‘Fantastic Realities and Beyond’: An Art exhibition

The Center of International Modern Art (CIMA) is concluding its celebratory 30-year journey with a grand exhibition titled ‘Fantastic Realities and Beyond’ at the Visual Arts Gallery from February 29 to March 10, 2024.

The showcase features artworks of artists spanning generations and offers an invitation to viewers to delve deeper into the captivating world of artistic evolution and diversity across India.

Established in Kolkata in 1993, CIMA was founded with a vision to redefine artistic boundaries and provide a platform for Indian artists to showcase their brilliance. Over these decades, CIMA has played a pivotal role in shaping the narrative of Indian art, challenging conventions, and pushing the limits of creative expression.

Rakhi Sarkar, the Director of CIMA Gallery, says, “As CIMA completes three decades, we aim to revisit earlier concerns and pose new questions, broadening the cultural spectrum for the current generation. This exhibition is an opportunity for today’s youth to witness and experience the evolving visual history that shapes and unravels new territories”.

The exhibition features seminal works by around 50 artists, including celebrated, young, and anonymous ones, covering 12 decades from across India. It also includes a musical excerpt from Satyajit Ray’s famous comedy, ‘Goopie Gyan Bagha Byne’.

Works of renowned artists such as Bikash Bhattacharjee, Shobha Broota, Jitish Kallat, Sudhir Patwardhan, Goutam Pramanick, Arpita Singh, K.G. Subramanium, and more will be on display.

Fantastic Realities and Beyond tries to capture the elements of fantasy beyond the modernist tenets of surrealism by infusing postmodern, futuristic ideas into oriental storytelling.

Beginning from early 20th-century miniature to highlighting Indian modernist twist on fantasy to contemporary augmented reality, the exhibition unravels a wide spectrum of art from across India.

The figurative gradually transcends to the subliminal abstract; borders dissolve and contemporary existential dilemmas, questions, and crises take over.

It reflects profound psychological dilemmas of the contemporary world, exploring existential questions with irony, humour, and occasional shock.

When: 10 am to 8 pm; February 29 to March 10

Where: Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi