Krishna art and culture explored in Ghose lecture Sept. 13

04 Sep 2018    

The Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery will host a lecture titled “The Artists of Nathdwara: Traditions and Contexts” by Madhuvanti Ghose, Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan and Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, at 5 p.m., Sept. 13 in Room 11 of the Human Sciences Building on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's East Campus. The lecture is free and open to all and will be followed by a reception in the gallery on the building's second level.

Ghose’s talk is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Pigment on Cloth: Tradition, Family and the Art of Indian Pichvai Painting” now on view and continuing through Nov. 16 in the Hillestad Gallery. The exhibition introduces visitors to the historic Indian practice of pichvais, devotional paintings on cotton cloth that were originally made as temple hangings in Nathdwara, Rajasthan. The exhibition presents the work of one contemporary family of Nathdwara painters who represent the fifth, sixth and seventh generations of pichvais artists in their lineage. The exhibition documents their continuing creation of these visual narratives, many depicting events in the life of the Hindu god Krishna.

Ghose received a B.A. honours degree in history from the Presidency University in Calcutta, India. She graduated with a second B.A. first class degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK, specializing in Asian art and archaeology. Her doctoral dissertation on early Indian art was completed at the University of London in 2003. She then held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK.

Between 1998 and 2006, Ghose taught at the Universities of London, Oxford and Sussex in the UK and in 2008 at the University of Chicago. She was the Lecturer in South Asian art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, between 2004–06.

Ghose is the first Alsdorf Associate Curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, the second largest art museum in the United States. In 2008, she launched the museum’s Indian program with the inauguration of its Alsdorf Galleries of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan, and Islamic Art. Since then, she has curated several exhibitions at the museum, including the major loan exhibition “Gates of the Lord: The Tradition of Krishna Paintings” that focused on the pichvais traditions of the Pushtimarg sect of Hinduism. In conjunction with the exhibition, she edited the exhibition’s catalogue, published by the Art Institute and Yale University Press. Ghose continues to work with the traditional artists of Nathdwara, helping to promote an understanding of their work both within India and abroad.

Ghose has been the recipient of many international scholarships and awards including the Nehru Trust for Indian Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the Ancient India and Iran Trust; the Convocation Trust of the University of London; the government of the Republic of Turkmenistan; the Krietman Foundation; and the Rhoades Curatorial Fellowship.

In 2013 she was selected to be an honoree at the 10th Annual Breaking Barriers Awards, honoring Asian American women who are pioneers in their field in the Chicago area, sponsored by the Asian American Leadership Council of the Chicago Foundation for Women. In recognition of excellent service in the field of Indian art and culture, she was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Community Service Award by the Vishwa Gujarati Samaj USA, an organization that fosters interaction among Gujaratis in the Chicago area.

The Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery is located on the second floor of the Human Sciences Building on east campus, at 1650 N. 35th Street, part of the East Campus Loop (map at http://go.unl.edu/j5v). Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment. Admission is always free. Visitors may park in available visitor slots near the Human Sciences Building or in metered stalls located in the Nebraska East Union lot. For additional information, go to the gallery’s website at http://textilegallery.unl.edu.