Jitish Kallat
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Covering letter (Terranum Nuncius), 2019
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Ellipsis, 2018-20
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Continuum – Individualised Variation (According to an individual’s birthday or an anniversary), 2018
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Continuum – Individualised Variation (According to an individual’s birthday or an anniversary), 2018
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Rain Study (The Hour of the Day of the Month of the Season), 2018
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Wind Study (Chloroglobin), 2018
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Sightings D5M6Y2017, 2017
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Sightings, display view, 2016
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Sacred Geometry (Covariance), 2015-16
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The Eternal Gradient, 2015
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Circadian Rhyme-4, 2012-13
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Vertical Chronicle of a Turbulent Equilibrium, 2012
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Stations of a Pause, display view, 2011
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Public Notice 3, 2010
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Sweatopia (The Cry Of The Gland) 6 , 2010
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Autosaurus Tripous, 2007
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Death of distance, 2007
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Eclipse, 2007
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Public Notice 2, 2007
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Public Notice (Nehru Speech), 2003
b. 1974, in Mumbai, India
Jitish Kallat is among the most globally recognized and celebrated Indian contemporary artists, working across painting, sculpture, video, and photography, and he has been exhibiting with Chemould Prescott Road since 1997, less than a year after graduating from the Sir JJ School of Art in Bombay.
Kallat earned early acclaim as a painter, representing facets of daily life and
visual culture in the bustling city of Bombay (with 20 million + inhabitants) down to the most minute detail, and conveying the weight of history as well as the energy and ambition that drives this city that inspires his work. “The highly populated city of Bombay, where I live, is almost a theatre where the codes of daily existence are pushed to the extreme and this continually percolates my practice,” elaborates Kallat.
The timeless dilemma of the collective versus the individual manifests in Kallat’s work, and leaves viewers with a sense of responsibility to instigate positive change before history repeats itself. The natural elements in these urban works are distorted and disturbing, often evoking a sense of apocalyptic doom such as in the 2012 painting Allegory of the Endless Morning, where trees sprout from buildings and carnivorous birds attack each other.
As his painting career developed, Kallat began to add sculptural elements to the works such as bronze mounts that depict colonial era details from the 120-year-old Victoria Terminus station in the heart of the commercial district of Bombay. At times, these beautifully detailed brackets seem to vomit onto the canvases, bearing silent but attuned witness to the atrocities that urban life imposes upon migrant laborers traveling through the station’s doors.
Kallat’s work extends far beyond painting, and in recent years, he has been
celebrated for the scale of his sculpture, installation, and new media projects both in terms of their size, but also in terms of their research. The Lie of the Land and Humiliation Tax exhibited in Chicago in 2004 and at Gallery Chemould in 2005 explored a speech given by Swami Vivekanada given on September 11, 1893 at the Art Institute of Chicago, stressing the importance of religious tolerance, freedom, and universalism. Nearly seven years later in 2011, Kallat hit a seminal point in his career with a solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was here that he created the monumental installation Public Notice 3, a textbased work that recontextualized the idea of September 11th in America by recalling Vivekanada’s words and illuminating them on the grand steps of the museum using the bright colors of US Homeland Security threat level coding. Text has a long history in Kallat’s works, from the painted titles on his early paintings to his more recent installations that often use text as form. Public Notice 3 built upon Public Notice 2 from 2007, which created a sculpturalalphabet made of 4,500 cast fiberglass bones (an often-used motif in Kallat’s sculptures that remind viewers of humanity’s shared mortality) that spell out Gandhi’s famed March 11th, 1930 speech. At the first Kiev Biennale in 2012, Kallat created another critically acclaimed work entitled Covering Letter, a freestanding fog screen projection that revisits a 1939 letter from Gandhi to Hitler, allowing viewers to stand close to words from one of the world’s greatest advocates of peace who addresses Hitler as a “friend” under the ideology of universal friendship.
