Art Institute of Chicago to showcase Lord Krishna

The prestigious Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) is showcasing Lord Krishna in the “Gates of the Lord: The Tradition of Krishna Paintings” exhibition from September 13 to January three next.

This first of its kind exhibition will reportedly include over 100 artworks from India and USA, “including pichvais—intricately painted cloth hangings—celebrating Shrinathji, a form of the Hindu god Krishna” and displaying “art and aesthetics of the Pushtimarg sect of Hinduism”, founded in the 16th century by Vallabhacharya. It will also contain drawings, paintings, miniatures and historic photographs.

Festival and devotional music, a shrine reconstruction, touchscreen kiosks, religious manuscripts, an artist’s sketchbook, a historic photo album, illustrated catalogue, concert, art activities, celebrations of Hindu festivals of Navratri and Diwali, costumed dancer, Garba, Dandiya Raas, community dance, etc., will also be associated with this exhibition.

Commending AIC for plans to exhibit Lord Krishna, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

Founded in 1879, AIC, one of the leading fine-arts institutions in USA in about nearly one million square feet, receives about 1.5 million visitors annually from world over and has about 300,000 artworks in its permanent collection and eleven curatorial departments. Douglas Druick is Museum Director while Madhuvanti Ghose is Curator of this exhibition.

Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu and subject of major Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord) and Bhagavad-Purana.