In the Artland of Lado Sarai
10 May 2012 1:55 AM GMT
A new initiative by art galleries in a nondescript lane of Lado Sarai — now known as Delhi’s art street — to host an Art Night by opening their individual shows on the same evening was the talk of town last month. Collaborations like these are not new. Mumbai has already taken the lead and nine Colaba galleries — Chatterjee & Lal, Gallery Maskara, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Chemould Prescott, The Guild, Lakeerein, Project 88, Sakshi Gallery and Volte Gallery — have come together to host a single annual show where each gallery will show their chosen artists.
‘We’ve been doing openings on the same evening for almost a year,’ said Bhavna Kakar of Latitude 28. ‘But this time things were more organised and we had a common e-mailer with details of all the nine shows,’ she said.
At Kakar’s gallery, the digital works and videos of Baroda-based Vasudha Thozur, who has recreated images from wedding parties, attracted great attention. Thozur’s show was a visual experience — with a darker edge. She has shot some very shaky video footage of these fantastically commercialised venues from her terrace and during a walk along the highway at night.
Across the street, Tunty Chauhan, of Threshold Art Gallery, decided to go minimal with Mumbai-based Dilip Ranade’s paintings, watercolours and black and white drawings. In his present body of work, the artist subtly addresses the binary situation of gender, both in the relationship between men and women, and in terms of the potential instabilities of sexual identity within the individual.
Chauhan wasn’t worried that these seemingly abstract works would get drowned in the melee of nine diverse shows. ‘This initiative is also morally uplifting for the artists. Ranade, for instance, is relatively unknown in Delhi and it helps to show his work to a much wider audience,’ said Chauhan.
Visibility and brand recognition then seem to be what has motivated the galleries to come together, others being Art Motif, Art Positive, Gallery Ragini, Abadi Art Space, Studio Art, Wonderwall and Exhibit 320. Jose Abad of Abadi Art Space said: ‘People now know about all the galleries here and the artists that each one represents. Yes, there is competition too but each one of us has our own niche style of art and clientele. Also, this effort will help us all become more organised.’ Abad presented lensman Sandeep Biswas’ solo show which is an exploration of self and the urban environment.
It is no wonder then, that two new galleries, Wonderwall and Studio Art, who are the most recent entrants in this now bustling art lane, were also part of the Art Night. At Studio Art, which was hosting its inaugural show, gallerist Ashna Singh showed works of Shailesh Ojha, Kanta Kishore, Pitambar Khan and Sujit Karmakar, the first two being sculptors and the latter painters. Said Ashna Singh of Studio Art: ‘I have absolutely no reservations about being part of this collaborative effort.
Buyers will now not only get to see a staggering diversity of art but also the best of styles from the best of galleries. I am convinced Lado Sarai is going to be great hub for quality art.’
Let’s say amen to that!
‘We’ve been doing openings on the same evening for almost a year,’ said Bhavna Kakar of Latitude 28. ‘But this time things were more organised and we had a common e-mailer with details of all the nine shows,’ she said.
At Kakar’s gallery, the digital works and videos of Baroda-based Vasudha Thozur, who has recreated images from wedding parties, attracted great attention. Thozur’s show was a visual experience — with a darker edge. She has shot some very shaky video footage of these fantastically commercialised venues from her terrace and during a walk along the highway at night.
Across the street, Tunty Chauhan, of Threshold Art Gallery, decided to go minimal with Mumbai-based Dilip Ranade’s paintings, watercolours and black and white drawings. In his present body of work, the artist subtly addresses the binary situation of gender, both in the relationship between men and women, and in terms of the potential instabilities of sexual identity within the individual.
Chauhan wasn’t worried that these seemingly abstract works would get drowned in the melee of nine diverse shows. ‘This initiative is also morally uplifting for the artists. Ranade, for instance, is relatively unknown in Delhi and it helps to show his work to a much wider audience,’ said Chauhan.
Visibility and brand recognition then seem to be what has motivated the galleries to come together, others being Art Motif, Art Positive, Gallery Ragini, Abadi Art Space, Studio Art, Wonderwall and Exhibit 320. Jose Abad of Abadi Art Space said: ‘People now know about all the galleries here and the artists that each one represents. Yes, there is competition too but each one of us has our own niche style of art and clientele. Also, this effort will help us all become more organised.’ Abad presented lensman Sandeep Biswas’ solo show which is an exploration of self and the urban environment.
It is no wonder then, that two new galleries, Wonderwall and Studio Art, who are the most recent entrants in this now bustling art lane, were also part of the Art Night. At Studio Art, which was hosting its inaugural show, gallerist Ashna Singh showed works of Shailesh Ojha, Kanta Kishore, Pitambar Khan and Sujit Karmakar, the first two being sculptors and the latter painters. Said Ashna Singh of Studio Art: ‘I have absolutely no reservations about being part of this collaborative effort.
Buyers will now not only get to see a staggering diversity of art but also the best of styles from the best of galleries. I am convinced Lado Sarai is going to be great hub for quality art.’
Let’s say amen to that!
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