Surekha

Education:

• Post Graduation in Visual arts  MFA, Santiniketan, Viswabharati University, West Bengal.1992 , 1985-90 : Ken school of arts, Bangalore
• Graduation in Science:  Bangalore University
• Film Course: No.w.here London 2006

Fellowships/ Residency projects

• Lichtenberg studios, Berlin 2016
• Artist in labs, Eawag ( Aquatic Ecology) – Zurich -Pro Helvetia -2011/12
• Prince Claus Fund -2006/7
• The UK art council fund -2006Film workshop  No.w.here, London
• Hivos CCA7-Trinidad.  -2003/5
• Vermont studio center- USA- 2001
• Unesco Aschberg award 2001 HIAP, Helsinki
• Charles Wallace trust award -2000-01 Spike Island studios, Bristol
• Pro-Helvetia Swiss fellowship -1999 Gasteatelier Krone, Aarau, Switzerland
• 1989/1996 Human resource cultural scholarship
• 1993 Nehru Trust study grant, ( Research on string puppetry, Karnataka )

Selected One-person Shows;

• Smell Is the Last Memory to Go: A Photographic Installation
  by Surekha Curated by Matt Morris 2022, At : Ruschwoman, Chicago

• “Today is better than `yesterday” An installation of Objects, Video , Photo and text montage.
  At 1.Shanti Road Gallery, Bangalore 2022

• “Tree Tales” Installation of Photos and video at Namma Katte 2022

• 2011: “just follow the sound of the river, Eawag, Switzerland

• 2011: Lake Tales: project and curation, Bangalore
• 2010  Unclaimed- urban f(r)ictions ,Samuha, Bangalore
• 2010  Unclaimed and other videos, 10, chancery lane gallery- Hongkong
• 2007 Flames, Flowers and Other Images – Sculptures, photo and video installation, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai
• 2007  Communing with Urban Heroines, a photo and video installation, Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore / supported by Prince Claus Fund
• 2004 Bhagirathi and other Video Installations, SKE Bangalore
• 2003 Eye of a Needle, preview; Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore, travelled to Boros Museum, Sweden
• Connecting People 2003 video installation, open studios, CCA7 Trinidad
• 2001 Skin Deep, Taide Halli Museum (studio), Helsinki, Finland
• 2001 Fragments of a Wedding Diary, Open studio, HIAP, Helsinki
• 2000  British-Make, Spike Island, Art spacestudios, Bristol, uK. Gallery Zum Komet, Switzerland Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam
• 1999 Under the Skin, Rathaus Aarau, Switzerland
• 1999  Selving a Body, Lakeeren Art Gallery, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, Mumbai, preview at Chitrakala Parishat Gallery, Bangalore
• 1997-Sista’s art gallery- Bangalore

 

Selected Projects / Participation in Curated Shows

2019-2022

• International Art Exhibition of Ocean Flower Island, Hainan, China curated by Wang Chunchen 2020“ Paradise lies ahead” curated by Adi Hoesle. . At: Brauerei Clemens Harle, Leutkirch, Germany 2022
• “Living a dark night” wood cut prints show curated by Paula Sen Gupta , a travel show in different parts of India 2021-23
• “ Nighty Revolution” @ Urban Fabric curated by Suresh at CKP gallery 2021
• International artists workshop, PARTAGE Mauritius 2019
• International artists exhibition Alliance Francaise, Mauritius curated by “Partage” 2019
• Curated project: “Responsive curating” along with Ralf Homann, Uwe Jonas and Suresh Kumar.Venkatappa art gallery (Bangalore-2018), Kunstraum Munich (2020), Studio UM Hochhaus, Berlin (2022)
• VAICA: Video art screening 2022/2019/2018/2017
• “Voice Over” curated by Meena Variath, IGNCA, New Delhi 2019
• Video installation @Chennai photo Biennale : 2019
• Conundrums:  Video Art from India curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, Shalini Passi foundation 2019

