Hyderabad at the India Art Fair 2024: Where contemporary art meets traditional imagery

Hyderabad at the India Art Fair 2024: Kalakriti, Shrishti and Dhi Contemporary galleries showcase artworks in which the contemporary meets traditional imagery. The participating artists include Sachin Jaltare, Priyanka Aelay, Nagesh Goud, Giridhar Gowd, Chippa Sudhakar, Sumana Son, Harun Al Rashid, Arjun Das, Leena Raj, Poorvesh Patel and Akhil Mohan

Three galleries from Hyderabad — Kalakriti, Shrishti and Dhi Contemporary — will be making their presence felt at the 15th edition of the India Art Fair 2024 (IAF), to be held in New Delhi from February 1 to 4 at NSIC Exhibition Grounds. This year’s edition features around 100 exhibitors, including 71 galleries, seven design studios and a few regional art institutes. 

Here’s an overview of what the Hyderabad galleries have in store for the event:

Gallery: Kalakriti

Artists: Sachin Jaltare, B Nagesh Goud, R Giridhar Gowd and Priyanka Aelay

Kalakriti art gallery, which has been participating in the IAF since 2014, is showcasing Windows to the Gods (at booth number D08), featuring works of Nagesh Goud, R Giridhar Gowd, Sachin Jaltare and Priyanka Aelay, all of them artists from the Telugu States. These artists depict stories from the puranas, reinterpreting the ancient texts. The artistic expressions combine paintings, sculptures, poetry and text, exploring concepts of spirituality and faith.

Sachin Jaltare’s abstract figuratives are a synergy of the form and the formless. “I have tried to present Shiva and Shakti, and Krishna such that the focus is on inward reflections and awakening of the consciousness,” the artist explains. In a painting featuring a group of people, Jaltare focuses on the divine energy that flows through them when they move away from all things materialistic. Acrylic on canvas, watercolours and pen and ink drawings in shades of grey, muted blues and an occasional touch of vermillion red render a meditative quality to his work. 

Priyanka Aelay’s dark-themed paintings of flora and fauna are an extension of her earlier series on Ramayana and the folk story of Balanagamma. The acrylic on linen canvas artworks celebrate Nature, with the mysterious forests painted in deep greens and blues. A monkey eating a fruit alludes to the journey of Hanuman while a woman reaching out for help is akin to Sita. The unmistakable presence of a luminescent deer accentuates the inspiration from Ramayana.