Visual Arts For Sustainable Development – An ode to Mother Nature
– To Seek is to Find!
In the months after the human world came to a near standstill, something extraordinary started to happen — we saw nature reclaiming its home. The silent nights in the cities were suddenly filled with the roars of crickets & cicadas, dawn broke with the startling chirping of birds, and we inhaled oxygen that came from new & rejuvenated flora.
A forgotten understanding came to the fore, and with it, the thirst to witness the miracles of nature that had long evaded our oblivious eyes. Some watched the skies turn bluer by the day, some marveled at the satisfaction of planting a sapling, and some took to expressing this unraveling beauty for the benefit of the world.
One such person is a master of the lens and draws delightfully with light.
Gerardo Korn an Argentine-German artist and photographer went down the path of introspection during the pandemic. He explored and truly sought the beauty that surrounded him. His endeavor led him to discover the regions where he had lived his entire life. It is a privilege to be able to see familiar places with a new perspective, to unlock the significance of a minute change, and appreciate the power it has to create a lasting impact upon one’s psyche.
The artist explored and truly sought the beauty that surrounded him. His journey was to manifest this privilege that was being bestowed upon the people of this world. A way to show a deep appreciation of his magnificent homelands.
The treasure that Gerardo unearthed on his adventure can be summed up in two simple words — ‘Small Worlds.’ He focused his lens, not on the big picture but on the smaller aspects that spoke of new beginnings rising from the remnants of the old. From an enlightening walk on the edges of the mythical Black Forest in Germany to a simple stride till the front gate of his house in Argentina, he found what he sought.
He found proof of the complicated yet natural interdependency between nature and people. It is this interdependency that keeps the world balanced. The pandemic has taught us so much and we have realized that one could not tip the scales in one’s favor for too long. This photographic edit stimulates a person’s perspective to look deeper than the still beauty and witness the empirical truth of life itself. Those that see the works find their sensibilities piqued and experience the art created by nature.
The best part of this time of stillness has been depicted in Gerardo’s work. The planet has changed exponentially and made us all realize that what we take for granted is really a privilege, and our reality is truly relative.
The Cosmic Heart Gallery has always believed in works that delight, heal, and bring joyous frequencies to your homes. This wondrous edit of Gerardo’s photographs promises something even more remarkable — a souvenir of deep introspection, a reminder of the powers of nature, and the ever-evolving perspective of the human mind.
“Photographic arts are intimate and have the ability to make us understand the artist’s perspective— the way they see the world. Gerardo Korn’s work is intuitive, interactive and introspective. This Nature series is a reflection of the changes that have occurred not only in the world & environment but also within. It shows this innate interdependency between Mother Nature and the human world. We have witnessed nature reclaiming its home and have understood the primal connection that makes us belong to the Earth completely and ignited our responsibility towards it.” says curator Jalpa H Vithalani who is also the President of BPW South Mumbai.
Come and experience the transformative journey of an artist who sought & found the restorative power in witnessing nature reclaim its home.
Messages from Our Partner:
Message by Artist Gerardo Korn
Message by Dr Catherine Bosshart
Message by Dr Amany Asfour
Message by HE Guillermo E Devoto
About the Artist
Gerardo Korn, a German Argentine who lives in Buenos Aires, is an art photographer.
His father taught him at an early age the basic rules of photography and gave him his first SLR-camera (a Minolta SR-T 101) for his 15th birthday back in 1977 during a trip through Asia. There, in Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan, he shot his first two film rolls. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, but he never lost his enthusiasm for photography!
He visited New Delhi, Agra and Calcutta which he describes as indelible memories of a unique country…
His projects have been declared of cultural interest by the Buenos Aires City Legislature.
