http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/art/meeting-place-of-talent/article2974495.ece

"Sebastian Varghese, for whom change means many things, (he spends his time partly in the United States) has chosen to paint things that are universal, he says, like ponds, estuaries. What time does to people and nature is depicted in some works. Wars, natural disasters all change the way the earth looks. He has six works that explore these thoughts...."

Aug -2012 - 'Aes-theti-X' group Show, MNF gallery, Edappilli, Kochi.

Transport and Transform

Transportation from one domain to another has always been a challenge we have faced since early times. The history of vehicular movement aligns itself with our evolution as a species. The first major breakthrough was obviously the invention of the wheel. Later on nations were conquered and seized simply because the invaders possessed horses and chariots. One does not have to think far to see how the introduction of fossil fuel has changed the way the world revolves. In the modern age we take our vehicles for granted yet cannot imagine a world without them. 

When we step into a vehicle, our state of being has transformed, in essence from a body of static to a body with an intention of motion. Visuals and visions change along with this transition of being. A car is almost as good as the promise of the place it can take you. In essence the car is a symbol of a new dreamscape to the modern mind. It gives a fresh meaning to the archetype in the evolution of human consciousness. Any passage is a potential point of no return. Any entrance is at once both a promise of gain and loss.

We now live with the good, the bad and the ugly effects of motor vehicles. It is easy for one to posses a love-hate relationship with them. The contemporary visual of the urban landscape is right in front of us. But humans are resilient beings with a vision of much more. How we find a realistic placement for the urge to enter, transport and transform within this ‘speckled history’ of humanity is up to each and every one of us.

-Sebastian Varghese

Kochi,

August 2012

Confluence - Group Show -Feb 2012 -David Hall Fort Kochi

Durbar Hall, Kochi, Oct 27, 2011, Group Show

The water colour called 'oil change' was shown in the Durbar Hall, Kochi, Oct 27, 2011, Group Show which was the first exhibition after one year of rennovation of the hall and it looks stunning like a grand museum of international standards. There are more than 100 artists from Kerala in the show and each has one work shown. The exhibit is open until the end of Nov. 2011.

Big Picture -II, bangalore Sumukha Gallery

'The Cave in the Plains' - water colour was included in the 'Big Picture -II', Group Show organized by Abhishek Poddar, Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore. Oct 2011

LOST SPARROW -Gallery Threshold New Delhi, opening, Sept 8 - 2011

Art project to save sparrows

MADHUR TANKHA

SHARE · PRINT · T+

Once found in abundance around human habitats, the good old house sparrows are vanishing at an alarming rate. To save this humble bird from getting wiped out, Gallery Threshold is hosting a five-day public art project at Visual Arts Gallery in India Habitat Centre here beginning this Wednesday.

Tunty Chauhan, whose decade-long journey with Gallery Threshold has helped her understand contemporary Indian art and its impact on brin- ging social transformation, says the exhibition will feature paintings of seasoned and contemporary artists including Anjolie Ela Menon, Manu Parekh, Jayashree Chakravorty, Sebastian Varghese and Chameli Ramachandran.

“Waking up to the chirping of sparrows is a part of everyone's childhood memory. However, it has become increasingly difficult to spot sparrows these days,” she says.

Unlike the way a gallery normally functions, Gallery Threshold has come out with this out-of-the box initiative to get the word out on the street via children. “We are also conducting an awareness workshop with seven schools to create a ripple effect to sensitise the public to the cause of the ‘lost sparrow'. Our goal is to help create awareness and start a conservation movement to save our birds which are a vital part of our eco-system.”

Titled “The Lost Sparrow”, the workshop seeks to bridge the growing disconnect between humans and nature. It will give the participating students a chance to interact with some artists and exhibit their works alongside.

Bombay Natural History Society will provide content for the talk and slide show. Dilawar Mohammed of Nature Forever Society, a non-government organisation specialising in sparrows, will deliver a talk.

The schools participating in the workshop are Vasant Valley, Pathways (Gurgaon), The Mother's International School, Modern School (Barakhamba Road), Mirambika, The Sri Ram School and Delhi Public School. The idea is to give children an opportunity to take on the role of spreading the word.

A carpentry and pottery project to create and distribute bird houses is also on the cards.

