Reliving Van Gogh : A Cafe Exposition

Seema Kohli's works reveal a claiming of feminine subjectivities, an altered concept of feminine sexuality. Her works bring into focus a woman's physical attributes, her intellect, thought, dreams and realities. There is a celebration of beauty, sensuality and intimacy in her art. Her work validates in different mediums in the past eighteen years, some constant, being the search for the self, while other being an extension of her conceptual and creative growth as an artist and she works in both small and large formats with layers of drawings and colors.

Kohli’s works have been part of major international Art Fairs including Basel Art Fair 2010, Shanghai in 2010, at IAF she has been showcasing her artworks since 2010 Her presence in Venice Biennale 2013 was felt with her experiential videos Seema has recently been facilitated by Lalit Kala Akademi for being an achiever as a woman in Contemporary Indian Art. Kohli has received various awards among these citing a few are Gold at Florence Biennale 2009,1 Premio "Video, the YFLO Women Achiever’s Award, the LKA Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in 2008, Stree Shakti Award 2010. Her works are a part of various private and public spaces LKA, Melinda Bill Gates Foundation, Museums including Rubin’s Museum and MOSA-Brussels, Kochi Museum of Arts and many more.

Tayeba Begum Lipi was born in 1969 in Gaibandha, Bangladesh. She completed an MFA in drawing and painting at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1993. In 2002, she cofounded Britto Arts Trust, Bangladesh’s first artist-run alternative arts platform, dedicated to organizing exhibitions, enabling international dialogue and exchange, and providing support to the country’s artists through residencies, workshops, and funding. Lipi’s practice engages painting, printmaking, installation, and video to comment on themes including the politics of gender and female identity. Lipi was awarded Grand Prize at the Asian Art Biennial, Dhaka, in 2004. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2000); NICA, Yangon, Myanmar (2004); Gasworks International Residency Programme, London (2005); and Studio RM, Lahore, Pakistan (2008). She was the commissioner for the Bangladesh Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011) and one of the curators for the Kathmandu International Art Festival, Nepal (2012). Lipi lives and works in Dhaka.

Rahman has been a pioneer in Bangladesh of the cross-media approach. Mahbubur Rahman is part of a generation of Bangladeshi artists who have introduced new techniques, work and subject matters into their art. Born in 1969, he has had numerous solo exhibitions and exhibited widely internationally, including such major recent venues as the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy, and the 14th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh. He has also been artist- in-resident at colleges, museums and art centers in the UK, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Germany, Finland, Nepal, Korea and India. Rahman is the Founder-Trustee of Britto Arts Trust, a non-profit artist-run platform for artists in Bangladesh. Mahbubur Rahman took part in a number of residencies abroad, and notably to the Contemporary Art Japan residency in Saitama; JSW Residency in Kartanataka, India; Harmony Foundation, Reliance Mumbai, India; The LOFT Mumbai, India; Chang Moon Art Centre, South Korea; Sutra International Residency, Nepal; Jindal Township Karnataka, India; Cill Rialaig Project, Co. Kerry, Ireland; National Workshop for Arts and Crafts, Copenhagen; Cemeti Art Foundation, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland; Arts Council Jyvaskyla, Finland; Gasworks Residency, London; Gallery '68-elf', Cologne and HAT Artists' in Residency at Bristol University & Plymouth College of Art and Design UK.

Rahman has received numerous grants and awards, including the Shera Bangali by Star Anada (India, 2011); the Grand Award at the 9th Asian Art Biennale (1999, Bangladesh) and the Honorable Mention Awards in the 14th, 7th and 5th Asian Art Biennale, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Grand Prize at the 13th National Art Exhibition in 1998, as well as the Best Award in Sculpture in 1998, 1994 and 1990 at the Young Artists' Exhibitions hosted by Bangladesh Shilpakala academy.