Avatar: Forms of Vishnu

[Chaitanya Sambrani]

 Dear AN4AA Community,

It is with great pleasure that we share the announcement of a major exhibition of Asian art coming up at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. After three+ years of development, Avatar: Forms of Vishnu will open on 20 June and will be on view until 5 October. https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/media-office/avatar/

Bringing together 200+ works of art from 12 Australian and international museum collections, Avatar features extraordinary paintings, sculptures, textiles, prints, and photographs made in honour of Vishnu, the deity responsible for the maintenance of dharma (order, morality, righteousness) in the world. Covering 15 centuries of art practice and including contemporary works by Gitanjali Das, Kalam Patua, Desmond Lazaro, Jumaadi and Sumakshi Singh, the exhibition embraces a diversity of narrative traditions and a plurality of art forms across South and Southeast Asia.

https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/avatar/

Descending to earth in times of crisis, Vishnu manifests in a variety of animal, human and hybrid forms. Preceding by millennia the contemporary currency of the term, avatar (Sanskrit) denotes descent, whereby the divine manifests in the phenomenal world of human experience. A consideration of the avatars of Vishnu in all their diversity reveals much about the accretive formation of traditions across South and Southeast Asia. The polymorphous narrative traditions surrounding these avatars provide vital insights into civilisational ideals, moral precepts, ethical principles and political processes that remain resonant in the lives of many hundreds of millions today.

https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/event/avatar-forms-of-vishnu

We look forward to welcoming you to the exhibition.

Best regards,

Chaitanya Sambrani and Melanie Eastburn