India's Religious Art Back into Mainstream

DECCAN CHRONICLE
April 10, 2011

Seema Devangi's Tree

INDIA - In India, most of ancient art was religious not only in terms of imagery but also in intent. With the coming of modernity, the notion of religious art was diluted and art for art’s sake took its place. After Raja Ravi Varma and his adherents, major mythological and religious figures have been largely marginalised in the modern Indian art discourse, the exceptions being the Devi and Ganesha who have been extensively illustrated/deconstructed. Imaging Sai at Art Positive gallery is a show that seeks to bring the religious, be it visual or experiential, to the mainstream. Forty well-known artists have painted and sculpted the image and idea of the Saint. Many have used the manifest and the tangible iconic figure of the Shirdi Sai Baba while others have used the sacred physical space of Shirdi and the mental space imagined by the devotee. [link]