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The painting of a demure woman, titled ‘Pushpa’, with flowers adorning her braid and a serene expression in what seems like Goddess Parvati in silent contemplation, stands in the corner of the gallery. Her bindi, her eyebrows, hair and pursed lips are all perfectly composed in the frame. The composure on the woman’s face, quite paradoxically, reminds one of the struggles a woman faces. This painting by Manisha Raju is one of the many that showcase Chennai’s women artists in an exhibition titled ‘Madras Jasmine’ at Art Houz, Chennai.
Curated by veteran Chennai-based artist Premalatha Seshadri and supported by the Association of British Scholars (ABS), Chennai, the exhibition was held during Madras Week, that commemorated 375 years of the city’s birth. There are sculptures, paintings and installations by 22 women artists, and the list includes both debutantes and veterans.
“I had shortlisted 42 artists, and of these 22 were selected for the exhibition,” says Premalatha, also an executive member of the ABS. “I chose to keep the exhibition in a small format so that it would be easy to negotiate financially and market it well.”
Premalatha has given newcomers an opportunity to rub shoulders with senior artists.
Dearth of opportunity
Madras Jasmine gives artists a platform for expression
“The reason I did this is because women artists are not given opportunities and I wanted to change that,” she says. “They have not been supported and have largely been ignored. It is a prejudiced society and even colleagues have shown biased attitudes toward women artists.”
Commenting on the status of a woman artist in Chennai, Razia Tony, artist and lecturer at Stella Maris College, whose work ‘Transmundane’ is a part of this exhibition, says, “In the period between 1960s and 2000s there were many artists from Madras but very few were women, and very few of these women have been able to leave a mark. There are many women artists now, but they aren’t given the kind of platform and recognition as the men. There may be for various reasons this. It could be personal or professional... and one of the reasons is patriarchy as well.”
Razia feels the exhibition is a good effort on the part of the curators, sponsors and the gallery as, very often, “you find art students and artists falling by the wayside after a while. The galleries and critics support the same people over and over again, leaving very little space for others.”
As Premalatha says, “It is important that women artists get together at a common forum and become one. It is necessary for them to come together and become a stronger force.”
( ‘Madras Jasmine’ is open for visitors till August 31 at Art Houz, Chennai )
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