A metaphor for Mumbai

A metaphor for Mumbai

Mumbai's new art gallery, Gallery Tao, was inaugurated on January 28 with an exhibition of paintings by senior artists like S H Raza, Prabhakar Kolte, Sujata Bajaj, Anant Nikam and Vijay Shinde. It is located in a spectacular atrium inside a commercial building in Worli.

The second exhibition, `Mumbai Metaphor', opened on March 28 and will culminate on April 25. Fourteen young artists from Mumbai are participating in this show, which has been curated by Anupa Mehta. The owner of Gallery Tao, Kalpana Shah, says, "It is important for any collector and a catalyst of art, as I consider myself, to respect younger artists and their aesthetic independence."

Anant Joshi, Chintan and Hema Upadhyay, Darshana Vora, Jitish Kallat, Reena Saini, Justin Ponmany, Kaushik Mukhopadhyay, Mayura Subedar, Monali Meher, Nehal Shah, Riyas Komu, Sharmila Samant and Shilpa Gupta are the artists whose works are on show as `Mumbai Metaphor'.

Each artist gives his interpretation of a different facet of Mumbai, and uses different media to do so. While Kaushik Mukhopadhyay finds the city's resilience charming, Jitish Kallat chooses to get introspective as he incorporates his favourite twin themes of time and death. Chintan Upadhyay derides the growing prevalence of consumer culture.

Most people would agree that the pressures of living and working in this metropolis are unique, given the commuting and consumerism. They might appreciate this composite view.

-- Bella Jaisinghani