Atul Bhalla
Anhedonic Landscape IV
Atul Bhalla is a conceptual artist working on environmental urgencies, particularly the everyday relationship between the Yamuna and her urban communities. Venerated in Hindu mythology as the goddess of life, the Yamuna has become one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Bhallas sustained engagement with the Yamuna has resulted in public installations, photograph performances and videos. Bhalla earned his BFA from Delhi University and his MFA from the School of Art of Northern Illinois University. He is currently a Professor at the Department of Art, Media and Performance , School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) at Shiv Nadar University ( Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence), Delhi NCR.
Bhalla’s work has been exhibited in international venues, including the Pompidou Centre (Paris) , Benton Museum of Art (Storrs, CT), Bhau Daji Lad Museum (Mumbai), Bikaner House (New Delhi), Craft Contemporary (Los Angeles, CA), Europalia (Liege), Gaia Center Museum (Santiago de Compestela, Spain), Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA), Haverford College (Haverford, PA), Kunsthaus Langenthal (Switzerland) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg). With solo shows in London, New York, Mumbai and regularly in New Delhi. He has also been included in group shows such as the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial 4 (2009), the Newark Museum’s “INDIA: Public Places, Private Spaces” (2008) and the Fotographie Forum Frankfurt’s “Watching me — Watching India: New Photography from India,” (2006), FotoFest Houston TX 2016and 2018. In 2022-2023, Bhalla partnered with KHOJ Studios (New Delhi) on their “28th Parallel North — An Expeditionary Weather Station” research project, traversing and engaging with of climate change through his practice , from the Gokulpur (Nepal border) to the Ranjeetpura (Pakistan border).
