SUJITH S.N.
Act II: Emphasizing Stillness
18 August 2021 – 18 September 2021
Online Exhibition
Vadehra Art Gallery is pleased to introduce a dedicated online exhibition viewing experience in a new series titled VIRTUAL, where we will present short projects by artists from our regular programming using a host of immersive technologies to support our growing digital footprint. Our first VIRTUAL exhibition is a striking new collection watercolours by artist Sujith S.N. titled Act II: Emphasizing Stillness.
Interested in exploring the subliminal psychology of everyday places and people andreflecting on recent world events involving the pandemic, Sujith observantly recognizes the dwindling of the original panic that had at first possessed our collective imaginations in favor of a new status quo that optimistically or wishfully accepts the course of our contemporary history as it is. But with psychological and physical restrictions still a tepid reality, Sujith endeavors to acknowledge the potential of movement, of action and change, rather than a consistent temporal progression or narrative. He draws inspiration from David Hockney’s Picture Emphasizing Stillness, which freeze-frames the scene, loading it with tension and expectation for what might happen next. Similarly in Sujith’s works, he sets out to capture movement in stillness, retaining his signature atmospheric quality while moving away from his previous minimalism for a visual language that is pregnant with implied narrative on a more elaborate scale. To signify a metaphorical precipice or a transitional period, he emphasizes elemental experiences of the outdoors with a fractured but hopeful interiority – sometimes building the milky way into a homely structure, other times imbuing his landscapes with a futuristic, fictional character. He consults Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights for emplotment and scene-making, but in playing with perspective captures the protagonist in the subjective gaze of the viewer. In Act II: Emphasizing Stillness, Sujith renders inevitability as an organism that looms, envelops and guides our existences.
The show is on view on our website as well as our gallery’s simulated viewing room. A complete e-catalogue is also available on request. Please write to art@vadehraart.com for inquiries or reach out to us on our social media channels.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in 1979 in Baroda, Gujarat, India, SUJITH S.N. completed an MFA from the Sarojini Naidu School of Fine Arts, Performing Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad in 2007, and a BFA from the College of Fine Arts, Thrissur, University of Calicut in 2005. He also has a diploma as a civil draughtsman.
His solo shows include The City and the Tower, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, 2008; Map Is not the Territory, Latitude 28, New Delhi, 2010; Psalms of Silence and Dark, HSLU, Lucerne, Switzerland, 2011; Stains of Stimuli, Forum Art Gallery, Chennai, 2014; Archipelago, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2017. He has also participated in shows at Art Basel, Hong Kong, 2016; India Art Fair, 2016; Religare Art, Delhi, 2013; Durbar Hall, Kochi, 2013 and 2007; Bodhi Gallery, New Delhi, 2011; and Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2011, to name a few.
He has won several awards including the Kerala Lalit Kala Academy special mention award in 2004, the Kerala Lalit Kala Academy state award in 2005 and the Foundation of Indian Contemporary Art emerging artist award in 2011. He was also long-listed for the Skoda Prize in 2011.
The artist lives and works in Mumbai.
ABOUT THE GALLERY
Established in 1987, Vadehra Art Gallery is among the most well-respected art galleries in India representing a roster of artists spanning four generations. Modern masters like M.F. Husain, Ram Kumar, S.H. Raza and Tyeb Mehta find prime spot in the gallery’s calendar alongside the subsequent generation of modernists like Arpita Singh, Nalini Malani, Gulammohammed Sheikh and Rameshwar Broota. VAG’s contemporary programme includes some of the most exciting names in Indian art such as Atul Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, Anju Dodiya, N.S. Harsha, Jagannath Panda, as well as young emerging talent. As a key artistic interlocutor to audiences in India the gallery expanded its exhibition programme in 2007 to exhibit important names from the international contemporary art scene. Vadehra Art Gallery ventured into publishing in 1996, finding a crucial need for adequate documentation, critical writing, and quality reproduction of images. In the last two decades the gallery has published hundreds of illustrated exhibition catalogues, and several important artist monographs, some in collaboration with international publishing house, Prestel.
