OCT 18 – JAN 3, E.T and Others

ATUL DODIYA, metal shop shutters


Direct from the Reina Sofia National Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid comes a solo exhibition by Atul Dodiya. Mr. Dodiya’s latest works feature paintings on metal roller shutters. Mr. Dodiya will be coming from India for the opening reception, October 18th from 7–10pm.

Walsh Gallery is thrilled to announce the opening of “E.T and others”, a solo exhibition by Atul Dodiya which comes straight from Reina Sofia National Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid. It highlights the majestic possibilities of the marriage between painting and installation. Mr Dodiya has chosen the shopkeeper’s metal shutters as his canvas. Underneath the painted shutter is a second painting that although initially obscured can be seen once the shutter is rolled up. Five of these large nine by six foot shutter structures will be on display along with a series of watercolor paintings as well.

What most characterizes Mr. Dodiya’s work is an unfailing sense of wit and social commentary combined with a masterful painting style which is able to evoke such disparate reactions in the viewer as laughter, disgust, joy, and unease. He moves effortlessly between a post–colonial society in India filled with contradictions and an intimate narrative style. He engages a wide range of influences from Indian and Western traditions such as comic strips, religious icons and movie posters. He also directly quotes from his favorite paintings made by: Richter, Beuys, Brancusi, and Benode Behari Mukherejee. Ultimately, Mr. Dodiya deals with a world of both physical and spiritual contradictions. His shutter series is the perfect embodiment of these thwarted desires in life.

Mr. Dodiya’s work has been seen throughout the world at exhibitions at the Tate (London), Reina Sofia (Madrid), Queens Museum of Art (New York), The Contemporary Art Museum (Houston), Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), The 2001 Yokohama Triennale (Yokohama), and the Japan Foundation Asian Center (Tokyo).