- BEIJING— Adjacent to the ice-clad mountains on the southwest border of China sits India, another civilization with ancient roots that is now ascending the global stage, drawing the attention of the world with the increasing influence of its culture, politics, art, and art market. This month, a group show of Indian contemporary artists made their China debut at Tang Contemporary gallery in Beijing’s famed 798 Art District. The show, which closes August 1, is the brainchild of Indian-British curator Shaheen Merali, the former director of Berlin’s Hall of World Cultures and the 2006 Gwangju Biennial. Titled The 11th Hour, the show features works by Indian artists working in India, as well as by expatriates living around the world. “It is about the time, one hour until midnight, which is the very moment when people feel the most vulnerable, both mentally and physically,” Shaheen explains of the show's title. "It raises the question — what are people thinking at this very moment?” The very last hour of the day seems to be when the tension of dealing with the pressing issues of today’s world comes to a head for everyone.
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- London hasn’t quite had the sunny beginnings of an Indian summer, yet things are a little warmer on the art front. Several excellent exhibitions around the city feature artists from the subcontinent and subjects ranging from ancient Mughal portraits to explorations of contemporary Indian art. This flurry of shows is not new. Last year saw ‘Indian Highway’ at the Serpentine Gallery, a tremendous display of works that explored the importance of road travel in India; ‘Indian Summer’ at the British Museum which had, among other things, a rare exhibition of paintings from the royal court of Jodhpur; and ‘Maharaja: the Splendour of India’s Royal Courts’ at the Victoria & Albert.
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