NEW DELHI.- The Gujral Foundation in association with Outset India presents multi-disciplinary artist Remen Chopra W. Van Der Vaart’s solo exhibition ‘Memory’s cut; Its Deep Embrace’ at its experimental site 24 Jor Bagh, New Delhi, as a highlight on the collateral events programme of the India Art Fair 2020. The exhibition with Reha Sodhi as the curatorial advisor will include new works by the artist. The works will be on view from 31 January until 24 February 2020.
Through this exhibition, the artist will reflect upon her personal journey of migration by questioning notions of home, lineage, space and time. She will trace the history of objects and spaces which once lived, through multi-layered artworks that create contrasts of real and endorsed time. She will delve into the history of personal spaces and its memory using writings, maps, objects, poetry and sculptural works to respond to the emotion and idea of home.
The artist will transform 24 Jor Bagh with personal objects to punctuate the exhibition by recalling family stories of Iran, Rawalpindi and Shimla, as narrated to her by her grandmother. The artist is inspired by architecture and constructs complex monochromatic, performance-based montages that are significantly drawn from the aesthetics of theatre. The artist uses patterns of Persian carpet to overlay a sculptural topographic landscape that evokes ideas of travel, lineage and rootedness. Elaborating on the textile tradition where stories, symbols, tools and skills are transferred within the family, the artist’s work bridges the past, present and future, where time is seen as a continuous loop of events.
“The exhibition is a poignant chronicle of the artist's life that interweaves personal archives, notions of home and memory. Her work is a unique assemblage of intimate moments, poetry and personal objects that were passed on from one generation to the other.” – Reha Sodhi (Curatorial Advisor).
"I am very pleased to announce my solo show in Delhi presented by the Gujral Foundation. I will be transforming 24 Jor Bagh into a personal space that will encapsulate memories of home. Viewers can look forward to a unique assemblage of multi layered artworks that will evoke notions of home."- Remen Chopra W. Van Der Vaart.
Remen Chopra W. Van Der Vaart
Born in 1980 in New Delhi, Remen Chopra W. Van Der Vaart is a multi-disciplinary artist. The artist received her BFA and MFA in painting from the College of Art, New Delhi and studied art history and Italian at the Universita’ per Stranieri, Siena and continued her visual art studies at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Over the years, her work has been exhibited in India as well as internationally. Some of her selected solo shows include “Feel”, Sakshi Gallery (2015) and “Memoirs of Tanaz and Vimala”, Sakshi Gallery (2011). Some her selected group shows include Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2016); Biennale Arte Dolomiti (2016); “Walking on the Planet”, Casa Masaccio, Centro per l’arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci di Prato (2015); 56th Venice Biennale, Transnational Pavilion (2015); Dhaka Art Summit (2014); ICASTICA International Women’s Art Biennale, India Pavilion (2013); “Contemporary Renaissance”, Casa Masaccio (2012); “Indian Parallax of the Doubling of Happiness”, Birla Art Foundation (2012); “Under the Banyan Tree”, Essl Museum (2010) and “Everything”, Westerhuis, Amsterdam (2008). The artist currently lives and works in Mumbai.
Reha Sodhi
Reha Sodhi is a curator and scenographer based in New Delhi, India. She has worked on several exhibitions of South Asian modern and contemporary art as well as textiles. Some of her recent projects include India-Kyrgyzstan: Colours and Weaves at the Kyrgyz National Drama Theatre, Bishkek; Astha Butail: In the Absence of Writing at the Gujral Foundation, New Delhi; Pra-Kashi at the National Museum, New Delhi; New Traditions at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur; and A Search in Five Directions: Textiles from the Visvakarma Exhibitions, presented by National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum in collaboration with Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi. She was the curatorial assistant for Whorled Explorations at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014. Reha is one of the co-founders of Project Jan-Path, an open house initiative where artists and designers are invited to create site-specific works within a domestic setting. She holds a Masters degree in Contemporary Art from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London and Bachelors in Fine Arts (Applied Arts) from College of Art, New Delhi, India.
