[Art Affairs]
Ashish Ghosh. Gateway of Heaven. Wood, nails, etc. Installed at the Krishnasayer Ecological Park, Bardhaman, West Bengal. 2005.
GATEWAY TO SUCCESS
The ART India – IHC Promising Artist Award 2008 came up with an unexpected winner
in Ashish Ghosh from West Bengal, reports fly-on-the-wall Vidya Miranda.
SELECTING THE WINNER OF THE ART INDIA – IHC PROMISING
ARTIST Award 2008 was quite a task. 300 applicants from across the
country sent in CDs of their work, hoping to strike lucky. And while the
general standard of the applicants was better than in previous years –
fewer watercolours of green-and-yellow rural landscapes were sent in for
judgment – the selection committee nevertheless had their work cut out
deciding who would get the cash prize of Rs. 1.5 Lakhs. After all, the
artists who did not get through to the final this year had more to lose
than before. Other than the cash prize, the winner is usually offered
coverage in ART India, a certificate and an exhibition at the VAG (IHC).
This year, though, the Award’s bag of goodies also included a 6-month
residency, sponsored by Prohelvetia (The Swiss Arts Council) and a watch
from Raymond Weil, Geneva.
After a rigorous in-house sifting process, 5 artists made it through to
the final round. Samples of their work were sent off to ART India’s panel
of jurors and the battle began. With an eminent jury comprising
Gulammohammed Sheikh, Baiju Parthan, Namita Saraf, Urmila Kanoria,
18 The Art News Magazine of India [Volume XIII] [Issue III + IV]
Shireen Gandhy, Raj Liberhan, Alka Pande, Sangita Jindal and Abhay
Sardesai, everybody had a lot to say about 2008’s round-up of talent.
Interestingly, many of the applicants were keen to experiment with
public art – a refreshing change from the painting-and-sculpture centred
offerings we are usually served up with as the work of ‘up-and-coming
talent’. The shy Ashish Ghosh’s outdoor, environmentally conscious
projects – they have been mounted at several international venues – were
finally selected as the most worthy to win. Jury members were especially
impressed by his innovative use of materials. He has created arched
gateways using wood and nails in Bardhaman in West Bengal (2005),
fabricated a ‘floating world’ using metal, acrylic and paint in Austria (2000)
and woven three amorphous sculptures out of stainless steel – called The
Nest (2006) – for the Beijing Olympic Park.
Ghosh’s work explores the shifting equations between natural and
man-made materials and frames a comment on ecological catastrophes. No
More Disaster (2007), for instance, was made for a park in New York. The
 [Art Affairs]

broken branches of a tree were stained a deep

red – so that from a distance they looked like
they were bleeding.

Of course, not everyone thought that Ghosh

should emerge victorious. Short-listed Atul
Mahajan with his amusingly interactive phallic
sculptures had a strong fan following. Video artist
Sukanya Ghosh’s flower-infused films and dainty
collages as well as Prajjwal Choudhury’s
installations (the artist had recently shown at
Project 88 in Mumbai) were not without their
supporters. One member of the jury – who
prefers to be anonymous – was too disappointed
with this year’s contenders to pick a winner at all.

The Promising Artist Award aims to

encourage young artists to develop independent
ways of addressing social issues through their
work. The award hopes to facilitate the
production of sensitive art – the competition is
open to Indian nationals below the age of 40,
Ashish Ghosh. No More Disaster. Driftwood, wooden planks, nails. At the I-Park, New York. 2007.
who are exploring practices like painting,
sculpture, installation art, new media art,
photography and graphic design.

Most of the awardees from George Martin P.

J. (runners-up included Jenson Anto, Benitha
Perciyal, Kriti Arora, Farhad Hussain and Oli
Ghosh) in 2005 to Shiv Kumar Verma (runners-
up were Vishal Kumar Dar and Abhishek Hazra)
in 2006 and joint-winners Baptist Coelho and
Chinmoy Pramanick in 2007 have done
exceptionally well on the commercial circuit.
And for the most part, have gone on to produce
thought-provoking art about social and political
transformations.

What struck the jurors in 2008 was that

Ghosh – despite having worked at prestigious
venues abroad – has yet to have a major solo with
a well-known gallery in India. Is this an instance of
how myopic our commercial galleries can be
when it comes to funding large-scale, outdoor
projects? Perhaps, now that Ghosh has won The
Promising Artist Award, he can look forward to
this neglect being redressed.
Ashish Ghosh. Floating World. Acrylic sheets, iron pipes, paint. At the Art Forest, Forchenstein, Austria. 2000.

[www.artindiamag.com] The Art News Magazine of India 19