2018

• Response”_ Installations and New Media, GEM Cinema hall –   CIMA Gallery.
• UNIvers – uprooting-shifting- remapping , Berlin
• Performance – Moving images:  Space studios, Mumbai Gallery weekend
• Text as Text –  Curated by Shubhalakshmi , Gallery Art&Soul, Mumbai
• City Scripts: symposium , IIHS, Bengaluru
• Kalyani- an intervention:  Workshop CAVA, Mysore

 

2017  

• ” India-Reworlded –  70 years of  Investigating a Nation” curated by Dr.Arshiya Lokhandwala, Gallery Odyssey, Mumbai
• “Perspectives of Karnataka Modern Art “ curated by Suresh Jayaram, National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru
• “Evidence Room” Curated by Mario Souza & Antara, Khoj , New Delhi
• “Environmental Consciousness in Current Indian Art – explorations in art, architecture, heritage and community engagement.” symposium curated by Kathryn Myers and Neeta Omprakash, Dakshinachitra Museum.
• “Artist Talks” : Mahatma Gandhi Institute and Department of culture, Mauritius.
• “Re-Evolution” – Cinnamon Colomboscope -2017 curated by Shanika Perera ,Colombo Old Railway Terminus.
• Artist Talk:   “Ecological concerns/  Artistic interventions in Contemporary art in India”
• Digging deep crossing far_ curated by Elke Falat and Julia Tieke, Alharama Art Center, Lahore
• “Double Road” curated by Suresh Jayaram, Video art from India, Munich
• Neeru , Dolls, Foodu curated by VAG Forum, Venkatappa Art Gallery.
• Artist Talk :   Nightie Revolution & other works:  India Foundation for Arts, Bengaluru

 

2016

• “Digging deep crossing far…” curated by Elke Falat and Julia Tieke –A travel show at:   MaxMueller Bhavan Bangalore encounter , Pepper House-Kochi encounter, The Arts Council-Karachi encounter,  Kunstraum Kreuzberg-Berlin encounter
• Poetics of Plurality – Art Space studio ,Baroda
• Senorium-Edition Love , curated by Leandre DSouza , Sunaparanta art Centre, Goa
• Visual Presentation;  National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru.
• Crossing Borders: Seven short videos from China & India , Anthology Film Archives, Newyork. Curated by Michelle Y. LOh and Bansie Vasvani.
• Art Marathon, Private Collections/Public Museum:  Venkatappa Art Gallery curated by VAG Forum
• Artist Talk :  Surekha@ Lichtenberg Studios
• Artist Talk : Nightie Revolution at Strodenhe Germany. Curated by Gabriele Konsor
• “Difference Screen”- moving images curated by Bruce Allan, UK & India.
• Festival of Stories_  Art in Transit: Cubbon Park Metro Station, Bengaluru
• Artist Talk: Goethe Institute, Bangalore

2015

• Postdate: Photography and Inherited History from India exhibition -San Jose Museum of Art curated by Jodi Thorkmorton.   A travel show to Ulrich museum,Kansas. USA
• Speakers’ Forum at India Art Fair 2015 : Patronage & Public Spaces
• Presentation:  Negotiating routes by the ecologies:   Khoj Studios, Delhi
• One and One makes Eleven curated by Eveline Suter , Kunsthaus Langenthal, Switzerland
• Burgercampus” curated by Citizen art days – Presentations at Kapitel and Radial House – Berlin

 

2012 -2014

• Founding curator of Rangoli Metro Art center a public art space initiated by govt. BMRCL: Conceptualised and  Curated several art exhibitions related to public history and contemporary art projects: A city in Transit, Making of the Metro I & II, A letter to Gandhi, My life is my message, Building Bangalore- Archives from  MEG, Gandhi in Bangalore, Lines & Beyond,  Viewing Landscapes,  The world of Puppets, My Indian  Life-Megumi Sagakida and  co-ordinated several public interactive projects for the city of Bangalore
• Water bodies:  Chennai  A Indo Korean  International Project – 2013
•  Art  Dubai: represented by Lakeeren Art Gallery – 2012
• India Art Fair:  Represented by Lakeeren Art Gallery – 2012
• Post Oil city: Gardens reloaded  : curated by Elke Falat, Science Museum, Bangalore – 2013
• Video Art: Bhau Daji Lad  Museum curated by Gayatri Sinha – 2014
• Presentation: Pecha Kucha talks organized  by MOD Bangalore, Jaaga -2013
• Art Insight: Public space/Art Space  : presentation at  Max Mueller bhavan, Bangalore – 2014

