MANHATTAN — Thanks to research from a Kansas State University professor in the ’80s, the university has a collection of art from Indian printmakers that will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
“Printing Beyond Borders: Contemporary Indian Prints at Kansas State University” will run from Aug. 13, 2024, through May 31, 2025, in the Marion Pelton Gallery in the Beach Museum of Art.
This exhibition showcases prints by Indian printmakers active in the 20th century. Charles Stroh, who was head of K-State’s art department between 1980 and 1989, acquired the works for the K-State art collection. Between 1984 and 1985, he traveled to India to do research on the state of Indian printmaking. A few years later, he made a second trip to give talks and teach workshops.
In 1987, Stroh organized a traveling exhibition of Indian prints with K-State’s first professional art curator, Jessica Reichman. He also invited some of the Indian artists he met to K-State and Western Michigan University.
“Charles Stroh was one of the earliest American scholars to recognize the significance of Indian printmakers and their international connections,” said Aileen June Wang, exhibition organizer. “His research and the friendships that he formed with these artists drew Kansas into a thriving global art network.”
The first rotation of this exhibition, on display from August to December, focuses on the institutions, artist collectives and printmaking networks that developed in India. Stroh’s notes included personal interviews with such prominent figures in the Indian art community as Somnath Hore, Jyoti Bhatt, K. Laxma Goud and Devraj Dakoji.
The second rotation, displaying another set of prints from January to May 2025, outlines the global scope of Indian printmaking between the 1950s and 1980s. This rotation emphasizes the training of Indian printmakers at international institutions and shows how those collaborations affected the state of the art in India.
“This exhibition is significant in that it shines a much-deserved light on not only the work of printmakers from India but also the far-reaching research of Charles Stroh,” said Kent Michael Smith, museum director. “We celebrate this relationship that has been bridged by the important research done through Kansas State University.”
This exhibition is curated by Vidhita Raina and Michael VanHartingsveldt from the Kress Department of Art History at the University of Kansas. Margo Kren supported their research.
Related free public events at the Beach Museum of Art include Storytelling: Arts of India from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, November 14, and India: A Cultural Celebration from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 13, 2025.
“Printing Beyond Borders: Contemporary Indian Prints at Kansas State University” is sponsored by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation’s Lincoln and Dorothy I. Deihl Community Grants Program.
The Beach Museum of Art is on the southeast corner of the K-State campus at 701 Beach Lane. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission to the museum is free, and free parking is available adjacent to the building. To catch a livestream event or view exhibitions online, visit the museum’s website, or watch videos of the museum’s special programs and events on its YouTube channel. For a calendar of programs and events, visit the museum’s calendar.
You must be logged in to post a comment.