Artspeaks India
Presents
“BODIES OF LIGHT”
Glass Sculptures /Mixed Media / Paintings
By HEMI BAWA
www.Artspeaksindia.com
Curated by Lina Vincent
Dates: 22nd November 2020 to 15th January 2021
Online Preview on 21 NOVEMBER 2020 at 6 PM
We are very excited to share that the solo show of Hemi Bawa titled “Bodies of Light “ is going to preview online at the Artspeaks India Website Viewing Room on Saturday 21 November 2020 at 6 pm (IST) presented by Artspeaks India . This will showcase Glass Sculptures , Mixed Media and Paintings created by artist and sculptor Hemi Bawa curated by Lina Vincent and visualised by Ashwini Pai Bahadur of Artspeaks India
Bodies of Light is a compilation of artwork that provides glimpses into the wide repertoire that artist Hemi Bawa has established in her career of more than five decades. The exhibition offers an opportunity for audiences to encounter elements of her eclectic journey, focusing on her commitment to material exploration and articulating the integral possibilities of light and space within her work. The exhibition attempts to build a dialogue between different aspects of her practice, linking her continued engagement with glass as a medium, with her painting and mixed media practices. At the core of her art lies an intuitive spirit, seeking to unearth and present universal truths.
A significant series of works in cast glass are part of the show, showcasing Hemi Bawa’s intrinsic understanding of the multifaceted nature of the medium. A niche and complex technique, working with glass has meant managing and nurturing balance between contrasts – liquid and solid, soft and hard, transparency and opacity, fragility and strength. It is the ruggedness and tenacity of the medium and its ability to trap light, that sustains Hemi’s passion for it, as seen in the Head series and the Torsos. Highlighted in the show is an ongoing series in which Bawa presents her spontaneous reflections on the circumstances of the pandemic, invoking the sense of restriction and immobility, of boundaries and shackles, in expressively constructed installations.
Artspeaks India is a multidisciplinary arts, design & cultural development initiative which has been actively involved in the promotion of the arts over the last decade. Recent forays have created significant impact in the visual arts, literature, and theatre and art house cinema. In the visual arts, Artspeaks India endeavors to let the arts speak for themselves in the contemporary context whilst underlining deep connections , nostalgia for the genius of India s folk & tribal crafts and crafting windows for their exposure.
Lina Vincent is an independent art historian and curator with close to two decades experience in arts management. She is committed to socially engaged practices that reflect in multidisciplinary projects she has developed and participated in. The focus areas of her research and writing extend to projects with arts education, printmaking history and practice, the documentation of living traditions and folk arts in India, and environmental consciousness in the arts. Selected major projects and curatorial consultancies include “Between the Lines: Identity, Place and Power” – Selections from the Waswo X. Waswo collection of Indian printmaking, with an accompanying publication (NGMA Bengaluru, Mumbai – 2011-13); ‘Vernacular, in the Contemporary’ I & II, with Jackfruit Research and Design (Devi Art Foundation 2010-12); ‘Morphology of Archive: Connected Histories of Goa’, with Sabitha Sachi, MOG, Goa (2016); ‘Tabiyat: Medicine and Healing in India’ Wellcome Trust UK and CSMVS Mumbai (2016-17); ‘GOOD FOOD India’ -international arts program for climate-change awareness (Bengaluru – Hyderabad 2017-18); Micro/Macrocosm – International Print Exchange Program (multicity global exhibits 2018-19). She initiated and headed the Piramal Residency Artist Incubator Programme (2019-20) and is working on ‘GOA FAMILIA’ an ongoing archival documentation project for Serendipity Arts Foundation. She has curated numerous exhibitions with galleries across India and continues to contribute to publications on contemporary art.
