Mixed Bag II

Mixed Bag II is a festive season art exhibition that seeks to bridge the gap between the bazaar and the gallery. As Diwali and Christmas markets brim with luxury goods, home décor, and gifting items, galleries often remain quiet and overlooked. This exhibition aims to challenge the myth that art is reserved only for the elite or intellectual few. The gallery showcases art from Baroda, the city that ties diverse artist’s works together. Baroda has been a breeding ground for many “isms” or simply put varied art movements and style.

Baroda today, is known for its experimental oeuvre and conceptual being. But one of the significant characteristics of this post-independence institute is its narrative style of art works against the prior set of formalistic styles. With artists like K.G. Subramanyan, Nilima and Ghulam Md. Sheikh or Bhupen Khakkar, narrative patterns and compositions are the essence of their styles. The works are stories, which may be the whole body of work or an interim tale, wherein one can line them up between the binaries.

The drastic changes in mediums have been no hindrance to this character, as even the contemporary from Baroda has a certain sense of beginning and ending, forming a tale. The stories here are not always the core of the works, these rather lead one to experience their own realities along with the artists. They create a parallel idea, many times based on self experience, while each spectator might experience something anew. The intriguing part is the continuity which surpasses temporality. The works of the artists are allied by the narratives.

The exhibition features the newer generation artists such as Alok Bal, Anasuya Mohapatra, Debraj Goswami, Disha Jani and Hrusikesh Biswal among others. The show strives to showcase how the artists here are allied to the narratives through various mediums, some of others, some of their own.