Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Ministry of Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge) and Ministry of Civil Aviation inaugurated an exhibition entitled “Shoonya Ghar” by a well known contemporary artist Shri Sudarshan Shetty at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) under Ministry of Culture here today. Shri Narendra Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture and senior officers of Ministry were present on the occasion. Dr. Sharma praised the artist Shri Sudarshan Shetty for his exemplary creative work and wished him good success in his future endeavours. He visited the exhibition and applauded the role of NGMA, New Delhi in organizing such useful and creative exhibitions for all. Sudarshan Shetty (b. 1961) is a leading contemporary artist living in Bombay. His practice encompasses painting, drawing, installation, video/film and sculpture. He has exhibited widely both in India and internationally. He has been appointed artistic director and curator of the third edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale.
The artist lives and works in Mumbai.National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi has organised this exhibition as part of its path breaking initiatives undertaken in the recent decade for the representation of cutting edge contemporary art of India, this exhibition is set to prove itself as a milestone, in continuation of the other contemporary art exhibitions organised by the institution in recent years. NGMA has evolved a space which has shown tremendous potential to present dynamic projects such as Shoonya Ghar. This space has inspired artists to realize challenging projects which are extremely strong and thought-provoking in content and complex in design and display.
With this space Sudarshan has presented his ideas and transformed them into a vibrant space with the museum evolving into an experimental laboratory, conceived at an intuitive level. The exhibition comprises an entirely new body of work in various media: video/film, sculptural installation and photographic images. The work draws on a poetic work by 12th century poet Gorakhnath. These poetic traditions populated their verses with the concrete symbolism of the built world and things within it, with references to nature and the environment as metaphors for the body and its beyond. This exhibition is accompanied with the release of a brief booklet, catalogue, artists portfolio along with other souvenirs. Five screenings will be organised in conjunction with the exhibition every day.