Indian Contemporary Art Journal
Indian Contemporary Art Journal, commonly known as the Art Journal, is a quarterly art magazine published by Aarya Publication. The Art Journal is established in 2008 by Rajendra N Patil, a Mumbai-based art writer. The magazine has its origins in the BAS Art Journal, which had been published annually by the Bombay Art Society (BAS) since 1910, primarily in conjunction with the All-India annual art Exhibition. The BAS Art Journal was distributed exclusively among the society’s life members. Rajendra had been editing the Art Journal of the Bombay Art Society since 2004 as an annual issue. However, in 2008, the decision was made to transform the Art Journal into a quarterly publication, but unfortunately, it couldn’t sustain that frequency due to institutional changes within the Bombay Art Society, leading to the discontinuation of the journal in the same year.
During this period, Rajendra N Patil, who was a committee member of the Bombay Art Society and had been editing the BAS Art Journal, took the initiative to rename and revive it as the ‘Indian Contemporary Art Journal.’ With this decision, he assumed the roles of both publisher and editor for the magazine.
Each quarterly issue of the Art Journal carries exhibition reviews, interviews with prominent artists, artists’ profiles, in-depth essays by critics, curators, and art writers, as well as articles and reports on current events and the art market contributed by writers from different parts of India and the world.
The print edition of the Art Journal has a significant readership, reaching approximately 200,000 individuals. This diverse readership includes art collectors, dealers, historians, artists, art students, museum directors, curators, connoisseurs, architects, interior designers, and corporate art enthusiasts. Copies of the Art Journal are also available for purchase at major art galleries in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Baroda, and other cities.
Art Journal aims to promote emerging talent alongside established and master artists. As part of its mission, the magazine actively seeks out and showcases talented artists who deserve recognition but have remained unappreciated and underrepresented.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the print edition of the Art Journal was temporarily halted in 2020, prompting the magazine to shift its focus to an online edition. However, as of January 2021, the print edition resumed alongside the digital edition, which is now circulated among subscribers and available at art gallery bookstalls. By offering both print and digital editions, the Art Journal has expanded its reach to a wider audience, ensuring a broader impact on the art community.
Founder Editor
Rajendra N Patil is known for his multifaceted roles as the President of the Bombay Art Society, Editor & Publisher of the Indian Contemporary Art Journal, and Founder Director of the India Art Festival, a domestic Indian Art Fair. With unwavering commitment and a deep passion for promoting the arts, Rajendra Patil has made a significant impact on the Indian contemporary art scene.
Pioneering the Indian Contemporary Art Journal, a quarterly art magazine in 2008, Rajendra embarked on a mission to provide a platform for artists, critics, and enthusiasts to engage with contemporary art. Prior to this, he served as the editor of the renowned Bombay Art Society’s Art Journal from 2003 to 2008, honing his skills in curating compelling content and nurturing artistic discourse.
The India Art Festival, founded by Rajendra Patil in 2011 along with legendary artist Prafulla Dahanukar and Dr. Saryu Doshi, stands as a testament to his visionary leadership. Starting in Mumbai, this modern and contemporary art fair has swiftly risen to prominence, captivating art enthusiasts, collectors, and galleries from across India. Rajendra’s innovative approach transformed the art festival into a nationwide movement; apart from Mumbai, now editions of the art festival are being held in other major cities such as New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Rajendra Patil is an accomplished writer, known for his thought-provoking columns in various publications. His exceptional insights and interviewing prowess have led to engaging conversations with luminaries in the art world, including Laxman Shreshta, Bose Krishnamachari, Samir Mondal, Riyas Komu, T. V. Santhosh, Prabhakar Kolte, Chittrovanu Majumdar, G.R. Iranna, Atul Dodiya, Sunil Gawade, Prafulla Dahanukar, Sunil Padwal, Suhas Bahulkar, Vasudeo Kamat, Ravi Mandlik, and many others.