2011-2012 

• who am I  –  Kastrupgard Samlingen Museum, Copenhagen (2012) curated by Trine Ross
• Lines of control – Herbert J.Foundation Museum ( Cornell University -2012), Green Cardamom Project.
• India side by side –Centrol Cultural Banco do Brasil,Rio de Janeiro (2011-12) curated by Tereza Aruda
• Belgrade Art festival- culture centre Belgrade
• Video wednesday, Espace curated by Gayatri Sinha
• Pleasure Dome- Toronto -2011 curated by Carly Whitefield
• Un bound- scion- Bangalore
• Against all odds, curated by Arshiya lokhandwala, LKA Delhi
• Art Summit/Art Dubai – presented by Lakeeren art Gallery
• Video art India, curated by Luisa Ortinez, Caixa Forum Palma/Caixa Forum Tarragona, Spain
• Dolls, curated by Marta Jakimowicz , Sumukha gallery/ Robert dean Gallery, London
• Second Sex_ curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, Lakeeren, Mumbai
• City in Transit- red dot gallery, Colombo
• I am here – video  self-portraits curated by Lina Vincent- Jaaga, Bangalore

2010

• Costumes d’enfants, miroir des grands: Guimet Museum, Paris curated by Caroline Aruheo
• Young artist Bukarest Biennale, Rumania curated by Mica Ghergescu
• Baskiath video art –Paris/Dubai
• Videoappart/ Roma art fair presented by Metropolart
• Triad- Loveland Museum, Colarado: USA
• Fundació “la Caixa” presents video art India curated by Lisa Ortinez; CaixaForum Barcelona, CaixaForum Lleida
• Video art show Silvaasa, Dadar and Nagar haveli
• Whole, Indigo Blue art, Singapore
• Loss, curated by Anupa Mehta, Loft, Mumbai,
• Go-see India  curated by Amit Mukhopadhyay—  Vasa Konsthall, Gutenberg
• Fiac-2010 /Miami-Basel- 2010 presented by  Chemould prescott road
• “Whatever he touched- he adorned” – Max Mueller bhavan, bangalore curated by Suresh Jayaram

2009

• Transmediale-09, deep north, Malmoe, Coastal  & culture haus, Berlin
• Migration: ECA Calcutta curated by Amit Mukhopadhyay
• Home, tranvacore art gallery, curated by Anupa Mehta
• The (other) Indian story, NCPA, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala
• Towards new viewership- Bhubaneswar/Art consult- curated by Rajasri
• contr-alt-delete , arushi arts curated by Amit jain
• video finale curated by Gayatri sinha, gallery espace
• video lounge- art summit-latitude 28
• gender- genesis- gallery espace
• KIAF- Failed Plot, Korea curated by Gayatri Sinha
• Changing skins- curated by Marta jakimowitz, the Fine art company
• Regarding us, Birla, Kolkata curated by Deekshanath
• Media workshop/Festival- Britto, Dhaka
• FIAC-2009 Chemould Art Gallery, Mumba

2008

• “What do you want?”, Asian Triennale, Corner house gallery, Manchester curated by Kathy Rae Huffman
• Inner vision, guild, Newyork curated by subulaxmi shukla
• Trends and  trivia- an Indian story-curated by Bhavna Kakar/Mon art galerie, Hong Kong visual arts centre
• Still moving image-cuarated by Deekshanath, Devi art foundation
• Six Degrees of Separation: Chaos, Congruence & Collaboration’ south asia exhibition, curated by Pooja sood, Anant art gallery
• Fiac-Paris presented by Shireen Gandhy, Chemould
• Public places, private spaces, Minneapolis art institute curated by Gayatri Sinha &Zette Emmons
• Harvest, Arushi arts, New Delhi
• Second sex,10 chancerylane, Hongkong
• India Moderna, Ivam Museum, Valencia, Spain, curated by Juan Guardiola
• Video Mix, India, La Casa Encendida cultural centre Madrid(Spain) curated by Luisa Ortinez

