Reena Saini Kallat, Cobweb (of Knots and Crossing), 2012. Hand-painted rubber stamps, wire,
dimensions variable. Courtesy: the artist and Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai
What does Switzerland have to do with India? That’s exactly what is under investigation at St. Moritz Art Masters, which opens this week. The Swiss valleys of Engadin will be overrun with art events for the final week of August (22-31), which will feature art events including internationally renowned artists, including many one-off pieces.
In one of the most striking exchanges of culture, the new gallery Robilant+Voena plays host to a double exhibition of Julian Schnabel and Jitish Kallat, “East/West”. Best known as a film director, Schnabel’s work focuses on pre-existing photographic images of the god, while Kallat’s paintings such as “14 Lives” focus on autobiographical references of the artist himself.
Jitish Kallat, 14 Lives, 2011. Acrylic on canvas, 1 bronze sculpture. 175,26 x 254 cm. Copyright: Jitish Kallat Courtesy: ARNDT and the artist
Meanwhile, one of Francesco Clemente’s monumental yet zen installations of a tents created in India is on show at St. Moritz Art Masters. Called a “mobile chapel” or “cave painting” by the artist himself, the tents engage with the long history of the domestic spaces, while their use of art historical and cultural artefacts presents a more complicated image of refuge than solely sheltering from the elements.
Elsewhere, Subodh Gupta’s installation “School” (2008), featuring brass casts of stools alongside myriad stainless steel utensils, references everyday life in India, the feeling of living inside this vast nation.
August 22 – 31 2014
Read more art interviews and reviews in our Showroom section