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Uma Nair on Muck Rack

Uma Nair

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New Delhi
As seen in: The Economic Times, The Times of India, MDPI, The Indian Express, The Hindu, Tribune (India), The New Indian Express, The Quint, Scroll.in, The Wire (India) and
Architectural Digest India , The Hindu ,Pioneer Daily ,Economic Times Asian Age TOI Author art critic , curator waiting in the dark -gospel singer by day..
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Uma Nair’s Biography

CURATOR AND CRITIC UMA NAIR

Writing for nearly 3 decades on contemporary Indian art can chisel one’s thoughts and provide an arsenal that brims on the volume and power of memory.Having penned reviews and observations for major newspapers like Economic Times ,Hindustan Times and Asian Age Uma Nair believes no writing can happen without research.

Nair’s monograph on Arpita Singh’s Wishdream was an essay that was penned as far back as 2005 but published by Saffronart in 2010.Nair’s admiration for Sanjay Bhattacharyya’s works goes back to two decades when she would visit all his solo showings.

In an art world obsessed with installations and art writing in media reduced to barefoot journalism Nair feels art needs to be studied with a certain cerebral absorption .A lot art in India has been reduced to wanton colour strokes with no depth and nearly absent experience. Nair’s notes on Sanjay span nearly two decades and she was able to pick and preen into his past through the prism of the present.In 2012 she curated Sanjay Bhattacharyya’s epic showing of Krishna at Religare in Delhi.

Nair believes that curating too is an exercise that must go beyond the books and walls.It must invite bouquets and brickbats,it must probe the darker secrets of an artist’s sensibility.Nair’s most important curatorial venture has been with the Lalit Kala Akademi in a show called Moderns that has been sent to Jordan, Berlin and Vienna .She is currently researching the archives of the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi.Nair respects the Bengal School for its grammar and compositional clarity.Nair’s last book was Reverie with Raza for Akar Prakar and Mapin Publiscations.