Mumbai hosts Korea-India joint art exhibition

MUMBAI, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Artists from South Korea and India are displaying their works at a joint exhibition in Mumbai, the capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

The inaugural Mumbai Biennale, titled "Beyond the Frames," opened at Sir JJ School of Art on Saturday for a six-day run, bringing together 120 South Korean and 80 local artists in the first major joint art exhibition by the two countries.

The event was organized by the South Korean Consulate General in Mumbai, K-Art International Exchange Organization (K-AIEA) in the South Korean port city of Busan and the InKo Center, which is affiliated with India's TVS Group.

Among the participants in the opening ceremony were South Korean Consul General in Mumbai Kim Soung-eun, Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Maharashtra Education and Culture Minister Vinod Tawde and TVS Group Chairman Venu Srinivasan.

Sir JJ School of Art, founded 1878, is the oldest art institution in the Indian city.

The artists from the two countries put about 200 works on display. Among the South Korean artists were Choi Sung-won, who reinterpreted Korean nature, Kim Young-woon, who grasped the beauty of the moment, and Kim Ok-suk who is versed in traditional Korean paintings. Other prominent artists who came to the exposition were Lee Sun-hee, Ju Mi-hyang and Kim Na-mi.

Jeon Joon-yeop, an exhibitor at Christie's auctions in New York, Oriental painting expert Hong Suk-chang and porcelain painting guru Kwon Hyuk sent their works to the exhibition.

Contemporary artists who joined the event from Maharashtra included Uttam Pacharne, Tanuja Rane, Deepak Shinde, Ganpat Majgaonkar, Yashwant Deshmukh, Vilas Shinde, Minal Damani, Kishor Thakur, Ratnadeep Adivarekar, Nilesh Kinkale, Sanjay Sawant, Anand Prabhudesai, R. B. Holle, Rajesh Pullarwar and Pandurang Tathe.

Smita Kinkale, a professor at the Indian school, drew attention with her work involving melted vinyl waste and paint dropped onto the canvas.

K-AIEA chief and curator Heo Sook said, "We have shared the art and spiritual world through the annual Busan International Art Fair and the Chennai Chamber Biennale, which has so far been held three times."

She expressed her hope that many artists of the two countries will promote exchanges and compete in good faith to become the best.

The event also provided an opportunity for business leaders of the two countries supporting the biennale to hold talks to discuss ways to enhance cooperation.

The K-AIEA and InKo Center have held a biennale in Chennai, the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, every two years since 2013.

namsh@yna.co.kr
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