Vikrant Bhise's Exhibition at Anant Art Gallery Explores Dalit Struggle Through Figurative Painting

Vikrant Bhise's figurative paintings were exhibited at Anant Art Gallery in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. His large-scale canvases address themes of justice and equality, connecting Dalit experiences with global struggles. The exhibition 'Sense and Sensibilities: A Reflective Realisation' featured works like 'Chaityabhumi: Assembly of the Parinibban of Great Being' (2023), depicting the Mumbai site where Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was cremated, visited by over a million people each December. Bhise's 'Archival Historicity/Dalit Panthers' series (2023) comprises 100 gouache paintings arranged in a pyramid, documenting the Dalit movement's history. His work also references Martin Luther King Jr. and Palestinian struggles, such as 'Gaza Anarchy: Women & Children' (2023), framing these conflicts as battles against casteist feudal states. Bhise employs a cerulean blue palette as a political metaphor for the expansive sky sheltering the homeless. Suraj Yengde, a W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow at Harvard University and doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford, authored the article 'Caste Matters' (2019). The Dalit community's history, preserved through art and groups like the Dalit Panthers and Samata Sainik Dal, remains central to Bhise's artistic investigation.