Neville Tuli | |
---|---|
Born | 24 April 1964 |
Occupation | Founder Chairman, Osian's Group |
Alma mater | London School of Economics, London |
Subject | Indian Art, Art History[ citation needed ] |
Notable works | The Flamed Mosaic: Indian Contemporary Painting |
Neville Tuli (born 24 April 1964, England UK) is a pioneering author, [1] curator [2] and archivist, [3] active in the field of Arts and Cultural Heritage in India. [4] He studied at the London School of Economics and St. Catherine's College University of Oxford. He lived in England until he returned to India in 1993. [5] [6] [7]
In 1997 he wrote a book The Flamed Mosaic: Indian Contemporary Painting, [8] on the aesthetics and history of Indian Modern & Contemporary Painting in April 1997. [9]
Shivaji Pannikar in his book 'Towards a New Art History: studies in Indian art' referred to The Flamed Mosaic as the first comprehensive book written on Indian painting. [10] [11]
Ratan Parimoo's review of the book in Asia Art Archive referred to the book as 'substantial' and 'topical'. Parimoo wrote, "This book therefore is part of the international recognition and significance of contemporary Indian Art, in the lavish format in which it has been produced." [12]
Martin Kämpchen in his review published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said "One must be grateful for the compilation of the historical factual material, especially for the biographical outlines and the extensive bibliography on Indian painting. Tuli also introduces the majority of the painters through interviews; their works are illuminated by excerpts from essays and monographs." [13]
Chitra Sardesai at Mid Day commented in relation to The Flamed Mosaic and The Intuitive-Logic exhibition,"The panorama of contemporary Indian art as seen through these shows is the first of its kind and does much credit to the curator, Neville Tuli. It will be permanently remembered through the definitive book he has authored". [14]
Neville on the purpose of the book remarked, "It (a book) ought to have an energy all of its own. That energy has not been channelised in great depth in our country...in taking forward the new mind especially in the arts." [15]
Neville collaborated with The Hindu in 1999 and interviewed contemporary Indian artist Dr Gieve Patel [16] and historian, Professor Shadakshari Settar. [17] The interviews were published as a series of 4 articles and laid out the need for creating infrastructure for art in India. [18] [19]
Tuli founded TRIS in 2023 with the goal of sharing his knowledge base, archives and library in disciplines such as arts, cinema and more. TRIS organized its inaugural exhibition in March 2024, 'Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India' at the India International Centre Gallery (New Delhi) that showcased selected artifacts, digitized artworks, archives and memorabilia from the research center. [20] [21]
TRIS has a repository of archival material and books, rare and contemporary, which reflect Tuli's vision for a place of learning and discovery that is not influenced by external political or economic forces. Tuli's travel across India led him to meticulously photograph both celebrated landmarks as well as forgotten monuments. These photographic documents are now one of the cornerstones of TRIS [22] . The collection housed by TRIS includes modern and contemporary fine and popular arts and crafts, architectural heritage, Indian and world cinema, photography, ecological studies, animal welfare, and the social sciences [23] .
The Sunday Guardian referred to TRIS as more than just an academic institution and described TRIS as a testament to Neville Tuli’s lifelong dedication to preserving and promoting India’s cultural heritage. The Sunday Guardian reported, "The Centre’s primary focus is to illuminate the connections between India’s past and present, offering valuable perspectives on its complex identity through rigorous preservation and scholarly exploration." [23]
In 2013 Tuli and Osian's launched a website called osianama.com, containing information on Indian art along with a special search engine meant for Indian art. [24] [25] [26] [27]
Neville Tuli established Osian's Connoisseurs of Art (commonly referred as Osian's) in the year 2000. [28] From 2000 to 2019, Neville Tuli has curated over 40 Auctions. Through the art auctions and exhibitions, he widened the scope of India's contemporary arts' secondary market. In the process, the auctions introduced many Indian artists. [29] Further awareness for the popular arts, especially film memorabilia was created when it was placed on the same platform as Indian contemporary arts, Film and Popular Culture Auctions [30] [31] [32] Auctions of sports memorabilia further extended its aim of preserving cultural heritage and history. [33] [34] The exhibitions facilitated a new and sustainable infrastructure for placing the arts in the developmental framework of India. [35] [36] [37] Osian acquired the journal Cinemaya and the Cinefan festival in 2004 [38] where Aruna Vasudev continued to be the festival director. [38] [39] [40] [41]
Osian's sponsored the Osian's Art Fund in 2007 in Mumbai. The fund mobilised the investments collected INR 102.4 crores from 656 investors. [42] In 2008, the SEBI commenced litigation against Osian's due to its not having filed any papers for the art fund (Osian countered that their art fund did not fall under SEC's purview). In 2011, as investors from India and Dubai realized that they would not get their promised returns and were in danger of losing their principal, they started to file suits against Osian's art fund in Mumbai and in London. [43] [44]
In 1996, Tuli established a trust called "HEART" (The Tuli Foundation for Holistic Education & Art) [4] Its stated aim was "to help build a quality-conscious infrastructure for the Indian fine arts".
HEART started with a curated exhibition titled "The Intuitive Logic: A Festival of Indian Contemporary Painting". The exhibition evolved into a series of non-commercial exhibitions in New Delhi and Mumbai in collaboration with The British Council, Max Mueller Bhavan (now knowns as Goethe Institut), Cymroza Art Gallery, Gallery Chemould, Pundole Gallery and Prithvi Gallery. [6] The Mid-Day reported the festival saying, "For art lovers, this will be manna." [45]
"The Intuitive-logic II", the first curated auction, established record prices for many artists including Raja Ravi Varma whose painting - Begum's Bath, [46] fetched Rs. 32 lacs, [47] [48] [28] the highest price ever for a modern Indian painting then - also recorded in Limca book of records. [49]
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