The City Palace is a vast complex of grand courtyards, domed pavilions and intricately designed façades crafted from pink sandstone and marble. Built in 1727, when Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built Jaipur as the capital of his kingdom, it has recently been shedding its image as a tourist attraction and reclaiming its legacy of preservation .
Much of the credit goes to Sawai Padmanabha Singh, the 26-year-old Maharaja of Jaipur, who is on a mission to revive its spirit. The latest addition is the Jaipur Center for Art (JCA), a 2,600-square-foot contemporary art institute co-founded with friend and curator Noel Kader, which opened in the palace last month.
Noel Kader and Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur. Photo Courtesy: Gaurav Ganguly
It aims to add another facet to the historical core and cultural heritage of the city, which already boasts of the successful Jaipur Sahitya Mahotsav, and was initiated by Sana Rezwan, art entrepreneur and executive director of Prestige Group, Public Arts Trust of India. Gaya Jaipur Art Week. The black-tie launch was a virtual celebratory event from the world of art and culture, with names like writer William Dalrymple, artists Shilo Shiv Suleman and Subodh Gupta and designer Thierry Journo.
Author William Dalrymple and his wife, artist Olivia Fraser, on the opening night
(L-R) Artist Shilo Shiv Suleman, designer Neha Luthra, jeweler Siddharth Kasliwal, and designer Helena Bajaj Larsen.
“Jaipur has always been a leader in image building, not only for itself but also for the subcontinent. It was once a center for shaping global conversations on ideas, business, arts, crafts and leadership. In recent decades, while cities like Paris, New York and London have created the environment for contemporary thought, we have been slow to participate,” says Singh. “It took time and education [in heritage conservation and preservation from Italy] For me to really understand the richness of this land. Our goal at JCA is to reconnect Jaipur with global contemporaneity, creating a space where local and international voices can come together meaningfully.
a matter of perspective
To be contemporary means to catch the pulse of the present, to feel its immediacy, while being fully aware of its inevitable flow. It is this fluidity that JCA has embraced in its inaugural exhibition, a new way of seeingCurated by Peter Nagy and Kader of Nature Morte. The show embodies its title – provocative and promising a new perspective. Firstly, by placing in the same room the work of artists like Anish Kapoor and Dayanita Singh, whose works are complete opposites of each other in terms of their medium, style and ethos; This forces us to approach their actions in a completely different way. And second, to create a space in place of the white cube that embodies the mood of the palace, with delicate arches and columns and panel moldings – creating its own drama.
Manjunath Kamath’s white whisper on shy red
The exhibition displays a diverse mix of paintings, sculptures and photographs, each of which investigates modes of perception. As Peter Nagy explains, “[The artists] Think about how their world will be seen by the audience, how they can manipulate or subvert what is presented to the audience through abstraction, attribution, reflection and deception.
This exploration is vividly brought to life in Hiroshi Sugimoto’s ongoing series, Theater and sea viewWhich was started by a Japanese photographer in 1978. Each black-and-white photograph captures the “same” image – a horizon line dividing the frame or the vanishing point of a theater – yet the illusion of similarity belies the impossibility of replicating time or space. Similarly Dayanita Singh’s charm measures of time (from 2016) uses 34 colorful prints of red muslin bundles, their fading patterns shaped like sunlight, to highlight the specificity of age and memory.
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Everett Square Theatre, Boston, 2013 | Photo Credit: Courtesy Lisson Gallery
Dayanita Singh’s measures of time
Among large-scale works, Tanya Goyal’s abstractions stand out for her process-oriented approach – drawn from colors she creates herself. botanical The series revisits colonial herbarium illustration, underscoring how art can reinterpret historical narratives. Anish Kapoor’s great disc, oriental blue to clear (2023) and magenta to clear (2024), reflect and deconstruct everything that confronts them.
Tanya Gol’s system 21
Photo Credit: Courtesy Nature Morte
Anish Kapoor’s magenta to clear
Photo Credit: Courtesy Lisson Gallery
The spirit of cooperation
Kader describes his approach as inherently collaborative. “Here, we have put artists from all over the world next to each other in a setting that is extremely historical. It made me think about him in a very different way, even though I was familiar with his work. For example, you look at Sugitomo sea scenery Here in the middle of a desert, but it would make complete sense – the infinity of the horizon and its indifference to time and space is drawing you in.
The spirit of collaboration also comes into play in how JCA was founded after years of talking with Singh about art – a project that combines Singh’s more traditional art background and his own contemporary background.
Why was Jaipur, the city of crafts, chosen? “So many people come to town to take things back – rugs, jewelry, textiles, crafts. There are also museums that display beautiful objects and the legacy of their creation and occupation,” says Kader. “HH [one of Singh’s nicknames and short for His Highness] And I wondered why we’re doing this. Why should something so experimental be understood in Jaipur? Beyond the physical space, we hope our exhibitions relate to the land, the city and the history of Jaipur. a new way of seeing It is based on the physicality of the space and streets of Jaipur and all their contrasts and synchronicities. [So] In some cases, it will be more obvious, but we will make sure the thread moves forward.”
Artwork by Ayesha Singh at City Palace
Along with the exhibitions, JCA will also launch an artist residency programme. The artists will stay in the palace premises, gain access to the palace archives and Pothi Khana, the museum’s archives and library, and enhance Jaipur’s vibrant heritage through their work with materials and local artisans.
JCA, as Singh and Kader say, aspires to be more than a gallery. “It will collaborate and connect with similar institutions across the country and the world to revive and redefine contemporary art and culture.” And, recall its original days while establishing itself in global contemporaneity.
a new way of seeing Continues till March 16, 2025.
Essayists and designers write on design and culture.
published – December 06, 2024 05:08 PM IST