Tunty Chauhan's daughter Sahiba, who has conceptualised the public art event, says she came up with the idea to initiate a public art project two months ago. “There is a whole generation of urban children growing up without seeing a sparrow. I wonder how many of us have realised the implications of this. I discussed the idea with my mother and we have now succeeded in roping in selected art and eco-club students from Class VI to IX.”

motherbird . sebastian varghese . 30 x 44 inches . water colour . 2011

http://www.gallerythreshold.com/lost_sparrow.html

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/and-then-there-were-none/829475/

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article2429046.ece

http://www.artslant.com/ind/events/show/175695-the-lost-sparrow?print=1

'SPACE UNTITLED' - David Hall, Fort Kochi, Kerala, India - April 2011

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2011/04/11/stories/2011041150970100.htm

http://www.artslant.com/ind/events/show/158289-space-untitled?tab=EVENT

http://www.gallerysbm.com/index.html

THE VIEWING ROOM, Mumbai

group show

A.SYCO Thursday, April29, Wednesday, June 30, 2010

A.SYCO is a refreshing survey of contemporary and modern art from all over India. This exhibition will reveal individual strategies and artistic means of expression that break common stereotypes and establish that, in good art size and cost is not critical. A.SYCOwill showcase works from the self-confident, trend-savvy contemporaries to the traditions and maturity of the moderns. A.SYCO is to prove that a cross-section of artists if seriously committed to their work can share a common platform. Most importantly, the exhibition is to sustain our conviction that art should be sensibly priced and accessible to all. A.SYCO is also a celebration of aesthetics and creativity. This unique two month long exhibition will see change off displays with continuous additions by participating artists and a few additional. There’s nothing really psychotic about it. This is just a good show with good works at prices and sizes that are accessible to all! . Maybe, today that’s the insanity The exhibition will feature a large group of artists including : Biju Jose, Bose Krishnamachari, Farhad Hussain, Gigi Scaria, Murali Cheeroth, Manisha Baswani, Riyas Komu, Chhatrapati Dutta, Sunil Padwal, Samir Mondal, Theodore Mesquitta, Sheetal Gattani, G Iranna etc.

Unclaimed Spaces - Gallery Threshold, New Delhi, Dec - 2009 to Jan -2010

http://www.gallerythreshold.com/unclaimed_spaces_2009.html

Evidentia group show in Chennai

Evidentia

Sumukha Gallery Show opens on Jan. 22 . 2009

Sumukha Gallery, Chennai, India.

http://www.sumukha.com/

Participating Artists

Gigi Scaria

TV Santosh

TN Azis

Ashok Kumar Gopalan

Murali Cheeroth

George Martin

Minal Damani

Rajan Krishnan

Sebastian Varghese

Bagyanath

Josh PS

Babu Easwar Prasad

Priti Vadakkath

Prajacta Potnis

Ravikumar Kashi

Baiju Parthan

Sumukha Gallery Show Dec. 19 . 2009

Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore, India.

Group Show opens on Dec. 19 . 2009

http://www.sumukha.com/

Participating Artists

Gigi Scaria

TV Santosh

TN Azis

Ashok Kumar Gopalan

Murali Cheeroth

George Martin

Minal Damani

Rajan Krishnan

Sebastian Varghese

Bagyanath

Josh PS

Babu Easwar Prasad

Priti Vadakkath

Prajacta Potnis

Ravikumar Kashi

Baiju Parthan

LAY of the LAND - Group Show, Vewing Room, Mumbai.

Lay of the Land-response to the landscape. Monday, August 17, 2009 - Saturday, September 19, 2009 Painting the landscape has always been a very popular genre. Even today the landscape continues to provoke artists whose different responses and approaches to this genre have resulted in multitude yet distinct ways. Moving on from direct representation to site-specific initiatives artists negotiate the landscape incorporating it or referring to it metaphorically. The Viewing Room is proud to present the work of 15 important artists who position their works within the landscape, responding to it in striking ways. - Niyatee Shinde (Curator)