2007

• Indian Photo and Media Art: a Journey of Discovery, Fluss-Photo-initiative, curated by Renate Bertlmann, Austria
• Horn-Please, Narratives in Contemporary Indian Art, Kunst Museum, curated by Bernhard Fibicher and Suman Gopinath, Bern, Switzerland
• The zero edition curated by Jack Persekian, Al’mamal foundation, Jerusalem
• Public Places, Private Spaces,newark Museum, curated by Gayatri Sinha, new Jersey
• Grid, Bodhi Gallery, curated by Gayatri Sinha, Mumbai
• Follow the Arrows, Investigating Movement, WSF, curated by Archana Hande and Mamta Murthy, Nairobi
• Vanity fair, curated by Bhavna kakar/mon art gallery
• Visions in the Nunnery, nunnery Art Gallery, curated by Darshana Vora, London
• VO7- 2nd International Venice Video Art Fairrepresented by Contact Metropolart, Paris
• Instructions for films:  Zoo art fair(no.where project) Royal academy of arts, London

1998 – 2006

• A Moment of Strange Stillness, Theertha International Workshop, Srilanka
• 2006 Diva, Paris/ new York represented by Gallery Contact Metropolart, Paris
• Ghosts in the Machine and Other Fables, ApeejayMedia Center, curated by Pooja Sood, new Delhi
• No.w.here, Video screenings at Portobello and Edinburgh film festivals
• Myrrh, , curated by Geetu Hinduja and  Anupa Mehta under the aegis of Art
  edge at Tao art gallery, Mumbai
• Complexities of Life, Aboa Arsanova Museum, curated by Henry Grahn, Turku & Lappenrenta Museum, South Karelia Finland
• Video Festival- Lund Art Hall & Krognos House, Lund, curated by Tamara
  Malmestrom
• Ko Video, Durban presented by Open Circle
• Inverted Tree, Anant Art Gallery, curated by Marta Jakimowicz, new Delhi
• Tree woman/tree walkers, video and sculpture installation, Aarau, Switzerland
• Indian Summer, Ecole de Beaux arts, curated by Jany Lagua and Deepak Anant, Paris
• 2004 Crossing Generations: Diverge, 40 years of Gallery Chemould, national Gallery of Modern Art, curated by Geeta Kapur and Chaitanya Sambrani, Mumbai
• Rights/Rites/ Rewrites, Hartell Gallery, Sibley Dome, Cornell university, NY and touring to John Hope Franklin Center: Duke university
  Mason Grove gallery, new Jersey curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala
• Fair & Furious, Jabiwool Art Museum & Gallery, curated by Sushma Bahl, South Korea
• Another Passage to India, Ethnographic Museum, Geneva curated by Pooja Sood and Ines Anselmi
• WSF, Mumbai Open Circle
•  We are the Environment, a public bus project, Bangalore
• 2003 Artist Proof, Gallery Chemould, curated by Archana Hande, Mumbai
• Show at Khoj International Studios/ Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore
• Sites of Recurrence; Dakshina Chitra, Chennai/ Boras Museum, curated by Tamara Malmestrom & Elisabeth Hoglund, Sweden,
• Mahatma GandhiRoad, Do Not Urinate, a site-specific work, M.G. Road, Bangalore
• Quilted, Sumukha Art Gallery, curated byC.F.John
•  2002 Fragrance of Jasmine, Khoj International Workshop, Mysore
• Emptiness, art workshop, PhoolMahal, Kishangarh
• Other Side of the Sky, unesco, curated by Mehdi-Farah Syre, Paris
• Enchanting the Icon; Sakshi Gallery, curated by Marta Jakimowicz, Bangalore
• Migration, City, Home, Birla Academy, curated by Amit Mukopadhyay, Calcutta
• 2001 Camouflage, Nehru center, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, London
• Self–Contemporary Video Art from India, IMA, Brisbane, Australia curated by Johan Pijnappel
• On the Edgeof Volume, curated by Marta Jakimowicz, Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore
• Excerpts from my diary pages, Fine art company, curated by Sasha Altaf, Mumbai
• 2000Erotica, Fine art company, curated by Sasha Altaf
• 1999 Edge of the Century, curated by Amit Mukhopadhyay, new Delhi
• 1998 Retracing the Lost Terrain, Lakeeren Art Gallery, Mumbai
• Territories: an art event, installation at Shankara, outskirts, Bangalore

