Bengaluru ByDesign celebrates different facets of photography in three special exhibitions

Bangalore: NGMA Bengaluru is hosting an exhibition of Prabuddha Dasgupta (1956-2012) entitled Prabuddha Dasgupta: A Journey, which will be on view from 15 November 2019 - 15 January 2020.

The exhibition will showcase around 100 photographs and will be curated in-house by the curatorial team of NGMA Bengaluru.

Born in Kolkata in September 1956 to the noted sculptor Prodosh and Kamala Dasgupta, Prabuddha Dasgupta was bound to inherit an artistic streak.

Prabuddha had a unique style which did not rely on formal aesthetics and rules of photography or the fine arts. His interest did not lie in manipulation or pretention. 

Even composed, his photographs exude honesty and simplicity. His images were more like dialogues with his subjects with an active exchange between the subject and his inner self. It was about just him, his camera and his subject.

The exhibition features a large body of his photographic work and comprises his personal work as well as commissioned work. Prabuddha had worked on numerous commercial projects which mainly involved advertisement campaigns for fashion and lifestyle houses. 

In spite of them being commercial photographs, he injected a unique and creative spirit into each of them which changed the way this stream of photography was perceived in India and signalled a major breakthrough in the field.

For instance, the campaign for the jewellery brand Ganjam in unlike the usual jewellery advertisements; his intervention seamlessly integrates the product with elements of nature.

"It gives me immense pleasure to present this exhibition depicting the journey of one of the most noted, iconic and revolutionary Indian photographer, the late Prabuddha Dasgupta (1956-2012)."

"NGMA holds more than 18000 art treasures in its permanent collection. This exhibition is an endeavour to unlock our own treasures, and to present a fresh and distinctive exhibition to the visitors of NGMA." Nazneen Banu, Director NGMA Bengaluru.

Prabuddha’s work has been exhibited and published both in India and around the world. His work is included in many publications including The Paris Review, Nudi (Motta Editore, Milan) and India Now – New Photographic Visions (Textuel, Paris).

Prabuddha was also the recipient of many grants and awards including the Yves Saint Laurent grant for photography in 1991. His work is in the collections of many individuals and institutions, like the Museo Ken Damy, Brescia, Italy and Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan Italy.

NGMA Bengaluru will collaborate with Bengaluru ByDesign, a design festival focusing on demystifying design and making it more accessible to the public, who will curate various walks, talks and workshops around photography at the Museum during the display period of the exhibition. 

Timings: Tuesday to Friday 11 am to 6.30 pm | Saturday & Sunday 11 am to 8 pm | closed on Mondays and National holidays.

Bengaluru ByDesign in collaboration with the Australian Consulate-Général Chennai presents John Gollings’ retrospective, an MGA travelling exhibition, titled The History of Built World which will be exhibited at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC). 

Pre-eminent photographer John Gollings has been drawn to India throughout his career and has continued to return to explore and document the built form which intriguingly reflects changes in the social and political climate. 

While Gollings is well known for his documentation of new buildings and cityscapes, this survey exhibition situates these images within the broader context of his photographic practice. 

With academic training in the history of architecture, and a professional grounding in photographic practice, Gollings documents and dramatises architecture with an informed artistic air. 

Gollings is constantly innovating with photographic technologies and investigating new architectural subjects. The exhibition is on view to the public from 15 - 24 November. 

(Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School (McBride Charles Ryan), Essendon, Victoria 2011. Photograph courtesy, John Gollings and Bengaluru ByDesign)

Intimate Etre by Magali Couffon De Trevros curated by Shraddha Nair is an exhibition hosted by DDIR Architecture Studio. This exhibition seeks to embrace the idea of humans as individuals, transcending labels, typecasts and prejudices.

Through a twelve-part portrait series that was captured in the homes of the subjects themselves, Magali tells a story of each one, through the play of colour and light, creating striking contrasts and capturing moments of an uninhibited every day. 

This series is different from any of Magali’s previous work, as it is explicit in its support of freedom to create one’s own identity while shunning normative labels. 

Bengaluru ByDesign believes in engaging with the public to create awareness about various upcoming design technology and forms and aims to achieve it through their detailed programming of public exhibitions, workshops and talks curated between 15 - 24 November 2019.

Bengaluru ByDesign is a festival to celebrate creativity, encourage design thinking and explore the innovations in design today. We are setting out to demystify design and make it more accessible to the public with our extensive program.

From large-scale installations to intimate pop-ups, we are infusing Bengaluru with design for a period of 10 days to get conversations rolling.

Local arts and global traditions, modern innovations and reconstructed classics, the exemplary and every day, Bengaluru ByDesign is bringing everything design, together. Everybody is invited to be a part of our immersive experience and look at the world through the lens of design.

The National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru was set up in the premises of the Manikyavelu Mansion at 49 Palace Road, Bangalore and opened to the public on 18th February 2009. The Bengaluru NGMA is run and administered as a subordinate office of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It is one of the three National Galleries of Modern Art - the other two being in Delhi and Mumbai. 

The Gallery stands as a repository of the cultural ethos of the country and showcases Indian art starting from the early 18th century till the present times. The collection of NGMA mainly comprises of paintings, sculptures, graphic prints and examples of early photography in India which showcased the historical development of modern art in India.

In addition to the permanent display of paintings and sculptures, and hosting exhibitions, a strong emphasis is also laid on educational programmes for children, adults and families, with innovative outreach and educational activities which are organised regularly at NGMA Bengaluru.