A. Balasubramaniam
Encyclopedia
A. Balasubramaniam was born in 1971 in Tamil Nadu
, India
. He currently lives and works in Bangalore
, India
.
Another phenomenon that has held Bala’s interest over time and which he continues to explore is Energy. From earlier works that referred to energy in a visually symbolic manner, it led to works in which the latent energy is evoked visually in our experience of the work, as in Golden Thorn (2004), and in Oomph (2009). In Energy Field (2009) and Link (2009), Bala has engaged forms of energy, displaying their ability while keeping them hidden from view. Their presence is physically manifested in the dynamic installations while their origin is masked, confusing and teasing the viewer, underscoring the many other non-visible forces at work.
2011
The Phillips Collection, Washington DC, US
2009
(In)between, Talwar Gallery, New Delhi, India
2007
Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, US
(In)visible, Talwar Gallery, New Delhi, India
2005
Unfixed Being, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, US
2004
Into Thin Air, Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, US
2002
Traces, Fundacio pilar i Joan Miro’s, Majoca, Spain
Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.
The British Council , Chennai, India
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010
On Line, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, New York, US
Contemplating the Void, New York, NY, US
2009
Where in the World, Devi Art Foundation, Poddar Collection, New Delhi, India
2008
Chalo! India: A New Era of Indian Art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan and travel to
2006
Belief, Singapore Biennale, Director Fumio Nanjo, Singapore
2005
Transition and Transformation, Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, US
Indian Summer, Ecole de Beaux Arts, Paris, France
(desi)re, Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, US
2001
8th International Cairo Biennale, Cairo, Egypt
Finding the Center at the Margins, IGNCA, New Delhi, India
Junge Kunstler sind westfalen, Munster, Germany
Pallet 2001, India Habitat center, New Delhi, India
6th International Biennial of Drawing and Graphic Arts, Gyor, Hungary
2000
"Aar Paar", Exchange exhibition between India and Pakistan
International Print Triennial, Cracow, Poland
Intergrafia, Katowice, Poland
3rd International triennial of Graphic Art, Bitola, Macedonia
6th International Biennial of Miniature Art, Yugoslavia
Ist Cheju International Prints Art festival, Korea
5th Triennial Mondiale D'Estampes Petit Format, Chamalieres, France
Concours 3rd Millenaire, Chamalieres, France
4th Muestra Latino Americana International miniprint, Argentina
1999
12th Norwegian International Print Triennial, Norway
"Edge of the Century", New Delhi, India.
5th International Biennial of Drawing and Graphics, Gyor, Hungary
12th International Exhibition of Graphic Art, Frenchen, Germany
"KHOJ", International Workshop, India
"UH International Invitational exhibition", University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii, US
2nd International Exlibris Exhibition, Council of Europe, Croatia
Premio International Biella, Italy
10th International Exhibition for Small Graphics, Lodz, Poland
4th British International Miniature Print Exhibition, UK
VI International Art Triennial, Majdanek, Poland
1998
Ist International Print Triennial, Kanagawa, Japan
7th International Triennial of Prints and Drawings, Vaasa, Finland
11th Tallinn Print Triennial, Tallinn, Estonia
"Labyrinth", 2nd International Triennial of Graphic Art, Prague, Czech Republic
5th International Biennial of Miniature Art, Yugoslavia
International Culture Exchange Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
ARKS Gallery, London, UK
Agart world Print festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1997
4th Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial, Bhopal, India
4th Sapporo International Print Biennial, Sapporo, Japan
International Print Triennial, Krakow, Poland
The 8th International Biennial of Print and Drawing Exhibit, Taipei, Taiwan
40th National Exhibition of Contemporary Art, India
"Fifty year of Art in Independent India", Madras, India
SSA Exhibition at Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
2nd Malaysia International Contemporary Print Exhibition, Malaysia
1996
Egypt International Print Triennial, Giza, Egypt
1995
3rd Sapporo International Print Biennial, Sapporo, Japan
Tokyo International Mini Print Triennial, Tokyo, Japan
1994
"Group show 94", at Government Museum, Madras
Second Indian Drawing Biennial, Chandigarh, India
1993
Egypt International Print Triennial, Giza, Egypt
Education
1990-95 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Government College of Arts, Madras, India
1997-98 EPW Edinburgh (Printmaking), UK
1998-99 Universitat fur Angewandte Kunste (Printmaking) Wien, Austria
(In)visible, Essay by Sharmini Pereira, 2007
Transition and Transformation, Published by University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Essays by Loretta Yarlow and Deepak Talwar, 2005
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He currently lives and works in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Works
A. Balasubramaniam has created a series of works that have included cast from himself, employing a thin layer of skin that separates the inside from the outside, the seen from the hidden, one’s own self from everything else. In an early work, Self in progress (2002), a life-sized seated figure cast from his own body, appears rooted within a wall. The figure is caught midway at this transitional threshold, entering from one side of the wall and emerging from another, with the non-visible head apparently stuck inside the wall. An audacious pronouncement of the will of man, where mind over matter grants the ability to saturate matter, and where nothing is beyond reach or inert. But for one passing moment there seems to exist a connectedness between all things animate and inanimate; the art and the space it inhabits become one. As the artist once remarked, “We usually seek clarity in details while the entire picture may be blurred. To me life is not about clear moments but seeking clarity in life as a whole.” The physical manifestations of the body as shell, shell as enclosed space, space as malleable matter, which began with Self in progress, inspired other works, such as In But Out (2005), Hidden Sight (2007), Shell as a body (2007), Gravity (2009) and Silent Sound (2009).Another phenomenon that has held Bala’s interest over time and which he continues to explore is Energy. From earlier works that referred to energy in a visually symbolic manner, it led to works in which the latent energy is evoked visually in our experience of the work, as in Golden Thorn (2004), and in Oomph (2009). In Energy Field (2009) and Link (2009), Bala has engaged forms of energy, displaying their ability while keeping them hidden from view. Their presence is physically manifested in the dynamic installations while their origin is masked, confusing and teasing the viewer, underscoring the many other non-visible forces at work.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions2011
The Phillips Collection, Washington DC, US
2009
(In)between, Talwar Gallery, New Delhi, India
2007
Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, US
(In)visible, Talwar Gallery, New Delhi, India
2005
Unfixed Being, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, US
2004
Into Thin Air, Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, US
2002
Traces, Fundacio pilar i Joan Miro’s, Majoca, Spain
Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, U.S.