The Viewing Room Elysium Mansion, 4th Floor, 7 Walton Road, Colaba Mumbai Maharashtra India Website : www.theviewingroom.in Phone : 91-22- 2283 0026 / 27 View our events for enquiries and feedback relating to this Gallery, click here Gallery Details : The Viewing Room is a space located in down town Mumbai in the Colaba area which has now become literally an Art District. The Viewing Room consists of an Exhibition Hall of 70 ft. x 34 ft. with a height of over 16 ft. and is ideal for display of large canvases as well as installations. The exhibition space also has a private lounge area and an open terrace of 3000 sq.ft. which enjoys a spectacular view and is used for display of sculptures and installations as well as a place to host cocktails. The Viewing Room also has dedicated parking facility for visitors to the space. The Viewing Room is professionally managed by Capital Art Advisory Pvt. Ltd. under the care of Chief Curator Mrs. Niyatee Shinde who has over 25 years of experience of the Indian Art world as an Art Historian Critic and Curator having worked in the past with Birla Academy of Art as well as the Articulate Art Gallery. The Viewing Room is dedicated to offer a platform to show case different forms of Art, Indian and International to the discerning audience of Mumbai. Towards this end the Viewing Room is working with various Galleries and Curators at the Local and International level to host shows by Indian as well as International Artists in association and partnership with such galleries as well as offers the space as a premium venue for Art events. The Viewing Room has also on the anvil certain solo and group shows with some of the prominent Contemporary Artists in India. Work available by the following Artists: Akbar Padamsee. Badri Narayan. Chandrima Bhattacharya. Christopher Elliot. Debasree Das. Francis Newton Souza. Ganesh Pyne. Ganesh Urala. Hardik Kansara. Jayant Jadhav. Jayashree Chakravarthy.Jehangir Sabavala. Karl Antao. Krishen Khanna. Krishnaji Howlaji Ara.Krupa Makhija. Lalu Prosad Shaw. Laxma Goud. Loknath Sinha. Manjit Bawa. Manu Binny George. Maqbool Fida Hussain. Narayan S. Bendre.Nazima Rangwala Kalita. Paramjit Singh. Prantik Chattopadhyay.Prithwiraj Mali. Pulak Sanpui. Ramu Das. Sakti Burman. Sebastian Varghese. Shruti Nelson. Surya Prakash. Syed H. Raza. Timir Brahma. Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

