Our Line in The Sand Curated by Monica Jain

Nest_- Watercolour, Gouache, Gesso, Natural Pigment, Crackle paste, Gold Dust Pigment, Soft Pastel,

Sanganeri paper, Hand dyed Nepalese paper On Paper affixed on Plywood Size- 71_ x 47_ Year -2022.

Our Line in The Sand Curated by Monica Jain

Art Centrix Space launched Our Line in The Sand curated by Monica Jain, on 21 April 2022. The exhibition features 40 works by 10 contemporary Indian artists. Art Centrix Space displays several sculptural and installation works by gallery represented artists Tehmeena Firdos, Pinaki Ranjan Mohanty, Manish Sharma, Tapas Biswas, Nityanand Ojha and Siri Devi Khandavilli. Our Line in The Sand, has been inspired by Malafouris’ Material Engagement Theory which states that materiality - the world of things, artefacts, and material signs— affects the way humans have evolved cognitively. The exhibition raises questions about the relationship between an artists’ cognition and their material culture. Both philosophically and artistically, the curatorial proposition is interested in studying material culture, and human experiences and thought processes to fully understand further creative, expressive processes and how both of them are intertwined. The forming of marks as material signs brings about cognition as part of an expressive creative process. In that sense, the challenge would be to imagine and produce knowledge around mark-making activities and how such processes can also be described and understood as ‘epistemic actions’ or calculated thought.

Ruchika Wason Singh,Reconstructed Landscape- II, Oil on Canvas, 60 inches x 66 inches ,2022

Monica Jain, the curator-director of Art Centrix Space explains, ”My curatorial hypothesis would be that mark-making constitutes a salient point of intersection between matter and memory; one in which the plasticity of the mind becomes entangled with the plasticity (or stability) of material culture. I would propose that the meaning of intentionality in mark making is that of intention in action, that is, intention which is inseparable from the mark making process. Mark-making is essentially a skill and instead of asking ‘what are the marks of’?’ we should be asking ‘what did the marks do?” Exhibiting artists include Tehmeena Firdos, Ruchika Singh Wason, Pinaki Ranjan Mohanty, Kundan Mondal, Manish Sharma, Tapas Biswas, Soham Raha, Nityanand Ojha, Siri Devi Khandavilli and Vinod Daroz.

About Art Centrix Space
Established in 2014, Art Centrix Space is the voice of contemporary artistic thought, reflective of the vision, understanding and aesthetic sensibilities of the Indian subcontinent. It is a visual testimony to the timeless interplay of imagination, imagery and transformative visual experiences. The beautifully landscaped two acres precinct in South Delhi houses the main gallery space and sculpture garden. With over 30 curated exhibitions and India Art Fair representations since 2018, they have exhibited over 50 artists amongst many Art Centrix Space represented artists. A constantly growing space, they are planning their Calendar year of events through various curatorial interventions, exhibitions, art in public spaces and various mentorship programs till the end of year 2024. As patrons to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale since 2018, they provide stimulus to artists in finding their voice. They support and showcase art that is at once sensory, perceptive, contemporary and intellectual to propel localised artistic concerns towards a global platform. Their artists have been recognised at Indian and international platforms in Australia, Germany, Italy and the UK, their work has also been seen and supported by young and veteran art collectors in India, USA, Netherlands, UK and Singapore, among others.

Date 18-05-2022