The British Council , Chennai, India
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010
On Line, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, New York, US
Contemplating the Void, New York, NY, US
2009
Where in the World, Devi Art Foundation, Poddar Collection, New Delhi, India
2008
Chalo! India: A New Era of Indian Art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan and travel to
- National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
- Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg / Wien, Austria
2006
Belief, Singapore Biennale, Director Fumio Nanjo, Singapore
2005
Transition and Transformation, Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, US
Indian Summer, Ecole de Beaux Arts, Paris, France
(desi)re, Talwar Gallery, New York, NY, US
2001
8th International Cairo Biennale, Cairo, Egypt
Finding the Center at the Margins, IGNCA, New Delhi, India
Junge Kunstler sind westfalen, Munster, Germany
- In Conversation, Gallery Espace, New Delhi, India
Pallet 2001, India Habitat center, New Delhi, India
6th International Biennial of Drawing and Graphic Arts, Gyor, Hungary
2000
"Aar Paar", Exchange exhibition between India and Pakistan
International Print Triennial, Cracow, Poland
Intergrafia, Katowice, Poland
3rd International triennial of Graphic Art, Bitola, Macedonia
6th International Biennial of Miniature Art, Yugoslavia
Ist Cheju International Prints Art festival, Korea
5th Triennial Mondiale D'Estampes Petit Format, Chamalieres, France
Concours 3rd Millenaire, Chamalieres, France
4th Muestra Latino Americana International miniprint, Argentina
1999
12th Norwegian International Print Triennial, Norway
"Edge of the Century", New Delhi, India.
5th International Biennial of Drawing and Graphics, Gyor, Hungary
12th International Exhibition of Graphic Art, Frenchen, Germany
"KHOJ", International Workshop, India
"UH International Invitational exhibition", University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii, US
2nd International Exlibris Exhibition, Council of Europe, Croatia
Premio International Biella, Italy
10th International Exhibition for Small Graphics, Lodz, Poland
4th British International Miniature Print Exhibition, UK
VI International Art Triennial, Majdanek, Poland
1998
Ist International Print Triennial, Kanagawa, Japan
7th International Triennial of Prints and Drawings, Vaasa, Finland
11th Tallinn Print Triennial, Tallinn, Estonia
"Labyrinth", 2nd International Triennial of Graphic Art, Prague, Czech Republic
5th International Biennial of Miniature Art, Yugoslavia
International Culture Exchange Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
ARKS Gallery, London, UK
Agart world Print festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1997
4th Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial, Bhopal, India
4th Sapporo International Print Biennial, Sapporo, Japan
International Print Triennial, Krakow, Poland
The 8th International Biennial of Print and Drawing Exhibit, Taipei, Taiwan
40th National Exhibition of Contemporary Art, India
"Fifty year of Art in Independent India", Madras, India
SSA Exhibition at Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
2nd Malaysia International Contemporary Print Exhibition, Malaysia
1996
Egypt International Print Triennial, Giza, Egypt
1995
3rd Sapporo International Print Biennial, Sapporo, Japan
Tokyo International Mini Print Triennial, Tokyo, Japan
1994
"Group show 94", at Government Museum, Madras
Second Indian Drawing Biennial, Chandigarh, India
1993
Egypt International Print Triennial, Giza, Egypt
Education
1990-95 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Government College of Arts, Madras, India
1997-98 EPW Edinburgh (Printmaking), UK
1998-99 Universitat fur Angewandte Kunste (Printmaking) Wien, Austria
Publications Available
(IN)BETWEEN, Essay by Deepak Talwar, 2009(In)visible, Essay by Sharmini Pereira, 2007
Transition and Transformation, Published by University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Essays by Loretta Yarlow and Deepak Talwar, 2005