Treat for Art Lovers As Treasures From Birla Academy of Art & Culture Archives To Be Displayed From Jan 9, 2021 – Times of India

Birla Academy Annual Showcase and Competitive Section display to commence on January 9, 2021

Art aficionados are in for a treat from January 9, 2021 onwards, as Birla Academy of Art and Culture readies to showcase its 54th Annual Exhibition for public viewing, spanning a whole month.

This exhibition consists of two parts. One, ‘The Worlds Within: Treasures from BAAC archives’ – the annual showcase that will be displayed at first and second floor of the Sarala Birla & Basant Kumar Birla Galleries of the Birla Academy, and the second one – the annual exhibition of the artists from competitive categories on fourth and fifth floor of the same building.

Late Basant Kumar Birla and Late Sarala Birla have shaped the vision and the roadmap of Birla Academy of Art and Culture, firm in the belief that tradition, aesthetics, beauty and legacies embedded in our inter-cultural dialogue must be preserved, encouraged and shaped, without, losing touch with modernity.

Birla Academy of Art and Culture’s permanent collection, and the cumulative works therein are one of the most enduring legacies of Art in South Asia that typifies this syncretic culture in more ways than one. The exhibition ‘The Worlds Within: Treasures from BAAC archives’ has been curated by Shri Parnab Mukherjee and dips into some aspects of a large body of acquired works from varied sources.

For the first time in the city, the exhibition provides a peep into artist D.D. Rege’s personal collection of paintings which was acquired by the Academy. It also includes rare works by a number of artists including Raja Ravi Varma, Baburao Painter, N. S. Bendre, Walter Langhammer, K. H. Ara, S. H. Raza, M. V. Dhurandhar, M. R. Acharekar, K. R. Ketkar, Trindades, V. A. Mali, Dinanath Dalal, A. A Raiba and M.F. Husain.

Apart from D.D. Rege’s collection, the exhibition includes an original copy of the four volumes with text and engravings by James Forbes, a rare acquisition in Birla Academy collection displayed as a centenary tribute to the late maestro. Tribute section also includes two artworks by Louise Josephine Bourgeois and a special focus on A.H. Muller.

The showcase also includes a complete spread of Chhatrapati Dutta’s series (The Shrouded Live On) painted during the early days of the ongoing pandemic. Art enthusiasts can also look forward to international art installations across different mediums.

There is also a section of graphics work including artwork by A. Krishna Reddy, Manjit Bawa, Dipak Banerjee, Bikash Bhattacharjee and specially designed sculpture court including works by Sarbari Roy Chowdhury, Amarnath Sehgal, K. Radhakrishnan and Satish Gujral.

The exhibition showcases works of contemporary masters creating an unique symphony of hope, reality, utopia and aspirations all encompassed into curated thematic layers.

Name of the Exhibition: 54th Annual Exhibition 2021 – The Worlds Within: Treasures From BAAC Archives

Date & Time of Inauguration: 9th January, 2021 at 6.00 p.m.

Exhibition Dates: Open from 9th January – 9th February, 2021 (Closed on 23, 26 January and Mondays)

Display timings: 3 to 8 p.m.

Venue: Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata.

About Birla Academy of Art & Culture

Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata was founded in 1967 by Late Basant Kumar Birla, one of the doyens of Indian Industry, and his wife Late Sarala Birla, with the intention of promoting the entire spectrum of arts on the one hand and preserving the artistic and cultural heritage of India on the other.

The Academy houses an excellent museum of ancient, folk and contemporary Indian and International Art that includes artistic and historical objects spanning a period between the 2nd century B.C. to the 21st century A.D. Most of the collections housed inside the premises are historically varied in theme, scope and range and are important signposts of our times.

The Academy also undertakes a number of other activities such as workshops, seminars, lectures and cultural programmes. One of the key activities of the Academy has been to regularly support important and meaningful national and international art exhibitions that have contemporary relevance. The idea has been to help artists and art lovers acquaint themselves with different trends in the field of art both nationally and internationally, thereby establishing the Academy as a critical venue for the development, growth and promotion of art.

The Birla Academy, apart from a comprehensive collection of art from Indian subcontinent also possesses important international collection that begun more than 54 years ago, artworks by international artists and is in possession of international gems by world renowned artists like James Forbes, Rodin, Klimt, Picasso, Louise Bourgeois and the Findens

The Birla Academy of Art & Culture is indeed a unique landmark in the nation’s cultural life.