MELTING POT - Group Show at Gallery Beyond

The Melting Pot conjures up an image of diverse elements poetically mingling and merging together, with bits and pieces of resistance preventing complete homogenization of the mixture. The compilation of work symbolically carries forward the theme; individually, and jointly, the five artist's paintings represent notions of absorbing, adopting and alternately cultural influences that have framed their respective life experiences. The exhibition marks similarities and differences in their perspectives, while highlighting the hybrid nature of their practices. The imagery is visibly transnational, tracing lineages, exploring roots, and morphing disparate histories through visual narrative. References to stereotypes, and significant engagement with the self and the other in varied environments, feature as central motifs, as do nuanced allusions to India as a nation. A Serbian artist Katarina Rasic & Barbara Ash from the UK, Gayatri Gamuz, a Spanish artist based in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, Pritam Bhatty, an India artist from Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand, and Priti Vadakkath, navigate physical and conceptual boundaries, attempting to embrace the past while building bridges into the contemporary. 

Lina Vincent, Art Historian, Curator