Parsec

About

The exhibition features works by 19 Indian artists including Aaiushi Beniwal, Alexander Gorlizki, Messrs Prabhakar B. Bhagwat, Deepak Agasthya, Indrapramit Roy, Jyoti Bhatt, K. G. Subramanyan, Kadamboor Neeraj, Kaizad Modi, Mrugen Rathod, Nihaal Faizal, Rekha Rodwittiya, Roshan Chhabria, Sarasija Subramanian, Shilpa Rangnekar, Teja Gavankar, Vasudevan Akkitham, Vimal Ambaliya, Walter D’Souza. As Gallery Ark's final exhibition, Parsec bookends the gallery’s journey with an expansive curation of artworks by artists who have moulded the organisation’s growth as one of Vadodara’s leading cultural spaces. The ambitious curation brings together works by senior artists who have played a pivotal role in shaping the course of modern and contemporary Indian art as well as younger, emerging artists with compelling practices that hold a light to the future. The exhibition is a panoramic view of a rich melange of practices with the impressive Ark building as the backdrop. 

The title of the show - Parsec - is a reference to a unit measure of distance, equal to 3.26 lightyears, most famously referenced in the Star Wars movies as a measure of time – “[the Millenium Falcon] made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs”. The word itself is a portmanteau derived from two words, ‘Parallax’ and ‘Second’ respectively, and literally means ‘a parallax of one second’. 

In the context of the exhibition, Parsec alludes to the Ark organisation’s evolution through the experience of platforming myriad practices and sharing these with an audience whose experiences of receiving these has shaped the cornerstones for the next chapter. 

Talking about the exhibition Nupur Dalmia shares -  “Gallery Ark opened in May 2017 with our first show, Walter & Friends, a salute to Walter D'Souza and his many artistic and structural interventions within key areas of our space in Vadodara. Four and a half years later, we find ourselves at an exciting cusp of transitioning from Gallery Ark to Ark Foundation. With the support of vibrant and diverse creative forces, including those represented in Parsec, our vision for Ark has been distilled into a clear mandate that aims to create opportunities for a widespread and dynamic engagement with the arts, using narratives centred in Vadodara's visual art oeuvre. As Gallery Ark's final exhibition, Parsec commemorates the many journeys – those of Gallery Ark, its patrons, and team – that have truly inspired our conviction in Ark's vision going forward. The exhibition therefore, has been conceptualised as a manner of honouring the people who have played significant roles in moulding my experience in the industry, and as well been instrumental in building the dream that is our vision for the Ark Foundation.”

Parsec will be documented within a larger publication that will be released towards the end of 2022, and will include a full catalogue of this exhibition, a brief history of Ark's programme with essays by some of India’s leading cultural thinkers and friends of the Ark organisation.