Bring Me A Lion:
An Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art

March 19 - April 16, 2010
Curated by Jeffrey Hughes and Dana Turkovic

Jaishri Abichandani

Dhruvi Acharya

Rina Banerjee

Chitra Ganesh

Tushar Joag

Jitish Kallat

Reena Saini Kallat

Bari Kumar

Yamini Nayar

Rakhi Peswani

The competing forces of tradition and modernity, indigence and diasporas, village economies and international capitalism are primary discourses in contemporary Indian culture. Bring me a Lion seeks to investigate some of these multiple dualities mirrored in the recent art of India. The emblem of the Republic of India is based on Ashoka’s Lion Capital (c. 250 BCE), presently in the Sarnath Museum. Placed atop a pillar to commemorate the Buddha’s first sermon, the capital displays four apposing majestic Asiatic Lions. The lions signify the great Emperor Ashoka and also Gautama, the lion of the Sakya clan - a combining of militarist might and the Buddha’s peaceful message of the Middle Way. Stories of both the grandeur and foibles of lions appear repeatedly in the Hitopadesha and other Sanskritic texts. The powerful Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion avatara of Vishnu, symbolizes the dual nature of times, places and the omnipresence of the sacred. The lion is therefore a fitting metaphor for the many sides of contemporary Indian art and culture. JH

We are indebted to the Arthur and Helen Baer Charitable Foundation for its major financial support for this exhibition. Our thanks also go to the Missouri Arts Council, and the Regional Arts Commission for their generous support.