Geeta Kapur (born 1943) is a noted

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

based in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. She was one of the pioneers of critical art writing in India, and who, as ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' noted, has "dominated the field of Indian contemporary art theory for three decades now". Her writings include artists' monographs, exhibition catalogues, books, and sets of widely anthologized essays on art, film, and cultural theory. She has written various books, including ''Contemporary Indian Artists'' (1978), ''When Was Modernism: Essays on Contemporary Cultural Practice in India'' (2000) and ''Critic’s Compass: Navigating Practice'' (forthcoming). She is one of the founder-editors of ''Journal of Arts & Ideas'' (Delhi). She has also been on the advisory boards of ''Third Text'' (London)'', Marg'' (Mumbai)'','' and ''ARTMargins''. She was a jury member of the Biennales of Venice (2005),

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

(2006), and Sharjah (2007). She is a member of the Asian Art Council at the Guggenheim Museum, Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong, and the

Kochi-Muziris Biennale The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art held in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is the largest art exhibition in the country and the biggest contemporary art festival in Asia. The Kochi-Muziris Bienna ...

. She is a Trustee of the Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation (SSAF), Delhi, and the series editor of Art Documents (SSAF–

Tulika Books Tulika Books is a New Delhi-based independent publisher of scholarly and academic books in the humanities and social sciences, with a "broadly left perspective." The Chennai-based Tulika Publishers is a sister company of Tulika Books. History ...

). She was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

for her contribution to Art by the Government of India in 2009. She has previously taught at a number of universities, including the Indian Institutes of Technology and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her husband is artist,

Vivan Sundaram Vivan Sundaram (born 28 May 1943) is an Indian contemporary artist. His parents were Kalyan Sundaram, Chairman of Law Commission of India from 1968 to 1971, and Indira Sher-Gil, sister of noted Indian modern artist Amrita Sher-Gil. He is mar ...

. In 2011, Hong Kong-based Asia Art Archive (AAA) digitized their archive and held an exhibition titled, ''Another Life'' at the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

, New Delhi in February 2011.

Biography

Geeta Kapur was born in 1943, to

M. N. Kapur Mahendra Nath Kapur (December 1910 - March 1994) was an Indian educator. He served as Principal of Modern School, New Delhi, for thirty years. For his contribution to the field of education, he received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civil ...

and Amrita Kapur. Theatre director

Anuradha Kapur Anuradha Kapur is an Indian theatre director and professor of drama. She taught at the National School of Drama (NSD) for over three decades and was the Director of National School of Drama for six years (2007–2013). For her work as a theatr ...

is her younger sister. She grew up on the campus of Modern School, New Delhi, where her father was Principal from 1947 to 1977. Her husband is installation artist

. She was born in New Delhi, where she continues to live and work. Kapur holds a Bachelor’s degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from

Miranda House Miranda House is a constituent college for women at the University of Delhi in India. Established in 1948, it is one of the top ranked colleges of the country and ranked as number 1 for consecutively six years (as of 2022). History Miranda ...

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

(1962); a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, New York (1964); and a Master’s degree in Criticism from the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

, London (1970). She taught in the Humanities and Social Sciences department of

IIT Delhi The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technolo ...

from 1967 to 1973. She lectures internationally and has held Visiting Fellowships at the

Indian Institute of Advanced Study The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute located in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965. History and establishment The ...

in Shimla, Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, and

Nehru Memorial Museum & Library The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous ins ...

in Teen Murti, New Delhi.Geeta Kapur, Curator, Writer
InIVA website.

Curated exhibitions

* ''Pictorial Space'',

Rabindra Bhavan The Rabindra Parishad is a multi-purpose cultural centre on Beer Chand Patel Path in Patna, India. Overview Named after Rabindranath Tagore, it was established in 1948. The building contains a musical school (known as Geet Bhawan), a library w ...

, Delhi, 1977. * ''Focus: 4 Painters 4 Directions'', Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, 1979. * '' Contemporary Indian Art'',

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

, London, 1982 (with Richard Bartholomew and

Akbar Padamsee Akbar Padamsee (12 April 1928 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian artist and painter, considered one of the pioneers in modern Indian painting along with S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza and M.F. Husain. Over the years he also worked with various mediums ...

). * ''Hundred Years: From the NGMA Collection'',

National Gallery of Modern Art National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, New Delhi, 1994. *Dispossession' in Africus: Johannesburg Biennale'', Transitional Metropolitan Council, Johannesburg, 1995 (with Shireen Gandhy) * ''Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis'',

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

, London, 2001 (with

Ashish Rajadhyaksha Ashish Vithal Rajadhyaksha (born 12 March 1957) is an Indian film scholar, art curator and cultural theorist. He was a Senior Fellow at the Bangalore-based Centre for the Study of Culture and Society. Early life Ashish Vithal Rajadhyaksha was ...

). * ''Sub Terrain: Artworks in the Cityfold'',

Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of the World's Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and so ...

, Berlin, 2003. * ''Crossing Generations diVerge: Forty Years of Gallery Chemould'',

, Mumbai, 2003 (with Chaitanya Sambrani). * ''Aesthetic Bind - Citizen Artist: forms of address'',

Chemould Prescott Road Chemould Prescott Road, founded (as Gallery Chemould), is the first contemporary art gallery in Mumbai, India. Gallery Chemould Prescott Road, a contemporary art gallery in India, was founded by Kekoo Gandhy and Khorshed Gandhy in 1963. Bas ...

, Mumbai, 2013-2014.

Books

* Geeta Kapur. ''Contemporary Indian Artists'', Vikas Pub. 1978. . * Apinan Poshyananda, Thomas McEveilley, Geeta Kapur and others. ''Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions, Tensions'', 1997. * Geeta Kapur, ''When Was Modernism: Essays on Contemporary Cultural Practice in India'',

, 2000. * Jean-Hubert Martin, Geeta Kapur and others, ''Cautionary Tales: Critical Curating'', Tulika Books, 2007. . * Sabeena Gadihoke, Geeta Kapur and Christopher Pinney, ''Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh'', 2010.

References

External links

Video
discussing Geeta Kapur's influence. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kapur, Geeta Indian art critics Indian curators Living people 1943 births Indian women historians New York University alumni Alumni of the Royal College of Art IIT Delhi faculty Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Indian art curators Indian art historians 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian scientists Educators from Delhi Women educators from Delhi Indian women critics 20th-century women writers Indian women curators Women art historians Indian women academics