Prussian Blue: A serendipitous colour that altered the trajectory of art

In its latest exhibition, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) looks to explore artists’ engagement with colour Prussian Blue, which is widely used in artists’ colour palette, but its uniqueness is relatively unknown, nor is its link between art and science.

The new survey exhibition, Prussian Blue: A Serendipitous Colour that Altered the Trajectory of Art, will feature 19 artists.

Curated by Dr Arshiya Lokhandwala, it will have works across a range of media, including, painting, sculpture, video, and installation art. For example, the Cyanotypes experiments Interplay # 139 by Parul Gupta, or Sea-wind of the Night 1 a painting by Anju Dodiya on fabric which draws on the Japanese woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Prussian blue colour was by accident in a Berlin laboratory (then a center for alchemy) in 1704 that changed the course of art forever. Two German alchemists, Jacob Diesbach and Johann Konrad Dippel chemists rushed to create a batch of cochineal red (made from bugs) accidentally used potash contaminated by (the iron in) animal blood that turned the concoction a deep blue – henceforth known as Prussian blue or Berliner Blau, due to its geographic origins and because the Prussian army dyed its soldiers’ jackets with the colour. This new blue pigment was not only affordable but also stable (colourfast) and became an instant sensation.

The exhibition features works across a range of media, including, painting, sculpture, video, and installation art. For example, the Cyanotypes experiments Interplay # 139 by Parul Gupta, or Sea-wind of the Night 1 a painting by Anju Dodiya on fabric which draws on the Japanese woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic The Great Wave off Kanagawa or the majestic painting by N S Harsha, Andhar Bahaar of an astronaut looming in deep space or Mithu Sen’s Tritanopia (blindness of Blue) that contains no blue to name a few, allow us to contemplate a deeper understanding of colour and its significance.

Exhibiting Artists: Anita Dube, Anju Dodiya, Alke Reeh, Astha Butail, Atul Dodiya, Desmond Lazaro, Mithu Sen, N S Harsha, Sheba Chhachhi, Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, Parul Gupta, Prajakta Potnis, Ranbir Kaleka, Sumakshi Singh, Shambhavi, Thukral & Tagra, Vivan Sundaram, Waqas Khan

When: 10:30 AM – 06:30 PM; September 19 – December 10.

Where: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Plot No. 3 A, Sector 126, Noida

The museum is closed on Monday and all public holidays.