Dilip Ranade, Mumbai

    Shri Wasim R Kapoor, Kolkata

    Shri Vrindavan Solanki, Ahmedabad

    Shri Vasudeo Kamath, Mumbai

    Shri Anil Naik, Mumbai

Communications

    Shri Satish Pillai, Mumbai

With Blessings from

    Late Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari
    President, Shri Ram Chandra Mission

    Swami Dayananda Saraswati
    Founder, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam

Patrons

    Dr Karan Singh (Patron-in-Chief)
    Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
    Former President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations
    Chairman, Committee of Ethics

    Mrs Supriya Sule
    Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)

    Late Shrimant Ranjitsinh Gaekwad
    Maharaja of Baroda

    Shri Adi Jehangir
    Chairman, Jehangir Art Gallery

    Shri Anil Dharker
    Eminent Writer & Journalist

    Mrs Anita Dongre
    Leading Fashion Designer

    Ms Renu Dalal
    Director, Dalal Engineering

    Shri KN Memani
    Former Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young India

    Shri Bobby Parikh
    Managing Partner, BMR Advisors

    Shri Shahzaad Dalal
    Non Executive Director, IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd

    Shri Basant Agarwal
    MD, Valpro

    Shri Utkarsh Palnitkar
    Partner, KPMG

    Dr Archana Hingorani
    CEO & ED, IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd

    Shri Parvaiz Dalal
    MD, Head of Working Capital EMEA Citibank, London

    Shri Gurpreet Singh
    MD, Aakar Design Consultants

    Shri Nitin Killawala
    Leading Architect

    Shri Liyakat Ali Khan
    MD, UBM Index Trade Fairs Pvt Ltd

    Dr Ramakanta Panda
    Chief Consultant - Cardio Thoracic Surgery, Asian Heart Institute

    Dr Hrishikesh D Pai
    Gynaec & Head IVF Unit, Lilavati Hospital

    Padma Vibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj
    World -renowned Kathak dancer

    Padma Bhushan Dr Girija Devi
    World renowned Classical singer

    Dr AD Sawant
    Ex-Vice Chancellor, University of Rajasthan

    Shri HC Parikh
    Ex-Director General of Income Tax

    Shri PL Roongta
    Ex-Chief Commissioner of Income Tax