AI 100, the book and travelling art show brings the contemporary art landscape to the fore

Organised by Art Houz, the show is currently on at Hyderabad’s State art gallery

A double visual treat awaits contemporary art lovers in the form of a new book and a travelling art show at the State Art Gallery in Hyderabad. AI 100, a coffee table book (launched recently in Chennai) contains a collection of contemporary artworks of 100 artists across India. The exhibition (by the same name) featuring works of 10 to 15 artists from the book has been organised by Art Houz — a gallery with a presence in both Chennai and Bengaluru — and contemporary art magazine Arts Illustrated. The exhibition is on till April 9.

Curator Poonima Shivram says the work began after  April 2021 during the second wave of COVID-19. “The book is an attempt to record the current contemporary art landscape, the kind of work artists have been doing, how they connect among themselves and present their ideas reflects the community around them and the land that they belong to.”

With uncertainty looming large and the artist community hit hard during the pandemic, the idea was to do something for them.  Calling it a ‘dual responsibility, Poornima says, “ We support the artist community by recording their work and facilitate in helping art reaching the audience, bring awareness on different art practices and the artists to look out for.”

The limited-edition book (not for sale) will be made available phase-wise. Poornima elaborates, “In the first phase, our priority is to focus on art collectors because when they connect with the works, it will indirectly help the artists. We also hope to reach out to museums and libraries.” 

The mammoth task of shortlisting 100 practising artists proved tough. Poornima and her team of seven at Art Houz reached out to Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi for a list of practising artists and galleries across India and also used their decade-long experience in the art field to shortlist artists at various stages of their careers. 

The show, an offshoot of the book, is a travelling one that has come to Hyderabad after its launch in Chennai. While the book has one work of each artist, the exhibition features more works in their respective cities. “There is a bit of everyone in the book, whether they are printmakers or artists. Also, we plan to do multiple events and conduct workshops or camps depending on their art.”

While Hyderabad artists PJ Stalin and Dhan Prasad’s works are featured in the show, other city artists who are not part of the show but featured in the book include Laxman Aelay, Bhaskar Rao Botcha, Chandra Morkonda and Vishveshwar Rao. “After this tryst with painting in this edition, our next edition will be on sculptures,” says Poornima.