India’s art (af)fair
5 Feb 2015 10:37 PM GMT
Art fairs offer a smorgasbord of art from around the world. Art lovers throng at these places in large number to see the wide spectrum of work that are easy to the eyes. Same was the scenario at the seventh edition of India Art Fair that was recently held in the Capital.
As the fair was spread over a large area, an extensive walk was needed to discover artworks that appealed me personally. It was an exhilarating experience to witness such event that involved around 4,000 artworks by over 400 artists and 85 participating galleries from around the globe.
However, among this huge number of works there were some extra ordinary pieces that caught my eyes. At the fair entrance there was a wooden replica of a typical Kashmiri house by Veer Munshi.
Serenity of Desolation served as a silent reminder of last year’s destruction in J&K due to the flood.
It had photos of people affected by the natural calamity last September.
But what pulled every visitor’s attention was a painted BMW Mini Cooper parked just beside the other entrance gate. For sports cars lovers, there was a fancy BMW i8 parked outside the VIP Lounge.
50 giant ants that were trying to crawl up the walls of the ground were Paresh Maity’s Procession. The ants were made up of with parts of Royal Enfield motorcycles.
Another piece that stood out in the fair was a wooden installation of Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai by TV Santosh. Threshold into a Dream as it was titled beautifully presented the idea of Mumbai being called the City of Dreams which never sleeps.
10 terminologies of the Hindi word Gawar that is used to suggest someone stupid was the highlight of the show. She – was a dark female whose head was replaced by a box which had a screen that showed a woman’s face with a cigarette between her lips and barcode printed on her legs. It was an installation by Krishna Murari.
Israel-based Bruno Art Group’s artworks Colors of the World have resonated with the taste of Indian audience. The booth was a colourful gamut that caught every visitor’s attention.
Moving further I got to see some five armless sculptures of girls and women, filled with differently coloured fine hair. It raised a voice against sex slavery at the fair. A monumental canvas that measures 65”x210” is a panoramic painting by Sidharth. Titled Ganga-Spiritual Sojourn it was made from silver leaf and mineral pigments created by the artist himself.
Mahatma Gandhi sharing the canvas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the highlight of the show. As both of them were born in Gujrat, so artist Vivek Sharma titled his work as Sons of Same Soil.
This list would go on and on. But beside that there were many other happenings that added some versatility to the fair. A unique jugalbandi between an artiste and his coffee took place organised by Le Meridian at its booth.
The food options at the fairs were as wide as numbers of food stalls and booths by different restaurants, café and hotels.
Every gallery had a ‘museum shop’ There were prints and postcards, mugs and bags, coasters and magnets that were available on a price that were not hard at your pockets.
The much-anticipated-four-day fair that held at NSIC ground at Okhla came to an end last Sunday. It left all the art lovers waiting for the next edition.
As the fair was spread over a large area, an extensive walk was needed to discover artworks that appealed me personally. It was an exhilarating experience to witness such event that involved around 4,000 artworks by over 400 artists and 85 participating galleries from around the globe.
However, among this huge number of works there were some extra ordinary pieces that caught my eyes. At the fair entrance there was a wooden replica of a typical Kashmiri house by Veer Munshi.
Serenity of Desolation served as a silent reminder of last year’s destruction in J&K due to the flood.
It had photos of people affected by the natural calamity last September.
But what pulled every visitor’s attention was a painted BMW Mini Cooper parked just beside the other entrance gate. For sports cars lovers, there was a fancy BMW i8 parked outside the VIP Lounge.
50 giant ants that were trying to crawl up the walls of the ground were Paresh Maity’s Procession. The ants were made up of with parts of Royal Enfield motorcycles.
Another piece that stood out in the fair was a wooden installation of Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai by TV Santosh. Threshold into a Dream as it was titled beautifully presented the idea of Mumbai being called the City of Dreams which never sleeps.
10 terminologies of the Hindi word Gawar that is used to suggest someone stupid was the highlight of the show. She – was a dark female whose head was replaced by a box which had a screen that showed a woman’s face with a cigarette between her lips and barcode printed on her legs. It was an installation by Krishna Murari.
Israel-based Bruno Art Group’s artworks Colors of the World have resonated with the taste of Indian audience. The booth was a colourful gamut that caught every visitor’s attention.
Moving further I got to see some five armless sculptures of girls and women, filled with differently coloured fine hair. It raised a voice against sex slavery at the fair. A monumental canvas that measures 65”x210” is a panoramic painting by Sidharth. Titled Ganga-Spiritual Sojourn it was made from silver leaf and mineral pigments created by the artist himself.
Mahatma Gandhi sharing the canvas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the highlight of the show. As both of them were born in Gujrat, so artist Vivek Sharma titled his work as Sons of Same Soil.
This list would go on and on. But beside that there were many other happenings that added some versatility to the fair. A unique jugalbandi between an artiste and his coffee took place organised by Le Meridian at its booth.
The food options at the fairs were as wide as numbers of food stalls and booths by different restaurants, café and hotels.
Every gallery had a ‘museum shop’ There were prints and postcards, mugs and bags, coasters and magnets that were available on a price that were not hard at your pockets.
The much-anticipated-four-day fair that held at NSIC ground at Okhla came to an end last Sunday. It left all the art lovers waiting for the next edition.
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