Standing on the threshold, a moment where space and time bleed into one another like a corridor, pregnant with possibilities. Welcome to Bare Liminal, a visual enquiry of transitional aesthetics.

The first break of the cocoon in a butterfly’s life, the rising of the sun on the horizon, a sapling sprouting on the ground or a blank canvas waiting for the first stroke of paint. These are the in-between spaces of raw potential, where transformation hovers over the brink.

The term transformation carries within it the visual of change and motion. From urban development altering cityscapes as seen in the mixed-media work ‘Untitled’ (2023) by Debasish Mukherjee and the photographic series ‘Kshitij’ (2024) by Pulak K. Sarkar to the organic decay of natural landscapes in ‘Presence’ (2023) by Jayashree Chakravarty or the sandstone sculpture ‘Food’ (2023) by Debiprasad Bhunia, the physical manifestations of change embody a peculiar allure.  

Through captivating photographic series, mixed-media sculptures, paintings and installations, the artists in the exhibit encapsulate the raw elegance found in these transient states, underscoring the significance of impermanence in the visual realm. The artworks featured in this exhibition capture the metamorphosis from the old to the new, structure to decay, tangible to the intangible. Spanning multiple generations, the artists employ a myriad of mediums, from paintings to site-specific installations, to capture the essence of liminality.

The process of personal, natural or sacred discoveries highlighted in their individual practices may recall an archive of moments of change. Whether it is the photographs ‘Puzzle’ (2023) or ‘White Tee 2’ (2023) by Arhant Sreshtha or the monochromatic ‘Behind the Scenes’ (2023) by Supriyo Karmakar exemplifying the personal, the infrared landscape photography series ‘Infinite Light’ 2023 by Manir Mrittik exemplifying the natural, or the sacred explorations in ‘The Heart’s Image’ (2021) by Saurav Roy Chowdhury.

As one navigates through Bare Liminal, the audience is invited to contemplate the fleeting nature of transitional moments and the raw essence of the subtle shifts and textures of the in-between. Through diverse artistic practices building a bridge for the exploration of stillness in motion, this exhibition beckons you to embrace the flux of change. It encourages the viewers to pause and reflect on the ephemeral spaces and time.

- Siddhi Shailendra

Arhant Gurung Shrestha

Arhant Gurung Shrestha (b. 1999, Kathmandu, Nepal) is a contemporary artist primarily working with the medium of photography. His work draws from his personal childhood memory and an intimate relationship with his home city of Kathmandu. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Photography from Bard College, New York in 2021. His works have been exhibited as part of the 2022 Kathmandu Triennale in Nepal and in the exhibition ‘It’s Personal’ at Akar Prakar, Kolkata. Recently, he also participated in the 18th edition of the Angkor Photo Workshops in 2023 in Cambodia.

Debasish Mukherjee

Debasish Mukherjee (b. 1973) was born in Chapra, a historically important town in Bihar. He grew up amidst open spaces and railway colonies, mixing freely with people from various social backgrounds. He graduated from the Banaras Hindu University with a specialization in Painting. Rooted in India, Mukherjee manifests his keen observations of India’s built environment, social fabric and events from his day-to-day life into his art practice. Mukherjee’s work tends to interrogate the way an object or memory is preserved, celebrated or neglected. He has also conducted extensive research with weavers and artisans across India, especially within Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Gujarat. Some of his notable solo and group exhibitions include Whispering Lanes at Akar Prakar, Delhi (2023); Multitudes & Assemblages for Hub India at Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti, Turin, Italy (2022); Inner Life of Things: Around Anatomies and Armatures at KNMA, Noida (2022); River Song at Akar Prakar, New Delhi (2019) to name a few. His works are in permanent collections such as the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and The Partition Museum, Delhi. The artist lives and works in New Delhi.

Debiprasad Bhunia

Debiprasad Bhunia (b.1990) is an artist from West Bengal. He graduated from the Govt. College of Art and Craft, Kolkata followed by his masters from College of Art, New Delhi. His artistic practice is based on resettlement from rural to cities. Debiprasad's works are based on a range of media such as traditional sculptural mediums, installation & drawing. His works have been included in group exhibitions at Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata; Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Kalakriti Gallery, Hyderabad and Akar Prakar, Kolkata to name a few. He has also received multiple awards and residencies including 2023 Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata Annual Awar in Sculpture; GAP Mentorship Award, Delhi in Sculpture; 2018 AIFACS Best Award in Sculpture, Delhi; 2019 Space 118 Residency, Mumbai; 2017, Young Artist Scholarship (Ministry Of Culture, Government Of India), India and 2023, Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Center, Garhi Studio Scholarship in Sculpture.