In recent years Gerardo has been dedicated to a street photography project in Buenos Aires, “Costanera Sur”, which was awarded with an Honorable Mention at the prestigious IPA International Photo Awards. Along with the film project “The Goddess in the Pool”, about a fantastic work of art by renowned Argentine painter Guillermo Roux, distinguished at six international film festivals in 2020/2021 (including two in India) the Mumbai International Cult Film Festival (MICFF INDIA), where it won an “Outstanding Achievement Award”, and the Tagore International Film Festival (TIFF), where it was awarded an ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’ and was chosen as the winner in the category ‘Films On Disability Issues’.
In 2018 he worked on an awareness campaign on the subject of ostomies, in collaboration with Gabriela Lavalle, an Argentine tango singer and personal friend, who has been ostomized for 10 years.
Gerardo’s work has been exhibited in Mexico in 2014, at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), in Buenos Aires in 2016, at the prestigious Centro Cultural Borges, in Germany in 2017 and 2018, at Argentine diplomatic representations in Berlin and Frankfurt, and at the Wintershall Company in Kassel, and in 2018 at the Buenos Aires City Legislature.
This is his third exhibition with Cosmic Heart Gallery in India.
Business and Professional Women (BPW International)
“Actions through Cooperation “
The International Federation of Business and Professional Women is an influential international network of business and professional women from over 100 countries in 5 continents with Consultative Status at ECOSOC/United Nations. Founded in 1930, BPW International develops the professional, leadership, and business potential of women on all levels through our mentoring, networking, skill-building, and economic empowerment programs and projects around the world. (https://www.bpw-international.org/)
BPW International through its Affiliates across the world and its global partnerships with different stakeholders contributes to the realization of the SDGs and the Sustainable Development of BPW International through the following Advocacy Pillars and Initiatives.
“Nature is the greatest artist. Humans should take the time to enjoy its beauty.” says
Dr. Catherine Bosshart, President BPW International.
Message from The Consulate General and Promotion Centre of the Argentine Republic
“The photographer skillfully seeks to uncover the natural world that surrounds us —that is often ignored or taken for granted. His photographs throw light on the mysterious thrall that the Pampas plain and the banks of the River Plate offer. The Consulate General of Argentina in Mumbai in collaboration with Cosmic Heart Gallery brings to you an opportunity to rediscover the hidden magnificence of nature and its magic through the introspective photography of the Argentine artist Gerardo Korn.” says HE Guillermo E. Devoto, Consul General and Director of the Trade Centre of Argentina, Mumbai.
The Consulate General and Promotion Centre of the Argentine Republic in Mumbai was opened on 1st April, 2009. Apart from the Embassy of Argentina in New Delhi, this office is the second Argentine Representation in India. Since its inception, it has strived to build and strengthen long-lasting relations between Argentina and India, through a wide range of consular, cultural, trade and investment promotional activities and initiatives.
Read more on: http://cgmum.cancilleria.gov.ar/en
AFRICA BUSINESS COUNCIL (AfBC) “Voice of the African Private Sector”
FOUNDING VISION
A competitive, innovative and border-less Africa for trade, investment, and industrialisation.
FOUNDING MISSION
To be the premier advocacy arm and platform for private sector cooperation and engagement at the African continental level, strengthening economic, commercial, business and investment ties among the business communities of the African continent, while ensuring regular inclusive dialogue with the African Union.
“Mother Nature is rediscovering itself. ‘To Seek is to Find’ is to find yourself through this beauty, to find yourself through internal peace, to find yourself through this immersive journey of Mother Nature.
I am delighted to collaborate with Jalpa – President of BPW South Munbai & Director, Cosmic Heart Gallery on this historical event launching ‘Visual Arts for Sustainable Development’ during the 91st Anniversary of BPW International with this photography exhibition. As you know BPW International is present in 100 countries. We did not have time before the pandemic and we as human means are coming together to seek, to feel through visual arts. It is a proud moment for us.” says Dr Amany Asfour President, Africa Business Council & President, Partnerships BPW International.
Artist:
Exhibitions with Cosmic Heart Gallery: