LACMA Plans Bharti Kher Show

Bharti Kher, Hungry Dogs Eat Dirty Pudding, 2004. Photo by Herry Lawford

LACMA is making an effort to display modern and contemporary art of the Indian subcontinent. Planned for 2027 is an exhibition of the British-born Indian artist Bharti Kher. Melding the hybrid forms of Indian folk art with Dada-esque provocation, Kher's art is widely exhibited in India and Europe, yet is hardly known in the U.S. The exhibition will be LACMA's first solo show of a living Indian artist.

Bharti Kher, Black disturbance, high frequency, 2015
The small dots are stick-on bindis, a modern version of the ash dot worn on the forehead by Hindu and Jain women.



Comments

Anonymous said…
> The exhibition will be
> LACMA's first solo show
> of a living Indian artist.

I just hope it's not in a gallery located next to old Indian/Southeast-Asian sculptures and paintings, presumably in the Geffen. However, the LA Times art critic implied the current Realms of the Dharma exhibit in the Resnick indicates a lot of its works (obviously) - some from India - won't therefore be in the Geffen upon its debut.

It's patronizing when curators believe that a contemporary artist's race, ethnicity or home nation somehow requires that his or her works be located based on country, race, geography.

Kher's works look quite similar (style-wise, design-wise, era-wise) to what's in a gallery at Hauser & Writh, the Broad or BCAM, etc.

As for the Whitney, its mission statement of being into American art and American-based artists, has to me always seemed too provincial and limit its full potential.
Artist said…
The Whitney's bienniel continues to exhibit non- Americans. 2026- Kamrooz Aram (Iran), Jasmin Sian (Philippines), Mao Ishikawa (Okinawa/Japan), Samia Halaby (Palestine), Aziz Hazara (Afghanistan), Ali Eyal (Baghdad), Sung Tieu (Vietnam/Germany), Enzo Camacho & Ami Lien (Philippines/Berlin), and Ignacio Gatica (Chile) currently on exhibit.
The collection is rich, rich, rich.