http://www.theviewingroom.in/

The Big Picture -Group show - April 10 - 2009

Apr 10, 2009 10:30 AM   to  Apr 15, 2009

Event duration:  07:30 hrs

Event occurs daily

Sumukha Gallery, Wilson Garden

No.24/10,7th Mn, Bts Depot Rd, Wilson Garden, Bangalore
Bangalore - 560027

Genre:	Art Exhibition
Details:	The Big Picture: Art, Artists, India Foundation for the Arts - Art Exhibition. This art exhibition and sale has been made possible by 62 artists who have offered to donate in part or full the proceeds from the sale of their 72 works to IFA. This is the first time so many artists have come together to support the arts. A note from curator Abhishek Poddar I have felt close to art since my childhood. It became a serious passion during my school years and later turned into quite an obsession as my steadily growing collection of art testifies. India Foundation for the Arts - IFA - has been rather inspirational for me in more ways than one. I first came into contact with IFA's superb work in funding the various arts at a presentation by some of its grantees more than a decade back. A documentary film on three women photographers was screened, which is when I first saw Dayanita Singh's work. My love for photography was born at that moment. Funding the arts is serious work, and it comes with a more serious problem - raising money for such work. I have been closely associated with the IFA family ever since that first event and seen the hard work that goes into fundraising. I thought a simpler way to generate support for IFA would be to organise an art show. Also, I thought it would be good to showcase affordable works - by promising young artists as well as more established names. I consider myself fortunate to have a personal rapport with most of the artists represented in this catalogue (many of whose works are in my collection). They were generous enough to give me access to all that was available, from which I could make my choice. I have been able to select works that I considered to be truly representative of their oeuvre, substantial in content, conveying emotional meaning and containing that elusive quality, which I can only call 'soul'. In most cases, artists have produced work especially for this show. I am very satisfied with what this catalogue contains; indeed I had to resist the temptation of keeping many of the works for myself! In fact, I had even to accede to a condition imposed by one of the artists - that I could not buy his work unless it remained unsold till the end. Many of us are patrons of the arts, but this time it is the artists themselves who have come forward to donate, in full or in part, the sale proceeds of their works - for the arts. In doing so, they have paved the way for a greater appreciation of the fact that the cause of the arts is as important as any other, deserving everyone's attention and support. For that I am very grateful to them, as also for making it easy for me and IFA to come up with the name for this show - The Big Picture: Art, Artists., India Foundation for the Arts. These are outstanding works by some of our most talented artists and very well priced too keeping in mind the economic situation. Remember that what you will pay to acquire them will be treated as a donation - giving you tax relief, but much else besides: you will add important works to your collection and, at the same time, encourage worthy artists, arts researchers and arts organisations to realise their aspirations and ambitions. Is there a better way to express one's love for the arts? Become a friend of the arts; become a friend of IFA. The artists are: Gulammohammed Sheikh, Abhimanue, Abul Kalaam, Anand Gadap, Annu, Matthew, Arun Kumar, H G Balaji, Ponna Bhagyanath, C Debasis, Barui, Faiza Huma, Fawzan Husain, George Martin, P J Harsha, N S Jasmeen Patheja, Jayanta Mondal, Jayashree Chakravarty, Josh P S, K G Anto, K Sudheesh Keiko Mima, Kodanda Rao Teppala, Leon, KL Michael, Irudayaraj, S Mahmud Husain, Mithu Sen, N V Santhan, Navroze Contractor, Nirmala Biluka Nishad, MP Parvez Ahmed, Prasanta Sahu, Prashant, Panjiar Pratap, Modi R Balasubramanian, R Jacob, Jebaraj, Raghu Rai, Rajan Krishnan, Rajib De, Ravi Shankar, Ryan Lobo, S Chandra, Mohan, SK Sahajahan, Saibal Das, Samit Das, Sebastian C Varghese, Shahid Datawala. Soumen Das. Swapan Nayak. Sunil Kumar. M C Tadi. Subhakar Tanujaa Rane. Uday Mondal Upendranath. T R Vinay. Mahidhar, Yusuf Zakkir Hussain, Zubin Pastakia, Reba Hore, Chandana Hore, Arunima Choudhury, Mahesh Shantaram & Atul Dodiya. The show is being curated by Mr Abhishek Poddar.

Verve Magazine - review

Rural Legend

Text by Supriya Nair

Published: Volume 17, Issue 4, April, 2009

In the Kerala landscapes of Sebastian Varghese and Leon KL, transience and death not only destroy nature, but preserve it, says Supriya Nair

http://www.verveonline.com/72/life/artmart_kerala.shtml

To the human eye, the layers of movement and construction that lie beneath the tranquil landscapes of nature are something foreign to our own systems. In a recently concluded exhibition, Earth Beneath, at Threshold Art Gallery, New Delhi, Sebastian Varghese and Leon KL both showcased their own images of the sustaining processes of nature in their art.

In the work of both artists, the great outdoors takes on a life of its own. More starkly than in cities, the rural environment that accommodates us is greater than the sum of its parts. The imbalances and corrosion that disrupt the natural transformative rhythms of the world become a sort of organic process themselves. In Varghese’s water colours, the biological essentials of the human body meld into molecular representations of the natural world. “The earth emanates a certain calmness and dispassion about all these transformations,” Varghese observes. This in spite of human confusion, in which “we muddle through fresh realities continuously.”

Leon KL’s approach to the quasi-mystical rhythms of nature are to represent them in acute, almost botanical detail, a method softened by his media, soft pastels, charcoal and watercolour on paper. “Environmental degradation is hinted at peripherally in my work,” he says. “There’s a more microscopic look at change at a cellular level, in the human body, in nature.” In Leon’s work, the landscape loses particularity, grounded only in the striking red soil of his native Kerala, and the changes he documents are almost metaphysical.

Collectively, the works emphasise that the human being is not dislocated so much as accommodated in this bio-landscape. There is a certain optimism reflected in this emphasis on the mutation of nature in spite of an inhabitant civilisation running out of sync with it, a sort of faith in the ‘ashes to ashes’ principle, incredibly tolerant of man’s trespasses, and endlessly hopeful about the capacity of this world for rejuvenation and reincarnation. Creativity in their works occurs in spite of, not because of man.

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i n d i a . t o d a y - report

GALLERY THRESHOLD NEW DELHI JANUARY 2009