Chitra Ganesh
She, the question
15 June–30 September 2012
Göteborgs Konsthall
Götaplatsen
SE-412 56 Göteborg
Sweden
T +46 31 368 34 50
goteborgs.konsthall [at] kultur.goteborg.se
For the first time in Scandinavia, Göteborgs Konsthall presents a solo-exhibition by the internationally acclaimed artist Chitra Ganesh (b. 1975). This visually vibrant exhibition features a generous selection of works in drawing, video, photography, and collage. In addition, a range of works will be produced exclusively for Göteborgs Konsthall.
Chitra Ganesh, of Indian origin, born and brought up in the USA, garners her inspiration from a rich palette of references. Her works are centered on mythologies and epic narratives of Hindu, Greek, and Buddhist origin as well as more contemporary visual expressions from Bollywood, 1960s psychedelia, science fiction, feminist fanzines, and comic books. Ganesh narrates a space where myth encounters history. With a steady hand, Ganesh dissects the epic narratives and positions the female characters, who usually operate at the margins of the heroic myths, as central protagonists. In her imagery, women are powerful rebels who challenge their own destinies and those of others in imaginative and erotically-charged stories with surrealist features.
Chitra Ganesh received her BA from Brown University in 1996 in Comparative Literature and Art-Semiotics, and her MFA from Colombia University in 2002. Early in her career, Ganesh became interested in the encounter between visual- and text-based narratives. Thus, several of her works are centred on text, guiding the viewer through the course of history and a world filled with power struggles, desire, lust, and loss.
For many years Chitra Ganesh has worked with the organisation South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC), which is dedicated to enhance the visibility and further the advancement of South Asian women artists. Ganesh has exhibited at, among others, PS1 MoMA, New York; Brooklyn Museum; and The Andy Warhol Museum, New York; as well as internationally at Saatchi Gallery, London and Gwangju Contemporary Art Museum, South Korea. In 2012 she was the recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
