DAKHIN Dilli showcases Tanjore art
- Raseel Gujral Ansal’s “Dakhin | Dilli – A Sacred Dialogue” opened at Arzaani Atelier Privé in Bikaner House, pairing South Indian Tanjore and Mysore works with North Indian Pichwai traditions in New Delhi. - A parallel show, “Prints of Divine,” draws from collector Prem Kandwal’s holdings and includes 21 rare oleographs and devotional prints, many tied to the Raja Ravi Varma Press, on view through May 10. - The pairing places painted icons beside mass-circulated sacred prints, linking temple art to domestic devotion in one Delhi venue. (thepatriot.in)
A new exhibition at Bikaner House in New Delhi is using devotional art to stage a conversation between South India and the North. (theprint.in) “Dakhin | Dilli – A Sacred Dialogue,” curated by Raseel Gujral Ansal at Arzaani Atelier Privé, opened on April 10 and runs until May 10. It brings together Tanjore and Mysore paintings, Pichwai works, temple icons, narrative paintings and ritual objects. (theprint.in) (raseelgujralansal.com) The show’s premise is simple: sacred images changed by region, but many of their motifs, deities and uses traveled across geographies. The exhibition text says it traces connections between southern temple traditions and northern narrative devotional art. (raseelgujralansal.com) (thepatriot.in) That is where Tanjore art fits in. Tanjore paintings, associated with Tamil Nadu, are known for richly ornamented divine figures, while the Delhi display places them beside Mysore icons and Pichwai paintings to show how different regions built distinct visual languages for worship. (theprint.in) (raseelgujralansal.com) Running alongside it is “Prints of Divine,” a second exhibition curated from the private collection of Delhi-based collector Prem Kandwal. It features 21 rare oleographs and devotional prints, including works associated with the Raja Ravi Varma Press. (thepatriot.in) That second show explains how sacred imagery moved beyond temples and elite collections. Early lithographic printing let divine images circulate into homes, and the exhibition frames that shift as a turning point in how Indians encountered devotional art in everyday life. (thepatriot.in) (travellersworldonline.com) Reports from the April 10 preview said the opening drew collectors, art patrons, cultural enthusiasts and media. Coverage also singled out works by Raja Ravi Varma, M. V. Dhurandhar, K. S. Sidhalingaswamy and G. V. Venkatesh Rao among the names on display. (travellersworldonline.com) (boldoutline.in) The Delhi presentation arrives as galleries keep leaning on historically rooted material, not just contemporary art, to build audiences. Lifestyle and city guides in April listed the Bikaner House shows among the month’s exhibitions to see in Delhi. (livemint.com) (lifestyleasia.com) The result is less a single-medium show than a map of how devotion was pictured, carried and reused across centuries. In one Delhi venue, gold-ground icons, temple objects and printed gods are being shown as parts of the same visual history. (raseelgujralansal.com) (thepatriot.in)