In addition to universal ideals and shedding light upon the plight of the ‘other,’ several of Kallat’s recent works are more personal, and call upon the viewer to find themselves in the work. In a haunting untitled work at Sculpture at Pilane, Sweden from 2010, Kallat created a 100 foot long sculpture of cast resin and steel bones which spell the phrase “When Will You Be Happy” in a historical burial ground in Sweden, putting desires that are often driven by consumerism into the important context of our human mortality. Kallat’s 2011 work Epilogue explores the 753 moon cycles that his father experienced in his lifetime by creating photographs of each moon cycle with the moons made of roti (the most basic form of bread in India) in various stages being eaten. Viewers can find themselves in the work through the moons they experienced in their lifetimes, depicted through 22,500 rotis labeled by month and year. While the work is incredibly personal to Kallat and distinct from his earlier bodies of work, it contextualizes viewers within the universe and compels them think about time, life, death, and the relationships forged during one’s lifespan, themes that Kallat poignantly explores throughout his diverse practice.
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On|Site | Entry Only
Group show 3 - 9 Mar 2021A collaborative project between four galleries at Bikaner House, New Delhi. Bikaner House, a former residence of the Maharaja of Bikaner in Rajasthan, retains its grand aura of a distinguished...Read more -
SOUTH SOUTH VEZA
Group show 24 Feb - 2 Mar 2021SOUTH SOUTH is an online community, an anthology, an archive and a resource for artists, galleries, curators and collectors invested in the Global South. In the often disputed battleground of...Read more -
Photo / Concept
Group show | In-Touch Edition II 5 Jun - 5 Jul 2020 -
Terranum Nuncius
Jitish Kallat 10 - 21 Jan 2020For ‘Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius) [2019–20], Kallat draws from the two phonographic Golden Records that were hoisted onto the legendary Voyager 1 and 2 space probes launched by NASA in...Read more -
Modus Operandi II
Group Show 18 Jul - 24 Aug 2019Synonymous with the first edition of Modus Operandi, where we brought together over 25 Chemould artists and their unique artistic language in dialogue with each other through various mediums, we...Read more -
Modus Operandi
Group Show 13 Jul - 18 Aug 2018This July, Chemould Prescott Road presents Modus Operandi, a show that has been devised by Shireen Gandhy and the Chemould team, brin ging together a large number of Chemould artists...Read more -
Sightings
Jitish Kallat 22 Feb - 1 Mar 2016The exhibition Sightings brings together an assembly of conceptual and sensory propositions through a suite of drawings, sculptures, photo-pieces and video. Seen throughout the exhibition are the themes of time,...Read more -
A Summer Mix
Group Show 20 May - 15 Jul 2015Aditi Singh | Anju Dodiya | Atul Dodiya | Bhuvanesh Gowda | Desmond Lazaro | Dhruvi Acharya | Gigi Scaria | Jitish Kallat | Lavanya Mani | Meera Devidayal |...Read more -
Aesthetic Bind: Citizen Artist: Forms of Address
50 Years of Chemould | Group Show 14 Oct - 15 Nov 2013The exhibition Citizen Artist: Forms of Address is the second of 5 exhibitions curated by Geeta Kapur, celebrating 50 years of Chemould. Gallery artists, Jitish Kallat, Rashid Rana, Shilpa Gupta,...Read more -
Stations of a Pause
Jitish Kallat 22 Mar - 5 May 2011One of the key sections of the show at Chemould Prescott Road addresses a very personal story. Kallat’s 750-part photographic work, titled 'Epilogue', tracing, his father's life through all the...Read more -
Sweatopia
Jitish Kallat 8 Dec 2007 - 4 Jan 2008Chemould Prescott Road and Bodhi Art jointly present Jitish Kallat's seventeenth solo exhibition, which also marks his debut solo at Gallery Chemould and Prithvi Gallery ten years ago. Jitish Kallat's...Read more -
crossing generations: diVERGE
40 Years of Chemould | Group Show 2 - 14 Dec 2003diVERGE is premised on the polyphony articulated by contemporary artists in India. Rather than zooming in to chart a convergent discourse, the exhibition pans over a diverse spectrum of subjectivities...Read more
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Aesthetic Bind
50 Years of Contemporary Art 2013 - 14 Softcover
Dimensions: 24 x 29 cm Read more -
crossing generations: diVERGE
