Sundram Tagore Gallery New York: Friday, March 4 Opening of Facing East: Asian Group Show

BARD PRESENTS EXHIBITION OF ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NEPALESE COURT, MARCH 4 TO 18

BARD PRESENTS EXHIBITION OF ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NEPALESE COURT, MARCH 4 TO 18

Reception for Visions of Patrimony: Photographs from the Court of Nepal (1908–1965) To Be Held on March 10

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The programs of anthropology, art history, Asian studies, history, photography, and religion at Bard College host the exhibition Visions of Patrimony: Photographs from the Court of Nepal (1908–1965) from March 4 to 18 in Woods Studio at Bard College. The show’s reception will be held on March 10 at 5:00 p.m. in Woods Studio. Laura Kunreuther, assistant professor of anthropology, will introduce the historical and cultural context of the photographs. Cristeena Chitrakar will speak briefly about how the photographs are currently used by her family today. Both the reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public.

Visions of Patrimony exhibits photographs from the collection of Dirgha Man Chitrakar (1877–1951) and his son Ganesh Man Chitrakar (1906–1985), who served as official court photographers for the Shah King of Nepal and the ruling family oligarchy of Rana Prime Ministers (r.1846–1951). The exhibition explores the dual patrimonies of two lineages of Nepalis brought together in these photographic images—the extravagantly visible ruling elite and their invisible photographers. Spanning from the early 20th century to 1965, shifts in the photographs over time correlate with the changing logic and interests of the Nepali state, as they move from portraits and political ritual to aerial photographs of the land and quaint portraits of Nepali farmers. During the Rana oligarchy, photography worked doubly to secure their rule: its very use symbolized their privileged status, and the images themselves were a means of visualizing their patrimony by documenting extended families, political and religious rituals, the consumption of foreign commodities (i.e. clothing, technology), and recreational activities (such as hunting).

The photographs displayed in Visions of Patrimony were printed in Nepal several years ago from the original glass negatives taken between 1900 and 1946 and acetate negatives taken between 1946 and 1975. These negatives make up the patrimony of the court photographers’ descendants, the Chitrakars. Chitrakar means “artist” or “painter” in Nepali. Prior to the advent of photography, Dirga Man produced paintings for the ruling elite, in accordance with his profession by birth. After learning the craft of photography, he was appointed to a permanent position as part of the “art department” of the ruling prime minister of the time, Chandra Shumsher Rana. Once the Rana oligarchy was overthrown in 1951, the photographers continued to work as visual documentarians for the state and institutions closely tied to the state. Ganesh Man, for example, took a job as official photographer during the early years of USAID, which worked closely with the government and has been one of the key financers for developing Nepal. His son, Kiran Man, now works as the director and chief cameraman for the state television, Nepal TV, the primary and most watched television channel, at least until 1990. We are fortunate to have these photographs to exhibit, thanks to Dirga Man’s great-granddaughter and Ganesh Man’s granddaughter, Cristeena Chitrakar, who is currently a student at Bard College.


PHOTO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT www.bard.edu/news/press

CAPTION INFO: Col. Chandra Jung Thapa, 1910

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Ganesh Photo Lab, Photographer: Dirgha Man Chitrakar 

 

Jose Barbera Retrospective Exhibition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Jose Barbera Retrospective Exhibition

Please join us at Brilliance In Color on Friday, March 4th for our special First Friday Art Walk Exhibition.

Jose Barbera was one of the great Spanish landscape artists of the 21st century, born on October 1, 1945 in Valencia, Spain.

Barbera developed a love of art early in life and at the age of twelve he began his formal training. Barbera described himself

as a representational landscape painter. His favored subjects were the landscapes of Spain’s sunbathed beaches and ancient

mountain villages with their weathered white stucco and terra-cotta clay tile roofs and as an avid gardener he also loved to

paint beautiful rose bushes.

Barbera was without a doubt a painter with the ability to transmit the unique light of Spain into his works. When

an artist possesses such talent, technique and sensitivity, a truth emerges from his art in a manner that is natural and

simple...both fresh and spontaneous. Barbera’s unique paintings have captivated collectors the world over...from

Saudi royalty to Hollywood icons. Barbera has also been honored with several awards and many prominent exhibitions.

During the last three years of his life Barbera would travel through out Spain’s scenic countryside searching for new inspiration

in familiar places. He painted as much as he could, these were to be the last works Barbera would produce. The originals in this

special retrospective exhibition will be the last opportunity for many collectors to enjoy the unique paintings of Barbera.

Exhibition Dates: March 4th thru April 24th, 2010

Opening Event: March 4 – 5, 2010 (Fri. & Sat.)

Call the gallery for more event information: 904-810-0460

Tally Beck Contemporary Exhibits Chinese and Thai Works At SCOPE Art Fair NY

Tally Beck Contemporary


Be Takerng Pattanopas, N-O-W-H-E-R-E- No. 2, 2010 (Ink on paper, 2ft x 2ft 11 in.)

Tally Beck Contemporary Exhibits Chinese
and Thai Works At SCOPE Art Fair NY

NEW YORK February 25, 2011—Tally Beck Contemporary will participate in SCOPE New York and feature artwork by Chinese artists Anne Li, Chen Ping, island6 and Thai artists Be Takerng Pattanopas and Songwoot Kaewvisit.

Tally Beck Contemporary is a Bangkok-based art consultancy that opened its New York gallery’s doors in October 2010. It aims to bring the newest and best Asian contemporary art to the rest of the world while introducing international expression into the emerging art scenes of Southeast Asia.

The artists the gallery brings to Scope this year will range from new talent to firmly established names in the Asian contemporary scene. Anne Li is a Chinese photographer, trained in Paris, whose photographs embody a crisp refinement and reveal the artist’s unique insights into humanity and formal concerns. Chen Ping, also from China, but currently based in Tasmania, plays with the border between abstraction and representation in his highly textured, monumental oils. Island6 is an artists’ collective in Shanghai that collaborates on dynamic LED pieces that provide an electronically animated commentary on Orientalism.

Thai artist Be Takerng Pattanopas is noted for his intricate pen drawings that meticulously attempt to define three-dimensional space on paper.  From Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region, painterSongwoot Kaevwisit monumentalizes Thai traditional medicine with larger-than-life photorealism.

SCOPE will run from March 2-6, 2011 at 320 West Street (across from Pier 40 and between Houston and Spring Streets).  Tally Beck Contemporary will host a cocktail reception at their booth, C28, on Saturday, March 5, 4 pm.

If you would like complimentary tickets to SCOPE NY, please email Hanting Zhu, Gallery Manager athanting@tallybeckcontemporary.com.