 

Teaching /visiting experiences:  Conducted ART WORKSHOPS/Presentations

1993-2007

• Mallya Aditi International school, Srishti School of Art & Design and Technology
• Ken School of Arts, Chitrakala Parishat, Bangalore, CAVA, Mysore
• 2003 Boros Textile School, Voland Art Academy, Sweden
• 2005 Malmo Art Academy, Lund art school, Boros textile school, Sweden
• 2008 –  Cava Mysore/ Kalabhavan, Santiniketan, MSU, Baroda, SN School, Hyderabad

Involved in co-ordinating activities:

• Venkatappa Art gallery forum 2016
• Founding curator Rangoli Metro Art Center 2012- 2014
• Founder Member Bar1 ( bengaluru artist residency ) 2001-Present
• Khoj international workshops, -2002 Mysore,
• Bengaluru Habba- Art Instillation event M.G.road Boulevard -2003,
• Ken school alumni association
• Gnana – Trust to promote Art education in schools
• Organised video screenings of contemporary video art in Bangalore 2003/2005/ 2007

Curated shows:

• Founding curator of Rangoli Metro Art center a public art space initiated by govt. BMRCL: Conceptualised and  Curated several art exhibitions related to public history and contemporary art projects: A city in Transit, Making of the Metro I & II, A letter to Gandhi, My life is my message, Building Bangalore- Archives from  MEG, Gandhi in Bangalore, Lines & Beyond,  Viewing Landscapes,  The world of Puppets, My Indian  Life-Megumi Sagakida and  co-ordinated several public projects for the city in Bangalore

• Behind the seen:  2010- 1.shanti road, Bangalore
• Lake tales:             2011- Bar1 Bangalore

Selected  Presentations:

• “Digital art” A conversation at Alliance Francaise, Bangalore moderated by Lina Vincent 2022

• Bangalore artist collectives: spirit and co-existence, Centre for art and society, Baroda
  2022

• MUDDY, DIRTY, WET International conference on artistic strategies to support endangered water curated by Citizen Art Days, Berlin

• Meet the artists: Various others 2020 Berlin

• 2006 As panellist, Video Art from India, Tate Modern, London

• 2003 Art and Public Sphere, Voland Art Academy, Sweden
• 2002 MPCVA Mumbai
• 2010 Mpcva/ alternative spaces”- Mumbai
• 2011 Eawag, aquatic ecology, Zurich
• 2012 Ananya: Venkatappa art gallery, Bangalore

 

Art workshops conducted:

• 2022 : “Making & becoming” a site specific construct, Srishti art design and technology, Bangalore
• 2019: “What time is this place” a public project, wheeler road flyover, Srishti art design and Technology
• 2018: Artistic Intervention & Ecological Issues: Mapping the Urban and its Ecology, Srishti art design and Technology Conferred Artist DV Halbhavi award, 2018

 

As Jury for Project grants:

• Jury and project advisor for Bosch art grants ( Bangalore)- 2009,2010
• Pro helvetia Fellowships   (New Delhi) – 2009/2010/2012
• Goethe Institute (Residency projects)- 2009/2010

Award: conferred Artist Halbhavi award-2019

Links for video and talks

• http://v-ideo.art/videos/orderByPublishDate
• https://www.mashindia.com/surekha-today-is-better-than-yesterday.php
• https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-artist-surekha-sharada-self-curates-her-solo-show-is-today-better-than-yesterday–
• Vimeo: Surekha Anil Kumar_Just Follow The Sound Of The River_Eawag, Dübendorf_artists-in-labs Indo-Swiss Residency Exchange 2011 

---

 

Surekha lives and works in Bengaluru

web site:www.surekha.info                 

email:  surekha.info@gmail.com