Jayashree Chakravarty

Jayashree Chakravarty (b. 1956) completed her Graduation at Visva Bharati in the sprawling natural environs of Santiniketan. She pursued her Master’s at the Faculty of Fine Arts at The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, where she was exposed to an urban sensibility. She was also an artist in residence at Aix-en-Provence from 1993-95 where she was influenced in the formative years of her practice by the French movement Supports/Surfaces, especially by Claude Viallat and also had conversations with some of the group members at the time. Inventing her creative techniques, using organic material and varied kinds of papers, her installations in the form of paper scrolls remain unique in their conceptions and execution. Jayashree has had exhibitions both in India and abroad, with shows at various museums, including the Musee Departemental Des Arts Asiatiques Nice, France; The Tagore Centre, Berlin, Germany; Chicago Cultural Center, Illinois, USA, and Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Singapore to name a few. Her recent shows include her exhibition at the Palazzo Madama, Turin, Italy; Musée Guimet, Paris, France; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida & New Delhi. The artist lives and works in Kolkata, India.

Manir Mrittik

Manir Mrittik’s (b.1975) works across a range of media and techniques such as photography, weaving, drawing, painting and technologies drawn to software and gaming. He formulates original propositions through an idiosyncratic approach to photography, where the printed image is augmented by various interventions. Mrittik’s oeuvre investigates personal memory, accepted histories and our relationship to temporality. It explores the dialectical experience of the self vis-à-vis dominant narratives such as the Modern postulate of universal art history. Mrittik’s self-portraits and tableaux vivants are ambivalent: they stage imagined drama where the artist constantly traces new relations between his personal life, the hierarchies of the artistic tradition and the materiality of the world he lives in. Manir completed his Master’s from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. He has had multiple solo and group exhibitions including the Dhaka Art Summit, 2014; Chobi Mela VIII, organized by Drik, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, 2015; Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York,2016. In India, he had his first solo exhibition, “In The Realm of Ambivalence” at Akar Prakar, New Delhi in 2018. The artist works and lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Pulak K. Sarkar

Pulak K Sarkar (b. 1998) hails from Rangpur, Bangladesh. Trained as a painter, he holds a BFA in Painting from Rabindra Bharti University. Currently, he is furthering his studies in Painting at Banaras Hindu University, where he has been awarded the prestigious ICCR fellowship to pursue in both institutions. His practices are oriented by painting and site-specific installation with the character of interdisciplinary. His works are the development of his understanding of art and its literary temperament. The works are initially embodiments of the logocentric disposition of humans and that to unfasten a remote discussion and recall the underlying mental concept. It is the response of structure that carries an inherent paradox of deconstruction. His use of vibrant, angular forms is the formal approach to creating a visual essence that has the dignity to create any diverse attempt. His artistic creations have graced galleries both nationally and internationally. Notable among these exhibitions are his recent showcase at the Students' Biennale, held in parallel to the Kochi Muziris Biennale, 2022-23, as well as his participation in the prestigious Berzer Young Artist Award 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2019, his talent also found expression at the Dhaka Live Art Biennale. Furthermore, he has a pivotal role as a coordinator for the esteemed "BONNA" at the Dhaka Art Summit in 2023.

Saurav Roy Chowdhury

Born into an artist’s family, Saurav Roy Chowdhury started clay modelling at an early age. Soon after completing secondary school in 1994, he entered Kala Bhavan, the fine arts academy of Visva Bharati University, He did his post-graduation from the same art school in 2001. After completing art school he became a full-time sculptor. He had several major sculpture shows in India. His major exhibitions include NGMA Gallery, Mumbai, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, CIMA Gallery, Kolkata, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, Akar Prakar Gallery, etc. Saurav received scholarships from the government of India, the Lalit Kala Akademi scholarship, the National Scholarship, and the Elizabeth Greenshields grant, from Canada. He has participated in several art workshops such as the Sculpture Workshop, Ortweinshule, Graz, Austria, the Bronze Casting workshop of Lalit Kala Akademi, Manipur, India, Agder Kusntsenter, Norway, etc. His work has been shown at art biennales, and international art fairs, and his sculpture was sold at Christie’s first art auction in Kolkata in 2008. He has participated in an international artist residency program, Kunstnarhuset messen, Norway, 2017. In 2018, Saurav was chosen as the Artist of Kristiansand, Norway and during that time he worked at Agder Kunstsenter. Other accomplishments include the Birla Academy Award and the Emami Chisel Art Award from India. Saurav lives and works in Santiniketan and Kolkata, India.

Supriyo Karmakar

Supriyo Karmakar(b. 1991) grew up ink Kolkata, India. An art practitioner and educator, he completed his BFA from IKSV, Khairagarh and MFA from the University of Kalyani, West Bengal. His core practice is drawing and he also works on collaborative research-based projects, kinetic sculpture, performance and video art. After completing his post-graduation he has participated in residences such as “Kala Setu” at Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art, Kalakriti Art Residency, Hyderabad. He has been involved in several art projects like “Visible and Invisible Line,” “Wave of the City” at Kochi Muziris Students Biennale 2018, a Collaborative project with artist Niroj Satpathy at FICA Reading Room in 2019, ‘Black on Black’ organised by “Philosophy Unbound” at JNU, Delhi. He is the recipient of several grants and awards such as the Khoj Support Grant 2020, Pandemic as Portal Art Grant, One Shanti Road 2021, and Sarala-Basant Kumar Birla Award at Birla Academy of Art and Culture 2023