Deutsche Bank recognizes Rohini Devasher as the “Artist of the Year” for 2024. Born in 1978, the Indian artist studied painting and graphic art and currently resides in Delhi. In her intricate artistic endeavors, she delves into the intersections of science, art, and philosophy. Her expansive projects, often comprising groupings of intricate drawings, photography, sound and film, create worlds that emerge from deep research and scientific explorations, illuminating and complicating the subjects at hand. A departure from the conventional jury process, the nomination was made by a singular juror, Stephanie Rosenthal, Director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project.
Rohini Devasher often collaborates with researchers, amateur astronomers, and global scientific institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Through these collaborations, Devasher intertwines scientific experiments and research on the physical phenomena of perception with her own artistic materials, resulting in captivating installation projects.
Her most recent four-channel film, One Hundred Thousand Suns (2023), stands as an exemplary piece of work. Spanning material, ephemeral, personal, and historical dimensions, the work references over 100,000 portraits of the Sun captured for over a century at the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory in India. Through a rich blend of the observatory’s archival material, NASA public-domain images, and her own data collections, Devasher brings us the Sun, observed by hand, by photographic emulsion, by voice and memory.
Through this amalgamation, the artist reveals the complexities and ambiguities of observation, challenging the perception of data as seemingly detached, disinterested or neutral.
“Rohini Devasher is the first Indian artist to be honored by Deutsche Bank as the ‘Artist of the Year,’ marking a groundbreaking convergence of art and science,” says Britta Färber, responsible for art and culture at Deutsche Bank. “I extend my gratitude to Stephanie Rosenthal; in an era of ecological and humanitarian crises, she has put forward an artist who, in a poetic yet factual manner, looks closely at ways in which we build narratives and compels us to re-consider existing perceptions of the world and our place in it.”
“Rohini Devasher utilizes a research-based approach to create intricate narratives that address the pressing issues of our daily lives,” remarked Stephanie Rosenthal, Director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, who recommended Rohini Devasher to Deutsche Bank. “Through the medium of drawing, she delves into societal structures and cultural dynamics, providing the viewer with a purposeful and contemplative space amidst the digital cacophony.”
Rohini Devasher’s film One Hundred Thousand Suns can be seen until March 24 at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco. Additionally, it can be experienced until June 2, 2024, as part of the group exhibition The Creation of Science at the Museum Catherijneconvent in Utrecht, and until April 14, as part of the exhibition, Punya 2.0 at the Kunsthalle Bern. From early April onward, the film will be shown at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai.
The “Artist of the Year” award focuses on promising artists who have already produced artistically and socially significant works that align with the two focal points of the Deutsche Bank Collection: works on paper and photography. In a noteworthy shift, the selection process has undergone modification for the first time.
Starting from 2024, the conventional three-member jury of international curators has been replaced. Instead, a single distinguished personality from the global art world will now nominate artists for the award every two years.
On this occasion, we extend our sincere gratitude to Hou Hanru, Udo Kittelmann, and Victoria Noorthoorn, the members of the Deutsche Bank Global Art Advisory Council, for their many years of fruitful and amicable collaboration.