His writings on art have been featured in publications such as Maharashtra Times, Mumbai Sakal, Tarun Bharat, LokPrabha, Nandan, Metropolis, Every Tuesday, Art India, Creative Mind, and Art & Deal, among others. Rajendra’s literary contributions extend beyond newspaper columns, as he has penned compelling catalogue essays for numerous artists.
Rajendra holds a diverse range of qualifications, including a master’s degree in Ancient Indian Culture from Mumbai University, a B.Sc. from Pune University, and a B. Tech from Mumbai University.
Consulting Editor
Minakshi Patil, a gold-medallist at M.A-Marathi Literature & Aesthetics from Mumbai University has been instrumental in exploring the creative expression and inquiry at the crossroads of visual art, poetry and music.
Minakshi Patil, a diligent scholar with a profound interest in Marathi literature, embarked on a rigorous academic journey that culminated in the acquisition of her doctorate from the esteemed University of Mumbai. The subject of her doctorate was a thought-provoking exploration: an in-depth and meticulous analysis of poems penned by several prominent poets after the year 1980, examining their connection to the postmodernist movement. Throughout her research, she delved into the intricacies of postmodernism and its impact on the literary expressions of these selected poets, unraveling the nuances of their poetic creations with astute precision and insightful interpretations.
In order to explore how poetry responds to the visual arts, and the visual arts reacts to poetry and influence each other, Minakshi has mounted many fusion shows since 2004 bringing poets, artists, musicians together. The symphonic co-existence of visual art and poetry has seen wonderfully creative results at the fusion shows Minakshi has organised at various venues.
Minakshi, herself an artist, poet-writer and documentary filmmaker juggles with multiple disciplines. Her documentary film on ‘Social impact of climate change’ has won accolades and was selected in World Bank competition’ as top 15 documentaries in hundreds of entries from the world over.
Her poetry collection book ‘Is it in your DNA’ is published by Abhidhanantar Publication. Minakshi’s creative and analytical writings, poems, essays have been published in various newspapers and literary magazines since 1995 and her poems are included in the senior college art faculty curriculum of SNDT University, Mumbai.
This broad spectrum of her personal and creative life generated in her a kind of aesthetic commitment that is reflected in her poetry, paintings and the time she devote to Art Journal to make it a serious literary work.
Mission Statement
Regional identity in the field of plastic arts has composite impressions that are both bewildering and aesthetically a wonderment. The means, concepts and media that are altered in its multitudes is a notable fact. The Art Journal aims to presents a vicissitude of regional praxis belonging not only to different geographies but separate timelines bridging the gaps for nuanced perception of art from Indian peninsular. The individual practices and institutional developments are happening consistently Art Journal facilitate to enhance the creator – viewer dialogues.
The fabric of Indian contemporary art has simultaneous strands of the international feats of the artists, sustained affinity for modernist values and the lacunae of representing the marginalized practices geographically as well as conceptually. The corsage of the Art Journal brings in a variety of such notes through reviews, interviews and articles.
Artists as altruists could be a double-edged sword. Protecting and conducting one’s self in the society and sustaining the creative practice have been an eternal struggle for the artists since ages. The Art Journal engavours to record such seminal moments from the recent and colonial past from the timeline of Indian Art that enumerates the feats of the artists.
The field of visual arts is witnessing distinct shifts in the modes of making and sharing, providing insights into the creative life of individuals and the relationships with the viewer. The viewer, the consumer or the user of the digital world is increasingly gaining a prominent place and consideration in the current discourse of visual dissemination. A variety of initiatives in the recent times is being shaped to design and device the experiential element into exhibition format. Art Journal explores such reflections in the orbit of visual arts providing an accessible window to the fields’ inter-action.
The Art Journal mission also includes consistent efforts to foster a connection between the dialogues amongst the contemporary and the traditional art practices along with the evolutionary milestones. Art Journal maintains its dedication to present and support artists from all walks of the society through expected documentation and valuable insights.