There is so much going on this year in the SF Bay Area around South Asian art – it’s all quite exciting! First up is a new exhibition of contemporary Indian art, The Matter Within, at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts. After the success of the excellent exhibition, Roots Below, Branches Above, on display last spring and summer at the San Jose Museum of Art, there was a good deal of energy generated in the Bay Area around contemporary Indian art. The YBCA regularly brings together excellent groups of artists, and this new show seems to be no exception! I am particularly excited to see Pushpamala N‘s contribution as I have always been a fan of her photographs. Here, a collaboration with Claire Arni, their take on Raja Ravi Varma’s classic image of Lakshmi…

Up next is the UC Berkeley Baatcheet that will link up with the Guftugu on contemporary Pakistani art. All this is happening Sunday, October 16 at the Berkeley Art Museum.

Amongst other exciting events for October include the opening of the Asian Art Museum’s Maharaja exhibition on October 21! Of particular interest is Sanjay Patel’s interpretation of the maharaja theme on the museum’s exterior and in a special gallery. According to a recent NY Times article, the inclusion of Patel’s work in the events surroundings the exhibition is an attempt on the part of the museum to draw new and younger audiences. Too soon to tell whether or not that will solve the museum’s financial dilemmas, however, I applaud the museum’s bold choice of covering their gray stone exterior with Patel’s brightly colored images!