Even in its traditional avatar, the black-and-white board with its intricately carved pieces has always summoned up images of battlefield and warfare, strategic game-play and patient manoeuvres. Chess is a game that leaves itself open to interpretations, holding multitude of stories and meanings within its curiously anthropomorphic pieces and rich past.
So when art curator and promoter Sharan Apparao asked 25 artists to visit this game and then create their own versions, what emerged was an exciting and unique group exhibition titled ‘The Art of Chess’, presented by Apparao Galleries. Fascinated for years with the idea of working with artists and chessboards, Apparao said, “Right through history there have been artists who have been inspired by the game of chess. Max Ernst made a chessboard and so did Marcel Duchamp. I recently heard that Damien Hirst and some other artists had done so too. I had always thought I’d like to use the idea. And it kept coming back, visiting and revisiting me, in different things I read or heard.”
Sharan added that, for the last few years, the gallery had been more focussed on thematic shows. “The more I thought about it, the more I felt that we should do a group show where we would be able to showcase artists of different lines. Chess was one of the ideas, and with the game and Viswanathan Anand making headlines in India, I was even more inspired and decided to go with the idea.”
The brief, Sharan says, was simple. Each artist was asked to create a chessboard, which was a sculpture and also playable. The brief chalked out a light boundary for the artists and the results are strikingly varied, and the direction of each taken unique. Ceramic, clay, laddoos, steel, wood, newspapers, glass, Braille — each board is constructed with material and concepts which, before they made it on the board, were objects rarely associated with chess. On the board though, they come alive, and weave in interesting ways with the game’s own concepts.
Auroville-based artist Adil Writer avoids the conventional black and white on his chessboard, opting for monochromes and shades of grey, and uses the media he loves to work with — soda-fired clay; inlaid aged wood; polished and burnished metal, acrylic on canvas… each piece is an abstract, reminiscent of ancient sculptures, now in ruins. Writer has created six different boards for the exhibition. Titled ‘The Immortal Game’, his pieces explore the idea of duality, of evil and good, or grey areas and abstractions.
While Writer’s work invokes a kind of timeless, borderless world, Uma Shankar Pathak’s chessboard invokes the world of Mahabharata, the ancient game of Chaupar and the Dwapar Yuga. Pathak too works with mixed media, using LED lights, digital prints and wooden chairs to create his sculpture. Interestingly, Pathak uses pictures of famous historical figures from India and abroad — Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and many more — on the board, and chairs to symbolise a discussion of conflicting opinions.
With both conceptual and literal interpretations, the exhibition is populated by pieces that capture both imagination and attention. Whether it is Chennai-based George K.’s board that uses laddoos as chess pieces, or N. Ramachandran’s vertical and metallic boards that use newspapers and high strength magnets, the exhibition reels you in. Once you get closer, the pieces reveal their stories, the layers peel off and the initial fascination gives way to understanding and appreciation.
Currently displayed in Apparao Galleries in Delhi, part of the collection was also on view at the recent India Art Fair in Delhi. “The response at the fair was fabulous. With so many booths and artists at the fair, something about your booth has to capture the imagination. No other booth had such a thematic focus, and people just loved the idea”, said Apparao.
Apparao also hopes to have other editions of this show. “I have worked with a lot of artists and I chose some names who I knew would have both the capacity and the inclination towards a show like this. I also asked people I hadn’t worked with but instinct told me they’d be interested and add aesthetic value to the show. Some people I asked said no. When they came to the exhibition, they said that they wished they hadn’t refused.” Sharan hopes to make these artists, as well as others who have expressed interest, a part of the exhibition in its next edition.
Apparao is trying to fix a schedule to take the exhibition across the country, and hopefully abroad. “On February 26, we are showing around 10 sets at the Leela Galleria, Bengaluru. Then we are hoping to do a summer show in Chennai through May, June, and July. We are also working on taking it to Hyderabad, Jaipur and Kolkata, as well as to a few places outside the country. It’s a big exhibition to travel with and, even if we can’t take everything, we will take as many pieces as we can.
The show, ‘Art of Chess’, at Apparao Galleries, New Delhi, will travel to Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Kolkata.
