Getting Ahead

SGMF has commissioned artist Sadanandan PK to produce an exclusive set of paintings. The well-known artist will conceptualise with his famed style of art form using natural colours/dye and pigmentation. A permissible creative liberty and interpretation to draw inspiration from mythology that centres on the important festivals of the country can be expected. The theme is unrestricted but underscores mythological representation with the flora and fauna encased within the natural elements and organic art scape that has relevance to the myth and period.

gallery g intends to host a solo show with Sadanandan in the coming months.

Manu S Pillai’s first book The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore, won the 2016 Tata Prize for best first work of non-fiction and the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar.

We promoted and launched it at gallery g in January 2016. Manu's second book, Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji was funded by SGMF and published by Juggernaut Books in June 2018. It was nominated for multiple awards, including the Atta Galatta-BLF Prize and the Crossword Prize. The book went on to become a bestseller and has been critically acclaimed, not only by scholars like Muzaffar Alam and writers like William Dalrymple, but also in the press. The Indian Express refers to the book's "dazzling storytelling", while Outlook Magazine called it "fascinating". The Hindu called the book a "much-needed bridge between the isolated world of academia and wider public audience." Our contribution to the making of Rebel Sultans has been acknowledged gratefully by the author and SGMF will always support scholarly research and books that bring alive Indian history and culture.

SGMF, which firmly believes in supporting and nurturing young talent, is one of the Education Partners for the Student Biennale which runs concurrently with the main theme of the Kochi Muziris Biennale.

KMB is widely acclaimed and has become a global talking point given that the country is, and has been home to artists of all genres. In the same context, the Student Biennale is indeed a refreshing theme and a massive platform for young artists to showcase, study and imbibe the work, technique and nuances from the established pros, whose works spark a global conversation.

Uru Art Harbour, Mattancherry, Kochi is a space for creating and sustaining art and culture, while engaging the community in the process. Uru organises exhibitions, other events and initiatives including workshops and residencies for artists, musicians and philosophers, and publishing books. Its first exhibition, Mattancherry, with 13 artists and curated by Riyas Komu, began in August 2017.

Jay Varma is the 5th generation descendant of Raja Ravi Varma, one of India’s greatest artists. Jay’s work is a confluence of differences and similarities when juxtaposed alongside that of his illustrious ancestor. While Ravi Varma worked with a palette of a little over a dozen colours, Jay’s use of colour is far richer and a lot more vivid, producing a unique effect. Having trained at a prominent atelier in Philadelphia, USA, he brings to the portrait a remarkable finish and quality not seen in India.

Particular attention is paid to skin tone, musculature and the angle of view, alongside the chiaroscuro, its play against colour, space, and a lot more, combining into a heady mix multiple component. Jay also uses what is called Rembrandt lighting, where a single source lets in a glow as well as shadows, so as to “bring out” the central figures.

We will also partner gallery g in Chariots: Decorative Elements a show of temple chariot artefacts, some over 100 years old. This is a major show of antiquities, which are being shown for the first time in Bangalore. There will be many more heritage shows like this in the coming days...

Our aim to promote traditional art and craft forms will be through a programme of select initiatives. Some of these forms feature in the 2018 Maini Group desk calendar, a timely reminder of the need to work to conserve them all.