This that and the other, 2017 Gouache on paper
85″ x 70″ (In 25 parts, each 13 3/4″ x 17″)
This That and The Other offers the rare opportunity to view Makhijani’s recent works alongside one from a quarter century ago—a body of work that has consistently pushed at the boundaries between media, guided by an unceasing, playful interest in line, form and color. At the exhibition’s beginning is All over the place, an installation being exhibited for the first time in India since its creation in The Netherlands over a quarter century ago. Arranged simply on the floor, All over the place (1994) appears to be excavations from an archeological dig or simply playful objects randomly strewn across a child’s room. Some appear familiar, some functional and some seem to be remains of what they once were, all handmade ceramics glazed in deep, vivid hues. The objects, scattered, still seem to be connected with an invisible force of their origin, exuding a palpable latent energy, humanistic and otherworldly at the same time. The dynamism that is palpable in This That and The Other has sustained Makhijani over the course of her career, as she has experimented in a variety of different materials and processes—always with a continuing interest in the vitality of abstract form. Possessed of their own self-propulsive energy, her works strike a canny balance between strangeness and familiarity—addressing their viewers in their own idiosyncratic language, but one that manages to feel direct, even conversational. Their spirited, irrepressible energy remains consistent, running across an oeuvre that otherwise refuses to be remain in place.
That is what I was not exactly trying to do, 2018 Oil on canvas 72″ x 84″
Sheila Makhijani, born in 1962 in New Delhi, where she lives and works, stands distinctly apart in the art landscape in India to her commitment to an oeuvre with its singular pursuit of abstraction. She was awarded her Bachelor and Master of Fine Art degrees from College of Art, New Delhi and later in 1994 she studied in Kanazawa, Japan. Makhijani’s quotidian practice that has been rigorously maintained over the last three decades, as artists abandon painting for other mediums, Makhijani has steadfastly remained engaged in realizing its limitless possibilities. Makhijani’s works have been exhibited worldwide, including at the Seventh Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) at the Queensland Art Gallery, Australia; The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi, India; Gemeentemuseum, Netherlands; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Australia and Kuntsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands.
All over the place, 1994
Glazed and unglazed ceramic
273" x 180" (Variable, installation in 63 parts)
All over the place, 1994
All over the place, 1994
All over the place, 1994
All over the place, 1994
Ah-h I don't think THAT! 2017
Gouache on paper
26 1/2" x 33 3/4"
Just IN Just OUT, 2018
Acrylic on engraved acrylic
13.75" x 30" (Variable, in 100 parts, Each 2" x 2" x 1")
Just IN Just OUT, 2018
Come with me, 2017
Gouache on paper
26 1/2" x 33 3/4" (in two parts )
So much for now, 2018
Oil on canva
68" x 84"
How blue is the sky, 2018
Oil on canvas
84” x 48''
Ah-h How about That, 2017
Gouache on paper
26 1/2" x 33 3/4"
That is what I was not exactly trying to do, 2018
Oil on canvas
72" x 84"
In front of me, 2018
Oil on canvas
48" x 84"
In front of me, 2018
How was I to know, 2018
Oil on canvas
78" x 78"
What do you think, 2017
Oil on canvas
60" x 68"
This that and the other, 2017
Gouache on paper
85" x 70"
(In 25 parts, each 13 3/4" x 17")
This that and the other, 2017
NOT here! 2016
Gouache on paper
14" x 17"
A little bit of everywhere, 2018
Oil on canvas
10" x 16 1/2"
A little bit of everywhere, 2018
Take it Out, 2016
Gouache on paper
13 3/4" x 17"
FACT ! 2016
Gouache on paper
13 3/4" x 17"
A little bit of this, 2018
Oil on canvas
10" x 16 1/2"
A little bit of this, 2018
Flying High, 2018
Acrylic on wall