40 Years of Gallery Chemould 2003 Softcover
Dimensions: 29.5 x 23 cm Read more -
Jitish Kallat
2018 Hardback
Publisher: Mapin
ISBN: 978-93-85360-28-2
Dimensions: 28 x 21 cm Read more -
Jitish Kallat Here After Here
1992-2017 NGMA - Retrospective 2017 Hardback
Dimensions: 25 x 18 cm Read more -
Mumbai Chicago
Jitish Kallat 2005 Softcover, 64 pages
Dimensions: 23 x 18cm Read more
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Art Basel 2022
Basel, Switzerland 13 - 19 Jun 2022Booth J10 Public days: Jun 13 - 19, 2022 We look forward to welcoming you once again in person to our booth at Art Basel...Read more -
India Art Fair 2022
New Delhi 28 Apr - 1 May 2022This year we look forward to returning to India Art Fair; presenting new works across multiple mediums created by nine of the gallery artists. Anju...Read more -
Art Basel 2021
Basel, Switzerland 20 - 26 Sep 2021Public days: Sep 20 - 26, 2021 We look forward to welcoming you once again in person to our booth at Art Basel 2021. Highlights...Read more -
Art Basel 2020
Online 17 - 26 Jun 2020Online Viewing Room Public days: June 19 - 26, 2020 VIP Preview: June 17 - 19, 2020 To access the Online Viewing Rooms, create an...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2020
Online 18 - 25 Mar 2020Online Viewing Room Public days: March 18 - 25, 2020 To access the Online Viewing Rooms, create an Art Basel Profile here Chemould Prescott...Read more -
India Art Fair 2020
New Delhi 30 Jan - 2 Feb 2020Public days: Jan 30 - Feb 2, 2020 Chemould Prescott Road presents a suite of works this year at India Art Fair 2020 that reflect...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2019
Hong Kong 29 - 31 Mar 2019Public days: March 29 - 31, 2019 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
India Art Fair 2019
New Delhi 31 Jan - 3 Feb 2019Public days: Jan 31 - Feb 3, 2019 Chemould Prescott Road presents a suite of works this year at India Art Fair 2019 that reflect...Read more -
Art Basel 2018
Basel, Switzerland 13 - 17 Jun 2018Chemould Prescott Road presents a suite of works this year at Art Basel that reflect the diverse sensibilities of its gallery programme. From Anju Dodiya...Read more -
Art Basel 2017
Basel, Switzerland 15 - 18 Jun 2017Public days: June 15 - 18, 2017 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel 2016 Unlimited
Basel, Switzerland 16 - 19 Jun 2016Public days: June 16 - 19, 2016 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Dubai 2016
Dubai, UAE 16 - 19 Mar 2016Public days: March 16 - 19, 2019 Participating artists include Archana Hande, Gigi Scaria, Jitish Kallat, Mehlli Gobhai, Reena Kallat and Shezad Dawood.Read more -
Art Basel 2015
Basel, Switzerland 18 - 21 Jun 2015Public days: June 18 - 21, 2015 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2015
Hong Kong 15 - 17 Mar 2015Public days: March 15 - 17, 2015 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel Miami 2014
Miami Beach 4 - 7 Dec 2014Public days: Dec 4 - 7, 2014 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel 2013 Unlimited
Basel, Switzerland 13 - 16 Jun 2013Public days: June 13 - 16, 2013 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2013
Hong Kong 23 - 26 May 2013Public days: March 15 - 17, 2015 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel Miami 2012
Miami Beach 6 - 9 Dec 2012Public days: Dec 6 - 9, 2012 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
Art Basel 2012 Unlimited
Basel, Switzerland 14 - 17 Jun 2012Public days: June 14 - 17, 2012 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
FIAC 2011
Paris, France 20 - 23 Oct 2011Public days: Oct 20 - 23, 2011 Chemould is honored to return to the Grand Palais in Paris for the 2011 Edition of Foire Internationale...Read more -
Art Basel Miami 2010
Miami Beach 2 - 5 Dec 2010Public days: Dec 2 - 5, 2010 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
FIAC 2010
Paris, France 21 - 24 Oct 2010Public days: Oct 21 - 24, 2010 Chemould is honored to return to the Grand Palais in Paris for the 2010 Edition of Foire Internationale...Read more -
Art Basel Miami 2008
Miami Beach 3 - 7 Dec 2008Public days: Dec 3 - 7, 2008 Chemould Prescott Road has a roster of senior, mid-career and young artists who have been part of the...Read more -
DIFC Gulf Art Fair 2007
Dubai, UAE 7 - 10 Mar 2007Public days: March 7 - 10, 2007 Chemould Prescott Road is delighted to present the works of seven artists, Tushar Joag, Anant Joshi, Jitish Kallat,...Read more